{"id":809,"date":"2015-02-19T13:03:20","date_gmt":"2015-02-19T21:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourneyofconscience\/?p=809"},"modified":"2015-02-20T09:12:43","modified_gmt":"2015-02-20T17:12:43","slug":"my-first-protest-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourneyofconscience\/2015\/02\/19\/my-first-protest-rally\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Protest Rally"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"At<\/a>Just thought I\u2019d write a little report about my first protest rally. I\u2019m guessing my readers will fall into two basic categories with respect to protests: Either you have attended them before and they\u2019re no big deal to you, or you haven\u2019t attended one before and they present awkward, uncharted territory. Until yesterday I was in the second category.<\/p>\n

The rally was pretty cool and only took a little over an hour. It was held at noon next to the offices of our U.S. representative and senator, and protested the effort to \u201cfast track\u201d a new international trade agreement through congress. The agreement is the Trans-Pacific Partnership<\/a> (TPP) and comes along with the false promises \u201cfree\u201d trade deals have carried in the past. According to the government site<\/a> about it, it will \u201cboost U.S. economic growth, support American jobs, and grow Made-in-America exports to some of the most dynamic and fastest growing countries in the world.\u201d These claims are made despite the fact that \u201cfree\u201d trade agreements have historically served only to increase the bottom line of multinational corporations. Trade agreements do this by allowing multinational corporations to operate \u201cfree\u201d of democratically created laws and tariffs that are designed to support local economies, protect the environment, and prevent jobs and capital from being shipped overseas and given to the lowest bidder.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been working my way through Naomi Klein\u2019s book,\u00a0This Changes Everything<\/em><\/a>, and one of the strongest take-home messages I\u2019ve gotten from the book is that free trade agreements are one of the biggest obstacles to doing anything about climate change. The agreements actually allow corporations to sue governments over any kind of restrictions or legislation that they find to be \u201cprotectionist\u201d or that in any way \u201crestrict trade\u201d (meaning, their ability to make maximum profits).<\/p>\n

Then I find out that a\u00a0new<\/em> trade agreement is in the works? It\u2019s daunting enough thinking of how existing agreements can be altered or dismantled. And then they are trying to \u201cfast track\u201d the agreement through congress, which means speeding up the process, minimizing review and debate, and forbidding any amendments. The development of the TPP has occurred in secret, with the full text of the agreement being withheld from the public and even the lawmakers who will be voting on it.<\/p>\n

It felt great to be able to do\u00a0something<\/em> \u2013 to speak with my physical presence and my voice \u2013 rather than simply wait until the next election to vote for someone based on their promises. We held signs, chanted, marched in and out of our U.S. representative\u2019s office, marched to the public space outside the senator\u2019s office, and listened to speeches. The whole thing was well organized and easy to participate in. Our U.S. representative and senator will find out that people rallied next to\u00a0their offices about this, and they\u2019ll know their actions around this issue will not go unnoticed.<\/p>\n

Being unused to protests and somewhat unfamiliar with this particular issue, I went to the rally as an individual citizen rather than as a Zen priest. Meaning I didn\u2019t wear anything that could identify myself as a priest. In the future, I may consider doing so because of an example I encountered during this rally.<\/p>\n

One of the speakers was Rev. Kate Lore, the \u201cMinister of Social Justice\u201d at our largest local Unitarian congregation. Wow \u2013 a Social Justice Minister<\/i>? How cool is that? The Unitarians don\u2019t just get involved and speak up about social and political issues, they even have a minister devoted to that activity! Although Rev. Lore wasn\u2019t wearing any religious gear to identify her, she clearly identified herself and her faith in her speech. Here\u2019s an excerpt (I asked her for her copy afterwards):<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy, some may ask, would a minister be speaking at a rally to oppose a trade deal? What does trade policy have to do with church, after all? Well, let me tell you: People of faith are taught to care for \u2013 and stand up for \u2013 the poor and the exploited. If the TPP passes, we will have even MORE people living in poverty, and there will be even MORE exploitation of workers. People of faith are taught to see creation as a sacred gift of God. If the TPP passes, there will be even more fossil fuel use and pollution. People of faith uphold the inherent worth of every person, and yet, if the TPP passes, even more human rights abuses will go unchecked.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think I need to interview Rev. Lore about how the Unitarians do social justice!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just thought I\u2019d write a little report about my first protest rally. I\u2019m guessing my readers will fall into two basic categories with respect to protests: Either you have attended them before and they\u2019re no big deal to you, or you haven\u2019t attended one before and they present awkward, uncharted territory. Until yesterday I was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2173,"featured_media":811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[13,17,27,31,74,58],"class_list":["post-809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-taking-action-in-person","tag-activism","tag-climate-change","tag-engaged-buddhism","tag-global-warming","tag-protest","tag-social-action"],"yoast_head":"\nMy First Protest Rally<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Just thought I'd write a little report about my first protest rally. 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