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Activists Hang Anti-Bush Banner on Plaza Hotel On August 26, two activists rappelled down the facade of New York's landmark hotel to unfurl a 60-foot anti-Bush banner. To see photos and learn more, visit www.questionauthority.org. Photo by Jesse Wegman

I’m telling you, I can’t take much more of this. On the eve of the descent of the RNC upon New York, I’m a volatile mixture of anger, frustration, despair, a touch of giddiness and yes, even an awkward glimmer of hope.

For the past several months, I’ve been dragging my feet on what to do while they’re in town: to show up and voice my outrage at how unwelcome they are, how perverse it is for Bush, Cheney and the whole posse to do their touch-down dance at Ground Zero? Struggling with the expectation that they’re counting on me to be mad and expressing it, I waver. They’re anticipating my taking to the streets and frothing at the mouth. They’ve rehearsed how casual and nice they’ll act, how normal. I don’t want my body to be manipulated in a game of who seems more reasonable in such unreasonable times.

I’ve been talking with different friends. Some are vacating the city while the GOP does their dirty deed. Others are angry—really angry. “What’s to debate?” one friend huffed at me. “I’m mad and I need to let them know it. I can’t keep quiet anymore. How dare they come here? How can we not do anything?”

Indeed, it’s hard to even be reasonable at such a time.

But I went to the march past Madison Square Garden the Sunday before the GOP onslaught began, and it was very inspiring. Hundreds of thousands of people peacefully walked through the streets letting the Bush administration know they’re not welcome in our city.

You know, I really hate wincing when I hear the voice of the President of the United States. I voted for Ralph Nader in the last election. After Clinton tripped with the “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” nonsense and belly flopped with health care, and our great environmentalist Vice President was emasculated, I settled into being chronically disappointed with my president. For eight years my belly soured and eyes rolled involuntarily when I heard Clinton speak.

Now I get downright sick and epileptic when I hear that imposter’s voice, someone I don’t concede the title of President to. I just can’t stand it anymore.

I’m tired of feeling so dyspeptic. I can’t swallow any more evil—I mean it.

I don’t believe Kerry is the answer, but he’s a step toward solutions. Sure, the system needs to change but we need a regime change before much else can really happen. Although Bush’s immediate effect has been to galvanize the left to a certain degree, the overall outcome has been a profound toxicity. And we’ve got to change this. I mean really, how much more evil can we swallow before exploding?

Think about it. What if everybody could just take the next ten weeks to focus on one thing? If animal rights activists, environmentalists, human rights advocates, vegans, civil rights veterans, peace activists, gay and lesbian advocates, raw foodists, disabled folks, feminists—everyone with energy and experience collectively combined their elbow grease to get Bush out of the White House.

Start where you are and do what you can. It matters. Come 2005, we can expect payback—work together to repair the erosion and restore hope. We can continue to whine about how bad things are or we can roll up our sleeves and wade into the suffering and be the change we want the world to become. That’s how revolution happens. Right now, this is where we start.

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