May 1 is the next major nationwide day of action. The frame is Workers Over Billionaires. Events are already posted across the country, with more being added. Here is how to find yours.
The following excerpt is from a Washington Post Op-ed from 2020 regarding the Pandemic, but the lessons apply perfectly to opposing the current fascist takeover.
“Sacrifice is not easy and natural, but it can happen. And yet, the language of sacrifice faded in the aftermath of a more popular, more total and more demanding conflict for Americans. Following World War II, the “good war,” politicians, business leaders, unions and many Americans embraced the idea that mass consumption would drive economic prosperity. Even in the midst of the burgeoning Cold War, such a notion supplanted more collectivist notions of community and sacrifice, in part because those were increasingly stigmatized as “socialist” or “communist.” This offered an individualist reaffirmation of the nation’s democratic values and became central to American identity. Mass consumption and participation in the economy, not sacrifice, increasingly came to signal one’s patriotism.
The last military draft in the United States ended in 1973, and since then, service and sacrifice have been voluntary and borne unevenly. The fractures of national unity that came at the end of the Vietnam War and the distrust of government in the wake of Watergate helped to propel these changes. In their wake, collective sacrifice has been extolled by politicians but never urged, much less required. Instead, market logics and consumer-citizenship has been the default setting for how to practice engaged models of citizenship.
Shopping, traveling and showing confidence in the economy have come to define American citizenship and even responses to collective existential threats such as terrorism and emergencies, including deadly viral outbreaks.
The challenges the nation now faces are dire and require sacrifice, not consumption. The problem is that Americans have been actively discouraged by their leaders from making sacrifices in support of larger efforts — including wars, fossil fuel consumption, global warming, the Great Recession and the current pandemic. Confronting the looming public health, economic and climate challenges today requires a wholesale change in how citizens and the state conceive and construct a rhetoric as well as a practice of collective sacrifice.”
Christopher McKnight Nichols is professor of history and Woody Hayes Chair in national security studies at The Ohio State University. He is author of "Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age" and editor and author of "Rethinking American Grand Strategy" and "Ideology in U.S. Foreign Relations: New Histories” (Columbia UP, 2022).
The difficulty ahead is facing to choose your priorities. After decades of corporate controls, most Americans aren't willing to alter their lifestyles. Money politics have wrapped government in a cocoon of protected power. Even an army of citizens bent upon expunging this corruption will find it difficult. Am I hopeful? Yes. Will it take a lot of time? Sadly, yes, but remember it's taken quite a number of years to reach this perilous point. And those years were filled with dedicated people determined to destroy democracy. Now our devotion to the Democratic ideals of humanity must strengthen and endure. It's possible, but painful. However, remember anything worth having requires perseverance and patience. Never give up defending our freedoms.
In the 70’s & 80’s, unions in our area were accepted in all seriousness by the teachers and police. Negotiating salaries and benefits were not easy. We all pushed for change and responsibility for our actions and our jobs. Blue flu and cement pounding occurred and pressure did change the outcomes for the citizens and the workforce. Thanks to the support of the public, things changed. I see that occurring now. May 1st is important for ALL PROFESSIONALS and ALL WORKERS who want change. It will come. We all need to do something as a nation and not wait for a few. We each need to join together in democratic and peaceful ways now to make sure we get the changes we want and can sustain!
I love and support a nationwide strike. My concern is for the small, independent businesses that are hanging on by a thread. Are they expected to be closed, too? My community is full of mom and pop shops that are already on the verge of closing due to tariffs, the economy, and lower sales. I’m not sure they can take much more - or less in this case. Ideas?
There should be NO PLACE! The next general strike should be staying home.
It’s asking for problems to be out in the street where we ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE CONSUMING OR SPENDING!
I see your point.
Sacrifice is not easy
The following excerpt is from a Washington Post Op-ed from 2020 regarding the Pandemic, but the lessons apply perfectly to opposing the current fascist takeover.
“Sacrifice is not easy and natural, but it can happen. And yet, the language of sacrifice faded in the aftermath of a more popular, more total and more demanding conflict for Americans. Following World War II, the “good war,” politicians, business leaders, unions and many Americans embraced the idea that mass consumption would drive economic prosperity. Even in the midst of the burgeoning Cold War, such a notion supplanted more collectivist notions of community and sacrifice, in part because those were increasingly stigmatized as “socialist” or “communist.” This offered an individualist reaffirmation of the nation’s democratic values and became central to American identity. Mass consumption and participation in the economy, not sacrifice, increasingly came to signal one’s patriotism.
The last military draft in the United States ended in 1973, and since then, service and sacrifice have been voluntary and borne unevenly. The fractures of national unity that came at the end of the Vietnam War and the distrust of government in the wake of Watergate helped to propel these changes. In their wake, collective sacrifice has been extolled by politicians but never urged, much less required. Instead, market logics and consumer-citizenship has been the default setting for how to practice engaged models of citizenship.
Shopping, traveling and showing confidence in the economy have come to define American citizenship and even responses to collective existential threats such as terrorism and emergencies, including deadly viral outbreaks.
The challenges the nation now faces are dire and require sacrifice, not consumption. The problem is that Americans have been actively discouraged by their leaders from making sacrifices in support of larger efforts — including wars, fossil fuel consumption, global warming, the Great Recession and the current pandemic. Confronting the looming public health, economic and climate challenges today requires a wholesale change in how citizens and the state conceive and construct a rhetoric as well as a practice of collective sacrifice.”
Christopher McKnight Nichols is professor of history and Woody Hayes Chair in national security studies at The Ohio State University. He is author of "Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age" and editor and author of "Rethinking American Grand Strategy" and "Ideology in U.S. Foreign Relations: New Histories” (Columbia UP, 2022).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/12/07/americans-used-sacrifice-public-good-what-happened/
The difficulty ahead is facing to choose your priorities. After decades of corporate controls, most Americans aren't willing to alter their lifestyles. Money politics have wrapped government in a cocoon of protected power. Even an army of citizens bent upon expunging this corruption will find it difficult. Am I hopeful? Yes. Will it take a lot of time? Sadly, yes, but remember it's taken quite a number of years to reach this perilous point. And those years were filled with dedicated people determined to destroy democracy. Now our devotion to the Democratic ideals of humanity must strengthen and endure. It's possible, but painful. However, remember anything worth having requires perseverance and patience. Never give up defending our freedoms.
Yes, perseverance and patience. I see far too many in the resistance who are giving up already because nothing has worked.
In the 70’s & 80’s, unions in our area were accepted in all seriousness by the teachers and police. Negotiating salaries and benefits were not easy. We all pushed for change and responsibility for our actions and our jobs. Blue flu and cement pounding occurred and pressure did change the outcomes for the citizens and the workforce. Thanks to the support of the public, things changed. I see that occurring now. May 1st is important for ALL PROFESSIONALS and ALL WORKERS who want change. It will come. We all need to do something as a nation and not wait for a few. We each need to join together in democratic and peaceful ways now to make sure we get the changes we want and can sustain!
I have my sign, announcing "May Day 2026", that I hold at the 2 rallies I attend weekly. Just trying to get the word out there!!!
I love and support a nationwide strike. My concern is for the small, independent businesses that are hanging on by a thread. Are they expected to be closed, too? My community is full of mom and pop shops that are already on the verge of closing due to tariffs, the economy, and lower sales. I’m not sure they can take much more - or less in this case. Ideas?
Waiting for one close to me
👍👍👍MAY FIRST! US DEMS HAVE TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING!! RITEWING CHRISTO FASCIST DHEADS NEVER FALTER IN SPEWING THEIR HATE!
TO THE STREETS! 💙💙💙💙💙