Taking my own advice that we need to intensify our struggles for peace, social and economic justice in the New Year, I sent out the following statement to fellow Justice Party members about the Idle No More movement now sweeping the continent and the world:
As a member of the National Steering Committee of the Justice Party I would like to share my concerns at this moment of a growing people's upsurge against racism and poverty.
The Justice Party and its members and friends should have a statement of solidarity for the Idle No More movement which started in Canada and has now spread across the border into the US.
It wouldn't hurt for Rocky Anderson and a delegation from the Justice Party and our friends to go meet with Chief Spence up in Canada.
We should be articulating a position that if poverty can't be addressed and solved on the Indian Reservations in Canada and the United States, poverty isn't going to be addressed or solved anyplace in Canada or the United States.
People without jobs are going to be poor, and as long as Bay Street and Wall Street are in power where their unlimited greed establishes their neo-liberal agenda of exploiting labor and raping Mother Nature, the only two sources of wealth this is not going to change.
Nations whose natural resources are continually stolen are going to be poor.
Nations whose waters, lands and air are continually polluted are going to be sick.
The phony liberals, progressives and leftists supporting Obama wanted us to ignore the fact Obama is a neo-liberal and have concocted the crazy idea that there are "high road" and "low road" capitalists (good and bad capitalists) with Obama representing the "high road capitalists" and now that this "thinking" has been exposed as being a warped way of thinking these phony liberals, progressives and leftists are pushing the idiotic concept and idea that Obama and his Wall Street entourage represent some kind of "left neo-liberalism;" a neo-liberalism that works for the common good.
All of this is done in the name of the imperialist ideology first advanced by John Dewey--- pragmatism--- which justified imperialist wars abroad accompanied by repression of the working class struggles here at home--- provided the Wall Street crowd scattered a few crumbs intended to silence the people when it came to these "dirty imperialist wars" as Mark Twain so aptly and appropriately labeled them.
These dirty imperialist wars are making us all poor with those already having been forced into racist poverty getting a double dose of poverty from these dirty wars.
Anyone with an ounce of common sense understands that poverty intentionally inflicted, pushed and forced on the Native peoples of Canada and the United States is made even worse when the wealth of our Nations is squandered on militarism and wars because it is that wealth which should be used to solve the problems of poverty on the Reservations and urban areas populated by Native peoples.
First Occupy Wall Street, and now, Idle No More, are challenging Wall Street's and Bay Street's neo-liberal agenda intended to reap huge super-profits from militarism and wars perpetrated in order to maximize and accumulate greater wealth all of which is created by labor with no small amount of help from Mother Nature; again, labor gets exploited as Mother Nature gets raped--- and what we, the people, reap is more poverty with the poorest of the poor suffering the worst consequences.
Wall Street and Bay Street must be challenged for power--- in the streets, at the ballot box, in our communities and where we work and go to school; all across Canada and the United States.
The racism of poverty must be exposed and addressed.
Will Occupy Wall Street and Idle No More find a voice reflecting and representing their movements at the ballot box which they feel comfortable becoming a part of? Only if we are among them in their struggles--- both movements should be able to find a political home in the Justice Party just as the most forward thinking activists among these movements find a political home in the New Democratic Party (NDP) in Canada.
The NDP was the first political party to reach out to Chief Spence in support and solidarity; the Justice Party should follow this example.
Why not consider a Justice Party initiated car caravan across the United States going into Canada through International Falls, Minnesota or Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to meet with Chief Spence?
Perhaps request the Green Party, Socialist Party and others join with us?
If the Justice Party doesn't take the lead as a political party in this country in solidarity with Idle No More; who will?
I would point out that neither the Democratic Party nor its partners in the leadership of organized labor have taken the kind of active role in supporting Idle No More as the Canadian Labour Congress and the New Democratic Party in Canada have done.
Even here in Minnesota where the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party has a new super majority--- a Democratic Governor along with solid majorities in the Minnesota State House and Minnesota State Senate (all claiming the "progressive" label);brought to power largely using the campaign profits derived from Indian Gaming; even with this super majority we don't hear these Democrats placing ending racism and poverty on their legislative agenda as the new legislative session convenes on January 8, 2013. Shouldn't a united Idle No More/Occupy Wall Street action be considered for this opening session of the Minnesota State Legislature with the demand for the eradication of poverty and racism be placed at the very top of their legislative agenda?
Politicians in both Canada and the United States--- like here in Minnesota--- have taken hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from Indian Gaming and then turned their backs in racist indifference to the racist poverty they have been imposing on the Native Peoples.
The Democrats pushed Occupy Wall Street into actions "leading" away from the seats of political power; the Justice Party should be seeking alliances with Idle No More and Occupy Wall Street along with rank-and-file working class activists in order to achieve political power; to bring the people to political power--- and ultimately economic power.
Politicians from around the world met twelve years ago at the turn of the Century to issue the "Millennium Declaration" which was supposed to be a call for the elimination of poverty by 2020; does anyone believe these politicians with their dirty imperialist wars carrying out Wall Street's and Bay Street's neo-liberal agenda will do anything except make poverty worse?
Occupy Wall Street opened the door to challenge Wall Street and Bay Street for power; Idle No More has pushed that door open even wider. Wall Street and Bay Street are pushing back from the other side of the door trying to prevent the people from coming to power.
Let's help Chief Theresa Spence and Idle No More kick open wide the doors of the Canadian Parliament and crush the reactionary Conservatives led by the racist neo-liberal Stephen Harper so the voices of the First Nation's Peoples will be heard and acted upon--- justice requires we do no less; in the process of struggle and solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada we help open the doors to political and economic power for working people in both Canada and the United States.
Bay Street and Wall Street are our common enemies; let's unite to drive these greedy racists from political and economic power. People and the environment must come before the profits of Bay Street and Wall Street.
--
Alan L. Maki
Director of Organizing,
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnesota 56763
Phone: 218-386-2432
Cell: 651-587-5541
Primary E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net
E-mail: alan.maki1951mn@gmail.com
Blog: http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/