[Nasional-e] THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING

Tue Feb 18 19:38:18 2003

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-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Feb. 20, 2003
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING

By Deirdre Griswold

It is times like these that reveal the true strength of the contending=20
forces in society. Not just their strength in numbers, or their strength =

in weapons, but their strength of conviction, purpose and belief in=20
their vision of the future.

The Bush administration has been preparing for its war on Iraq as though =

nothing in the world can stop it from going ahead. It has very big=20
plans. Besides having a completely grandiose view of achieving U.S.=20
global supremacy, it is trying to carry out a restructuring at home at=20
the same time. It is hacking away at what remains of social programs for =

the poor, privatizing government workers in a direct attack on unions,=20
raising racism against immigrants to a new level, outlawing dissent, and =

trying to create such a climate of fear that opposition to its lunge to=20
the right will crumble.

It certainly has unequaled material resources for what it is doing, both =

financial and military. But it has a very, very big problem. The more=20
that the people find out what is coming down the pike, the more they are =

against it.

Bush never had a mandate for his right-wing policies. The Supreme Court=20
decided he should be president after the debacle in Florida. He wasn't=20
swept into office on a flood of reaction, like the desperate times in=20
Europe during the Great Depression when fascist movements rallied huge=20
crowds by attacking the system, and took over promising radical reforms=20
to a ruined people--
only to line them up for a war to defend capitalism while channeling=20
their anger into racist and anti-Semitic scapegoating and redbaiting.

This is a right-wing takeover from the top, carried out through the=20
established political organizations of the capitalist class, which exist =

on lobbyists' generous contributions. And big business isn't exactly=20
popular right now, to put it mildly. Not many workers are looking at the =

Kenneth Lays and other millionaire executives as saviors for society's=20
ills.

Bush may pose as the cowboy--another word for "man on horseback"?--who=20
can ride roughshod over his opponents and whip the herd in line. His=20
billionaire backers like that. But does he really have the tools for it? =

Isn't he relying on the acquiescence, at the very least, of tens of=20
millions whose lives will be profoundly changed for the worse by what he =

is doing?

The confidence Bush exudes on stage--for his "public" appearances amount =

to nothing but acting--is carefully scripted and rehearsed. Everything=20
is predictably phony. But behind that confident exterior, when he puts=20
his feet up, don't doubts seize him as he nibbles his pretzels?

Certainly his class--known rather unscientifically as the "business=20
class" in popular parlance--is showing extreme anxiety right now. Every=20
Bush speech pushing his war program has also pushed down the stock=20
markets. His promises that the war will be a pushover and that the=20
reconstruction of Iraq--meaning setting up a political structure for the =

methodical plunder of its massive oil resources--will be quickly=20
accomplished have not won them over. There is a lot of gloom and doom in =

the boardrooms and markets these days, totally the opposite of the=20
euphoria on Wall Street in the early years of the Vietnam War, when the=20
markets hit new highs with every escalation of the war.

No matter how ideological they are, the politicos in the Bush camp have=20
to be feeling this, for these are their class brethren.

In the anti-war camp, however, the mood is different. There are=20
political struggles, of course, and the clarifying of many=20
misconceptions as the movement goes forward. But the mood among the=20
people is upbeat and strong. There is a new sense of the power of the=20
masses, a new sense of what it means to be in solidarity with the=20
hundreds of millions around the world who so much want a change in the=20
relation of forces, so much want the political pendulum in the United=20
States to swing to the left, to the workers, and away from the=20
insatiable class of exploiters who will never be rich enough.

Each new lie from the government--whether it's on Iraq's "weapons of=20
mass destruction" or a fiendish plot by immigrants to "destroy =
America"--
immediately stirs up a legion of indignant people determined to seek the =

truth and rebut the disinformation. Informed, thoughtful responses race=20
around the Internet.

And these are not office-chair activists. They are marching, organizing=20
teach-ins, riding buses through the night to national protests, getting=20
on street corners and letting everyone know where they stand.

They have a strong, deep feeling that they are building a movement that=20
will change the world, and not in the way George W. Bush intends. They=20
have a passion for what they are doing that is based on self-sacrifice,=20
giving for a greater cause--the very thing that some columnists complain =

Bush is afraid to ask for. He has to lie to the people that this war=20
will be easy--because, on the bottom, those hired to carry out his=20
commands have no enthusiasm for what they are doing.

Looking at all these factors, the playing field is not so unequal after=20
all.

- END -

(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and=20
distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not=20
allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY,=20
NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@wwpublish.com. Subscribe wwnews-
on@wwpublish.com. Unsubscribe wwnews-off@wwpublish.com. Support the=20
voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
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<DIV>------------------------- Via Workers World News =
Service Reprinted=20
from the Feb. 20, 2003 issue of Workers World=20
newspaper ------------------------- THE TIMES THEY ARE=20
A-CHANGING By Deirdre Griswold It is times like these that =
reveal=20
the true strength of the contending forces in society. Not just =
their=20
strength in numbers, or their strength in weapons, but their =
strength of=20
conviction, purpose and belief in their vision of the =
future. The=20
Bush administration has been preparing for its war on Iraq as though =
 nothing=20
in the world can stop it from going ahead. It has very big plans. =
Besides=20
having a completely grandiose view of achieving U.S. global =
supremacy, it is=20
trying to carry out a restructuring at home at the same time. It is =
hacking=20
away at what remains of social programs for the poor, privatizing =
government=20
workers in a direct attack on unions, raising racism against =
immigrants to a=20
new level, outlawing dissent, and trying to create such a climate of =
fear=20
that opposition to its lunge to the right will crumble. It =
certainly=20
has unequaled material resources for what it is doing, both =
 financial and=20
military. But it has a very, very big problem. The more that the =
people find=20
out what is coming down the pike, the more they are against =
it. Bush=20
never had a mandate for his right-wing policies. The Supreme Court =
 decided=20
he should be president after the debacle in Florida. He wasn't swept =
into=20
office on a flood of reaction, like the desperate times in Europe =
during the=20
Great Depression when fascist movements rallied huge crowds by =
attacking the=20
system, and took over promising radical reforms to a ruined =
people-- only=20
to line them up for a war to defend capitalism while channeling =
 their anger=20
into racist and anti-Semitic scapegoating and redbaiting. This is =
a=20
right-wing takeover from the top, carried out through the =
 established=20
political organizations of the capitalist class, which exist on =
lobbyists'=20
generous contributions. And big business isn't exactly popular right =
now, to=20
put it mildly. Not many workers are looking at the Kenneth Lays and =
other=20
millionaire executives as saviors for society's ills. Bush =
may pose=20
as the cowboy--another word for "man on horseback"?--who can ride =
roughshod=20
over his opponents and whip the herd in line. His billionaire =
backers like=20
that. But does he really have the tools for it? Isn't he relying on =
the=20
acquiescence, at the very least, of tens of millions whose lives =
will be=20
profoundly changed for the worse by what he is doing? The =
confidence=20
Bush exudes on stage--for his "public" appearances amount to nothing =
but=20
acting--is carefully scripted and rehearsed. Everything is =
predictably=20
phony. But behind that confident exterior, when he puts his feet up, =
don't=20
doubts seize him as he nibbles his pretzels? Certainly his =
class--known=20
rather unscientifically as the "business class" in popular =
parlance--is=20
showing extreme anxiety right now. Every Bush speech pushing his war =
program=20
has also pushed down the stock markets. His promises that the war =
will be a=20
pushover and that the reconstruction of Iraq--meaning setting up a =
political=20
structure for the methodical plunder of its massive oil =
resources--will be=20
quickly accomplished have not won them over. There is a lot of gloom =
and=20
doom in the boardrooms and markets these days, totally the opposite =
of the=20
 euphoria on Wall Street in the early years of the Vietnam War, when =
the=20
 markets hit new highs with every escalation of the war. No =
matter how=20
ideological they are, the politicos in the Bush camp have to be =
feeling=20
this, for these are their class brethren. In the anti-war camp, =
however,=20
the mood is different. There are political struggles, of course, and =
the=20
clarifying of many misconceptions as the movement goes forward. But =
the mood=20
among the people is upbeat and strong. There is a new sense of the =
power of=20
the masses, a new sense of what it means to be in solidarity with =
the=20
 hundreds of millions around the world who so much want a change in =
the=20
 relation of forces, so much want the political pendulum in the =
United=20
 States to swing to the left, to the workers, and away from the=20
 insatiable class of exploiters who will never be rich =
enough. Each=20
new lie from the government--whether it's on Iraq's "weapons of mass =

destruction" or a fiendish plot by immigrants to "destroy=20
America"-- immediately stirs up a legion of indignant people =
determined to=20
seek the truth and rebut the disinformation. Informed, thoughtful =
responses=20
race around the Internet. And these are not office-chair =
activists.=20
They are marching, organizing teach-ins, riding buses through the =
night to=20
national protests, getting on street corners and letting everyone =
know where=20
they stand. They have a strong, deep feeling that they are =
building a=20
movement that will change the world, and not in the way George W. =
Bush=20
intends. They have a passion for what they are doing that is based =
on=20
self-sacrifice, giving for a greater cause--the very thing that some =

columnists complain Bush is afraid to ask for. He has to lie to the =
people=20
that this war will be easy--because, on the bottom, those hired to =
carry out=20
his commands have no enthusiasm for what they are =
doing. Looking at=20
all these factors, the playing field is not so unequal after =
 all. -=20
END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to =
copy and=20
 distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not=20
 allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., =
NY,=20
 NY 10011; via e-mail: <A=20
href=3D"mailto:ww@wwpublish.com">ww@wwpublish.com</A>. Subscribe =
wwnews- <A=20
href=3D"mailto:on@wwpublish.com">on@wwpublish.com</A>. Unsubscribe <A=20
href=3D"mailto:wwnews-off@wwpublish.com">wwnews-off@wwpublish.com</A>. =
Support the=20
 voice of resistance <A=20
href=3D"http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php">http://www.workers.org/=
orders/donate.php</A>)</DIV></BODY></HTML>

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