You also get five hours of music, free food, good conversation and the opportunity to create an empowering space that describes a world where war is impossible, where democracy is participatory, not “representative” and where there is no separation between participants and organizers.

It’s been two years since the Bush administration decided to save the United States from being decimated by the fearsome weapons of Saddam Hussein…er, no…I mean issued a pre-emptive strike against the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam Hussein was attempting to build…er, no…I mean saved the world from the evil things that Saddam Hussein might possibly, at some unspecified time in the future, think about when he was having a really bad day and things were going poorly at the palace…er, no…I mean saved the Iraqi people from a cruel, oppressive secular Muslim (say what?) dictatorship…er no…what I really mean is…well you know, they do have all that oil.

And during the course of the past two years we have seen the increasing militarization of American culture – a culture in which things like torture, bombs and indefinite detentions have become normalized. The mainstream media airs programs discussing the pros and cons of these things as if they were options no more significant than making a choice between tea or coffee. Educated people can actually be found standing around water coolers and chatting about whether due process is OK for some, but not for others, whether it might be, in some circumstances, OK to strip prisoners naked and make them engage in degrading activities in order to make them…well, to make them do what is unclear, but what the hell, they probably deserve it…and whether killing 100,000 people in the absence of any evidence that they meant to harm you might be justified by such vague concepts as “promoting democracy” and “protecting U.S. interests.” These are clearly false choices that are no longer questioned thanks to the Bush cartel’s efficient propaganda machine, and yet otherwise sane, rational people can be found discussing them in the local luncheonette any day of the week.

For those of us who do question, however, an event like Saturday’s anti-war rally provides not only a forum for expressing our views, it provides us a chance to demonstrate what an alternative vision of the future might look like. In our alternative world, there are plenty of resources. Food is free, because we are all involved in its cultivation, preparation and distribution. In our alternative world, music is free because everyone can sing and dance and play instruments. Many of us have forgotten this fact, but it isn’t that hard to rediscover when everyone contributes something to the show. In our alternative world, the Christian Peacemaker team can co-exist peacefully with the Atheists of Florida because we understand that we have to find creative ways to make positive change even when our core philosophies are diametrically opposed. In our alternative world, people defuse violent situations by creating a space where decisions about how to resolve conflict and crisis can actually be made without a weapon.

If we wanted to describe the event, we could talk about how the event began at noon and ended at five. We could talk about the performances of each musician. We could tell you what people wrote on the anti-war mural and what they said at the open mike. We could talk about what food was prepared and what groups tabled and where we marched and what we chanted and whom we conversed with. But the event really didn’t begin at noon.

Did it begin when we started planning it, many weeks ago, sitting through hours of meetings, making phone calls and sending e-mails? Not really. Did it begin in this last hectic week of preparing food, printing flyers, making banners and band practices – a week in which no one slept, house work was neglected and people rushed from house to house doing last minute planning? Not really. Did it begin when the set up crews arrived in the park to hook up sound equipment, fill ice chests and hang signs? Not really.

The “event” actually began two years ago when we began to get to know each other and to learn to work together, to play together, to laugh and cry together and to build community. It began with a vision of alternatives to war and corporatism and living in a constant state of state-sponsored fear and loathing. And for many of us it began long before that, with a vague sense of something being very wrong with the world, and a burning in our hearts that would not, and will not now, let us rest until peace and justice are normalized and war and oppression are considered an aberrance that must be corrected through direct action, not water cooler conversations that revolve around how much pain and suffering another person should suffer in pursuit of of the U.S. business plan.

And the “event” did not end at five, either. It is, instead, an on-going dialog and a process that evolves and adjusts and grows, as all things containing life must in order to not merely survive, but thrive. And while this process will be marked by many events, both celebratory and solemn, it will not end until there is peace, not war, life not death, love not hate and food not bombs. And really, what better way to spend the rest of your life?

Thanks to all who made this event a reality…not just the organizers, but each and every participant.

In peace and solidarity,

Your St. Pete for Peace and St. Pete Food Not Bombs M19 organizers

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