As our moral and philosophical leader has stated over and over, "the message of freedom is popular". This is becoming more and more evident as our numbers grow and Americans join the freedom movement from all walks of life. This was quite obvious last Saturday as there were recovering democrats, recovering neo-cons, military service veterans, libertarians and plain folk all represented among us. Another group that made itself present were our brothers of color. It is wonderful these barriers broken down, and it once again proves that freedom and liberty know no borders, race or religion. This is also a stark reminder of our compassion not only for our liberty, but for one another.
While our strength in numbers has widely differed from various blogs and forums it is safe to say that approximately 11 - 12,000 attended the march. The numbers at the rally itself were hard to discern as many, many people lounged under the trees along the perimeter of the West Lawn, or even further away. Many were quite obviously coming and going, in all likelihood to escape the heat and or find refreshment. Due to security reasons vendors are not allowed on the capitol grounds. As it was brutally hot and humid the extreme weather conditions probably also led to many people simply leaving as the temperature rose. In any event the numbers at the rally probably averaged around 11,000 at the start and 6 - 7,000 after that, depending on the time of day or who was speaking.
In retrospect the march must be considered a huge success. One must keep in mind that this event was organized and financed by the grassroots and was not aided or assisted in any way from larger organizations. GCNLive.com did donate quite a lump sum to help in financing, and to them we extend our deepest thanks. This event was an excellent start on our way to mass mobilization. The timing proved perfect as it kept up the excitement surrounding us - falling almost perfectly in between Ron Pauls' suspension of his presidential campaign and the Campaign for Liberty Convention on Sept. 2nd in St. Paul, Minnesota. Timing also provided a silver lining in the dark cloud of the IndyMac Bank failure. Ironic how just 3 short days after the march Dr. Paul could not only be seen nailing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to the wall, but also appearing on 3 major mass media outlets.
Despite the fact that our mass media ignored us once again, let there be no doubt that Washington took note of our presence. It all began with the lobbying Congress on Friday morning. A member of the Conservative Caucus met us at the steps of the Capitol and aided us in navigating the halls of Congress, this assistance proved invaluable. We visited the offices of numerous Congressmen and Senators, looking for support of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 40, which would forbid the United States from entering into a union with Canada and Mexico, as well as the construction of a North American Corridor (Superhighway). To no surprise we were particularly warmly received at the office of Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Sen. (AZ) Jon Kyls' legislative assistants also spent over 30 Minutes with us discussing these very issues as well as some issues regarding energy. These gentlemen were extremely polite, informative and even sympathetic to our concerns. They made it clear, repeating numerous times how important it is that we visit our respective Senators and Congressmen - personally. They also made it clear that writing your Congressmen is also of utmost importance, and most do not differentiate from Email, fax or written letter. ONCE AGAIN - WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMEN ABOUT YOUR CONCERNS!!!
Friday afternoon the fun started. We gathered in front of the Federal Reserve Building on Constitution Ave. For the better part of four hours we chanted, picketed and were generally loud. When asked if they had demonstrations like this in the past, one Federal Reserve Police Officer responded, "never this many". At the start of the picketing we were approached by a Law Enforcement Officer who politely asked to see our permit and left with the comment, "you have every right to exercise the 1st Amendment". God knows it certainly needs some exercise in this day and age... One young man had a megaphone and stationed himself at the nearest stop light. Whenever the traffic stood for the red light he enlightened the drivers with creative, humorous slogans and chants. A few were covered in Monopoly money, demonstrating the continual fall of our Dollar.
Saturday was the day. The day thousands of R3VOLUTIONARIES descended up on the lawn of our Washington Monument and marched down Constitution Avenue in a show of solidarity with the principles upon which our nation was founded. A day that provided plenty of goose bumps, tears, and, well... sweat. Youtube is swarming with videos and the image galleries are springing up all over the Internet. Who needs CNN, or FOX or the rest of those clowns, we have US - the people, that is ALL we need. The march was certainly the highlight of the day and most definitely a showing of our passion and strength. Once we arrived at the West Lawn of the Capitol we were treated to a wonderful rendition of our National Anthem from Susan Wolfe, and the speakers took the stage. We were treated to numerous inspiring speeches, you can find a list of speakers we had by clicking "Rally Details" to your left. The days events culminated with the appearance of Dr. Paul - all of the sudden our numbers swelled, and the West Lawn was filled again with R3VOLUTIONARIES. As usual Dr. Paul provided us with the words we love to hear and the crowd showed its enthusiasm for his message of freedom.
Saturday evening at the Holiday Inn Capitol there was a book signing event in which G. Edward Griffin, Naomi Wolf, Thomas Woods Jr., Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace and numerous others graced us with their presence.
The R3VOLTUION March Foundation would like to extend its thanks to all those who attended these events and made them such a success. We would also like to thank the various law enforcement agencies who cleared streets, helped with medical emergencies and who even stood at attention as Susan Wolfe sang our National Anthem. They were polite and kept a very low profile. In some cases it was even obvious that they were with us, for they too must swear to uphold our Constitution.
We will now begin work on organizing mass mobilization squads and planning the next events. While we will abide by all laws and keep things peaceful, we are going to consider the addition of civil disobedience into the itineraries. With a now "veteran" unit of Marshals and planners the next events will allow us to learn from our mistakes as we carry forth the torch of freedom to the next level.
God Bless America
