Fall/Winter 2000
A Revolution of Values
Philadelphians have conflicting views about the demonstrators at the Republican National Convention this summer. Concerned over making our city respectable for important guests or simply annoyed by traffic jams, many people have missed the point. Our country is in political crisis - the nation's largest corporations have taken undue control of our political process, drowning out the voices & concerns of ordinary citizens. That's why thousands of people dedicated to democracy, including many young people, came to Philadelphia to voice concern over the increasing power of corporations in our public life. Unfortunately, a few incidents of destruction and violence by a small minority of misguided protesters have overshadowed this significant message to the American people, and media reports have too often marginalized the importance of this movement to the future of our country.
In Seattle, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, people of conscience have peacefully taken to the streets. They represent a hopeful turning of the tide away from increasing materialism, militarism, and greed, and toward values of equality, generosity and justice. The hundreds of nonviolent activists who were arrested and jailed here this summer, many suffering inhumane treatment and outrageously high bails, should not be treated as criminals. Rather, they should be appreciated for their commitment to a peaceful movement toward a more just and sustainable world. Shouldn't we all object to the hijacking of our democracy by big money? Shouldn't we all raise the alarm over increasing economic disparity that has made the US the most unegalitarian country in the industrialized world? Shouldn't we all question the "prison industrial complex" that makes the US the world's largest jailer with 2 million citizens behind bars? Shouldn't we all be frightened and outraged by corporate abuse of natural resources and destruction of our environment?
Wholeheartedly, I join these peaceful demonstrators in opposing the undemocratic concentration of wealth and power in our country. They speak for the many voiceless who have been neglected or stifled by a system that values profits above people and nature, and control above freedom and creativity. By uniting intergenerationally as active and informed citizens, we can finally bring into being the "revolution of values" Dr. King began in the sixties and change both business and government into institutions that truly serve the needs of all people.
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