Occupy Atlanta, major unions, AND the Tea Party all oppose the criminalizing of dissent and the assault on the Bill of Rights.
I like to think Tom Paine would have approved.
Allies are good to have – and today democracy itself needs all the allies it can get.
This was a HUGE event on March 17, 2012 – and it is once again legislation written by ALEC for paying corporate interests – and filed by lobbyists all over the country.
Similar to what Chicago has put into place to stifle free speech and dissent, the Georgia legislation under discussion would make nonviolent picketing and sign holding and marching potentially lead to a year in prison, and a fine of $1000 a day for an individual and $10,000 a day for organizations and associations.
ALEC is a true menace to democracy – nothing democratic about it. What is ALEC – well many things – a place to pay for “model legislation” your corporation likes, and to retain mercenaries to file the same legislation all over the country. And the agenda does not appear to be neutral. NPR did a great piece on this, “Who is really writing State’s legislation?” – all very hush-hush, clubby, and crony based. http://www.npr.org/2011/07/21/138537515/how-alec-shapes-state-politics-behind-the-scenes And in many ways, the atmosphere arising from and leading to Citizens United, in my opinion at least – has allowed ALEC to flourish. I have to hope that MY legislators only file legislation they have written, or their staff has written, and only support legislation they have read and analyzed and truly believe in. To be a legislator is to be a fiduciary for the folks you represent.
All that is necessary for democracy itself to be lost is that citizens do not understand government, do not pay attention, and are willing to follow leaders and not take personal responsibility. You know, be a good egg – don’t rock the boat – just trust “us” and do what we say. Conformism is the enemy of democracy – it truly is.
I have figured out how to link to you tube videos, but not how to get those icon’s with the start arrow up on this platform.