The
Wisconsin Uprising II- Saving Wisconsin One
Song at a Time…
Actually, the title of
this section is misleading. The events,
often called the Wisconsin Uprising, which began in February, 2011 have never
really ended. They morphed from mass protests,
to recall efforts, and then to a series of smaller scale legal, political and
protest acts. Of the latter, the
Solidarity Sing was one of the more visible and certainly consistent
efforts. The relatively small number of
participants “occupied” the Rotunda, or the grounds of the capitol, every
weekday for 2+ years. Their always
peaceful voices, a visible presence keeping attention focused on the effort to
reclaim Wisconsin.
Despite claims by a small
number of legislators and public commentary fueled by rhetoric from far right
mouthpieces, the Sing was a relatively non-invasive protest that gave voice to
the movement. Yet, its ongoing presence
was a constant thorn in the side of conservative leadership, and they
perpetually looked for ways to eliminate the Singers.
This opportunity presented
itself in the form of a court ruling that they could misinterpret and
manipulate to allow them to crack-down on the Singers and issue citations for
what they deemed an “Unlawful Assembly” (a true oxymoron given that the
Constitutions of both the U.S. and Wisconsin guarantee the right of the people
to assemble).
Now, several weeks into
the crack-down, with the arrest total mounting, the administration finds itself
facing a committed group of activists who have garnered support as a result of
the efforts to eliminate them. The
administration faces the choice of either admitting they made a mistake in
restricting free speech, or in escalating their efforts. Given the history of this administration it
is clear that they don’t even see the fact that they have a choice, escalation
of the intimidation is a given for these policy makers.
In the face of this
intimidation, many across Wisconsin
have rallied behind the singers.
You can also support the Singers through contributions to
help with the costs of being cited by Capitol Police. All donations go towards helping with things
like:
- Jury Fees
- Serving Subpoenas
- Printing Transcripts
- Court Filing Fees
- Fines
solidaritysingalong.org
The efforts of the
administration to curb dissent are actually having the opposite effect. The injustice of their enforcement of the
court ruling has galvanized support for the Singers and also given a voice to
the ongoing concerns that many in Wisconsin
have about our current conservative leadership.
Time has not lessened the
need for citizens to be aware of what their elected leaders are doing here and
across the nation. The threats to
democracy and the values espoused in our founding documents are significant. No matter what your political persuasion may
be, the actions of the current administration move us in a very dangerous
direction; One where the voice of the people is limited and those in power are
free to use whatever means they desire to advance their agendas.
The singers aren’t calling
for radical revolutionary change. Their
pleas are for a Wisconsin
where the citizens of the state can voice their opinions without fear of
reprisal and where dissent isn’t suppressed.
They sing for a return to a Wisconsin
that was a model for cooperative and ethical government. The efforts of the conservative administration
to label the Singers as radicals and Socialists and to divide our state along
political, social and economic lines are harmful to all of us. The sooner that the citizens of Wisconsin recognize this
reality the sooner we can get on a path that leads to true prosperity.
Defend
Our Public Schools…
The myth of the radical
Singers and the “anti-American” nature of the Uprising are one way that those
who hold the purse-strings of our government seek to maintain their dominance
in society. Privatizing our education
system provides another opportunity to make a profit and divide the citizens at
the same time. The profit motive is clear
and easy to observe. There is a lot of
money to be made in education for those who are interested in profit instead of
providing a vital service.
In order to break into the
education “industry” it is necessary to undermine the people’s confidence in
the public schools. This is a process
that has been going on for a long time, and the reality is that our public
school systems across the nation vary greatly in terms of curriculum, materials
and other resources that contribute to the gaps in student achievement. It is clear that we need to address the
inequities that exist, but the idea that privatization will help do this is
simply not borne out by evidence.
The implementation of
high-stakes testing mandates allowed the “reformers” to gather data on what
professional educators had been talking about for years. They used this data, not to try and improve
the quality of education for students, or to give educators a fighting chance
to succeed, but rather to move their for-profit “reforms” into the forefront of
educational debates. “Reformers” have
worked hard to circumvent professional educators and remove their voices from
discussions about educational policy.
The solution offered by
for-profit “reformers” is to cut funding for public schools, expand voucher
programs and increase the number of private options for families. Their claim is that this will provide choice
for families to allow them to find a path for their children to get an
education that will allow them to escape poverty. Yet, there is little compelling evidence that
the current system of privatization and vouchers does anything but provide
opportunities to those who already enjoyed the benefits of an upper-middle (or
higher) class existence. Groups that
struggle in the current under-supported public schools are either excluded, or
ignored by for-profit schools.
The argument that competition
will improve the quality of service provided by schools simply doesn’t hold
water either. Instead of driving
innovation and spurring competition that pushes educational outcomes higher for
students, the competition simply fuels marketing campaigns to mislead and
attract families to send their children to the school with the best
advertisements and most “perks”.
We end up with schools
that are run like businesses, including higher CEO pay and fewer reasons for
quality employees to stay in positions that truly benefit children and improve
their educational outcomes.
These
separate and unequal school systems produce significantly different
results. It is important to note that
these differences perpetuate the widening gaps in opportunity and economic
success based on race.
Parents
are confused and frustrated by the barrage of information and negative
portrayals of the schools that they are often most comfortable with. Schools, when given proper support and when held
accountable in meaningful and reasonable ways, provide excellent educational
opportunities for our students. As
educators we must continue to work to educate our communities and build support
for our public schools. Just like the
Solidarity Sing draws attention to the political ills of our state, so to,
educators need to bring the issues in our educational system into the public’s
consciousness.
The
Industries of Fear, Misinformation, and “Bargains”…
Politics and education are
not the only places where we see those in power using their influence to insure
that they stay dominant politically, socially and economically. As a society we are seeing many tools being
used to manipulate the ways that we see the world around us. One of the most powerful of these tools is
fear. If you spend any time carefully
observing advertisements or media outlets of any type you can see the way that
fear is used to generate a perceived need for a service or product. Fear can also be used effectively to create
opposition for a policy, candidate or movement.
The idea that we need to act/think in a specific way in order to hold on
to what we have, or even to survive is a powerful motivational or manipulative
tool. We are constantly being told that
our way of life is threatened by some outside force.
Fear can be generated in
many ways, but misinformation is one of the most powerful and effective ways to
manipulate public opinion. Giving people
partial information or even totally incorrect information means that they will
base their decisions on faulty foundations.
For example, perceptions of the protests at the capitol in 2011 were
forever tainted in the minds of some by the claim of millions of dollars in
damages, claims that were later proved to be totally false. Now we are seeing fear and misinformation
used to try and create a sense that many of the reforms and existing programs
that are helpful to so many people are actually damaging to our economy. This same type of rhetoric is used to support
policies that are truly having a negative impact on our state.
Media coverage of these
claims focuses on one side of the story.
For example, when talking about the reductions in employees hired, or
hours that employees work because of upcoming changes in health insurance laws
few articles discuss the fact that many larger companies are enjoying record
profits at the expense of these same workers.
It is up to consumers (of
all things including information) to be aware of the true costs and benefits of
their “purchases”. What looks like a
bargain, may not be one in the long run.
Do your homework and develop a complete understanding of what you are
being sold.
www.upworthy.com
The key to reclaiming Wisconsin continues to
be making accurate information available and educating as many people as
possible with complete and truthful material.
If people have the facts then they can make truly informed decisions
that are in their best interests as well as the rest of society's.
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