Where is Arundhati Roy ?--A quiet call to reach a powerful woman

[Whoa_Nelly]

I was thinking about Arundhati Roy this morning and remembering her speech Instant-Mix-Imperial Democracythat she gave at the Riverside Church a while back. It was powerful and directed toward Bush.

Instant-Mix-Imperial Democracy
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/051803H.shtml

<snip>
The battle to reclaim democracy is going to be a difficult one. Our freedoms were not granted to us by any governments. They were wrested from them by us. And once we surrender them, the battle to retrieve them is called a revolution. It is a battle that must range across continents and countries. It must not acknowledge national boundaries but, if it is to succeed, it has to begin here. In America. The only institution more powerful than the U.S. government is American civil society. The rest of us are subjects of slave nations. We are by no means powerless, but you have the power of proximity. You have access to the Imperial Palace and the Emperor's chambers. Empire's conquests are being carried out in your name, and you have the right to refuse. You could refuse to fight. Refuse to move those missiles from the warehouse to the dock. Refuse to wave that flag. Refuse the victory parade.

<snip>
Hundreds of thousands of you have survived the relentless propaganda you have been subjected to, and are actively fighting your own government. In the ultra-patriotic climate that prevails in the United States, that's as brave as any Iraqi or Afghan or Palestinian fighting for his or her homeland.

If you join the battle, not in your hundreds of thousands, but in your millions, you will be greeted joyously by the rest of the world. And you will see how beautiful it is to be gentle instead of brutal, safe instead of scared. Befriended instead of isolated. Loved instead of hated.

I hate to disagree with your president. Yours is by no means a great nation. But you could be a great people.

History is giving you the chance.

Seize the time.



This war is global in it's reach and ultimate outcome. What is happening in Crawford is taking on a life of it's own throughout the nation, and is being given notice and receiving validation from many people around the world.

Where is Arundhati Roy now to speak out about the current events and a democracy that has gone south? Her quiet power, her way of speaking eloquently and clearly, would lend much to supporting the Peace Movement in Crawford.

[lildreamer316]

1. Thanks for (re?)posting this!!Great one line:

"The only institution more powerful than the U.S. government is American civil society"
I'm on it.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Yes, very powerful words

As is this part:
You have access to the Imperial Palace and the Emperor's chambers. Empire's conquests are being carried out in your name, and you have the right to refuse. You could refuse to fight.

And I think the refusal to fight also extends to not fighting with those who seek to disrupt the quest for answers and peace that Cindy Sheehan and Camp Casey has become a representative point in American history to facilitate bringing the power of the people back to the people.

All the threads that are posted to discredit those who seek to disrupt, to incite, and to blatantly attack those who are giving their time and hearts to following Cindy's lead, are attacks that are in the same vein as those who oppose this movement toward truth.

By my own words, this is something I truly believe:
We all have a stake in the future of the United States. We are united in this concept regardless of our diverse cultures and views; We are the nation.

It's time to choose a change of heart and no longer fight among ourselves. It's time to choose peace over giving notice to those that choose hate, antipathy, and aggression.

A path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you.
Carlos Castaneda

[TomInTib]

5. Powerful new Roy speech on NPR yesterday....

It was on KALW in SF (kalw.org) on the Alternative Radio program between noon and one pm. I tried to find a transcript, but only came up with the speech mentioned above.

In her latest speech she said that she was concerned that the focus on Iraq would take the focus off other issues around the world, but she used Iraq as an example of large companies in bed with governments (and vice-versa)working together to create the war and then profit from it. Great bit about Enron in India too.

Can anyone find this and post it? I am not tech savvy enough, but this could be our manifesto and everyone should be able to read it.

[Whoa_Nelly]

6. Here's KALW email address

[e-mail]

Thanks, TomInTib, for the udate on Arundhati.

Email the station, especially since you were a listener. I am emailing them as well asking if ther eis a transcript avaible, and if not, then when.

[wli]

3. Bushler's already declared war against the American people

Just look at the WTO and FTAA demonstration smashings.

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. Anger can serve as a catalyst

if used in a quiet and powerful way.

I'm placing hope on what Cindy has begun to become the greater movement to not attack each other here, and to not attack those who disagree with Cindy's quiet bravery.