November 2, 2005 Union Square Protest Against the Bush Regime Written by Eve Hyman (Photo courtesy of www.worldcantwait.net)

On November 2, 2005, New Yorkers converged on Union Square to protest "the Bush Regime." The protest was organized on the anniversary of the second election of George W. Bush. This protest went way past not being supportive of the Bush administration. The crowd wanted Bush impeached for “high crimes against humanity," like the war in Iraq and the torturous conditions at Guantanamo Bay. They were also outraged by the administrations failure to comply with international environmental standards and its new "abstinence only" policy that is obstructing the fight against AIDS across Africa. All of these acts by the Bush Administration were cited as criminal actions.

Unfortunately, the crowd who actually took to the streets of New York on November 2nd was mostly limited to students and retired people. Maybe everyone else couldn't afford to take off from work. The rally was organized by an organization called The World Can't Wait and was followed by a march uptown.

Groups of high school and college students from the five boroughs did walk out of school in protest and attended the rally. The word on the street was that up to one hundred were arrested for skipping school. According to some students, their defense was, "the military can target us for recruitment at school - we should have the right to speak out in protest." In the Bronx, one group was met by the truancy police just as they walked out the school door. But many from the Bronx and other New York City Schools did make it to Union Square to join in the rally.

Rally speakers included authors, lawyers, former high ranking military officers, scientists, aid workers and priests. Notable participants included former US Diplomat Ann Wright, Boston University Professor of Political Science Marc Raskin and Councilwoman Margarita Lopez. Speeches by playwright and performer Eve Ensler and author Howard Zinn were read to the crowd. Howard Zinn’s speech described our current political situation as "intolerable from a moral standpoint" and called for the public to "restore democracy in the United States." Additionally, there were community leaders from diverse groups, including Catholic priests and representatives from the Nation of Islam. There were also musical performances by Outernational and Kontrast.

The issues raised were broad, but the focus was clearly on ending the war in Iraq. One memorable speaker was from the mother of an enlisted soldier who had extended his service so as not to abandon his company. His message to her was to speak out and do her part to help bring all the soldiers home. The patriotic sentiment was strongly anti-war and anti Bush administration. But to this writer, that seems to be the sentiment of the nation at large. The frustration was as palpable from everyone at the rally as it is in Op Ed pieces across the country.

In my opinion, the rally raised broader issues as well like the issue of America's activities in the world community. When it comes to our current role in the international community, we as Americans may be guilty of strategic denial. If denial is looking straight ahead or not even making the effort to look around, strategic denial would be simply refuising to see something that is right before us. Can we be free of blame if we refuse to see what is going on?