ROLLING THUNDER OR ROLLING OVER? So here we are at Seattle Rolling Thunder, an event that aims to carry on the tradition of the chautauqua. The chautauqua was born in the late 1800’s in the US, and was, at its best, a righteous populist festival that brought together poor farmers and workers to become educated and have fun celebrating rebellion while continuing the struggle for social justice. Ralph Nader embraces the spirit and values of chautauqua in his lifelong fight for justice and democracy. Unfortunately many of the organizers and speakers for today’s event intend to channel the energy here towards electing the likes of John Kerry, a candidate who stands for so much that is antithetical to that chautauqua spirit. While the heroes of vintage chautauquas such as Eugene Debs were thrown in prison for opposing unjust wars, Kerry voted for the Iraq war and plans to send thousands more troops to Iraq. He now says he may keep them there even longer than Bush intends to. While chautauquas have traditionally championed the causes of those fighting oppression, John Kerry supports Israel’s building its repressive wall right through Palestinian territory. From the Patriot Act to the WTO and NAFTA, from the drug war to the military budget, from welfare cuts to corporate tax cuts, most of Kerry’s politics are dead-set against the interests of poor and working people here and abroad. Someone espousing such politics to a chautauqua past might be lucky to escape without being tarred and feathered. Why then, is Kerry being supported here today instead of Nader? The reason, of course, is that many believe that they must vote for Kerry to defeat George Bush, who they feel must be ousted whatever the cost. Their horror at the evils perpetrated by Bush and his cronies has made them desperate to get rid of him. Desperation, however, rarely leads to wise decisions. Anyone claiming to be for peace and social justice who backs a candidate who thoroughly supports war, militarism and repression as does Kerry has seriously lost their bearings, whatever their motivation. Those who believe in the chautauqua spirit need to continue to intelligently and creatively work for peace and social justice while telling the truth about what corporate control is doing to our planet. It is also important to popularize alternative visions of how things could be done so much better. These are the aims of the Nader/Camejo campaign. Please check out the details in the campaign literature available here today and at the www.votenader.org website. Another great source for vital information is the movie “The Corporation” and its website www.thecorporation.com . “I’D RATHER VOTE FOR WHAT I WANT AND NOT GET IT, THAN VOTE FOR WHAT I DON’T WANT, AND GET IT.”—Eugene Debs