Protesting in the Name of Democracy in the Mile High City

Posted by Linda Milazzo, CODEPINK Women for Peace: Action Blog at 4:01 PM on August 28, 2008.

At the very core of patriotism is the desire to preserve and enhance democracy. For true patriots - those who take their love of nation beyond the confines of their cushy sofas and wide screen TVs - there are no limits to their efforts to hold leaders accountable to uphold the Constitution and safeguard its inherent freedoms. Thus, for the past three days that I've been in Denver - in the hotbed of this mecca of "this is what democracy looks like," I've witnessed the GOOD and the NOT so good.



The GOOD are the thousands of Americans who have traveled from every part of this country to engage in actions to spread their personal messages of democracy: peace above conflict, government's responsibility to provide for its citizens, and an immediate stop to the constant rape of our resources and our once fine name by those who base success on the depth of their fortunes rather than the depth of their humanity.



This week, in addition to the official Democratic delegates attending the Convention INSIDE the Pepsi Center, where thankfully many progressive delegates - most members of Progressive Democrats of America - are pushing social values to end the corporatism that has left millions unemployed and homeless, and millions more verging on joining them - there are thousands of activists of ALL AGES and all socio-economic backgrounds who have joined the fray. These activist patriots are working OUTSIDE the Pepsi Center to push socio-political agendas more in line with what MOST Americans want and NEED today - universal single-payer healthcare, high standard public education, affordable housing, food safety, safeguarding the environmental, ending the military and prison industrial complexes, AND MORE!

The American citizenry, most of whom have sat idly by for the past eight years while their nation was besieged by a criminal administration, owes a huge debt of gratitude to these troubadours of peace who have taken Denver by storm at this Democratic National Convention - not to mention the debt to them for their countless prior acts of personal courage for which they were so often persecuted - even prosecuted - since George W. Bush, his Republican minions, and the spineless Democratic party have enabled this nation's demise. Rather than being faced off by hundreds, if not thousands of highly armed police on motorcycles, on horseback and in armored vehicles, these OUTSIDE lovers of America should be greeted with wreaths and THANKS instead of arms and tanks. Yet the armies of police patrol every inch of the city in search of First Amendment cage-fillers.