Drake Dunaway
Conservative Woodstock
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By Drake Dunaway
September 23, 2009


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Throughout classical history, victorious armies would parade back to their capitals in glory and pomp, much like the generals of Rome, the Nazis of the Reich, Mussolini's "march on Rome," and various other shows of pomp and circumstance. Given that most of these displays were managed by the army and funded from municipal treasuries, the case could be made that all of Caesar's triumphs over Gaul and Britain were manufactured astroturf. Fittingly, such public spectacles were made to cater to the vulgar predilections of the landless mob.

This was not a mob that made their presence felt in DC on 9/12. They were property owners, parents, and middle class workers. I saw no bigots (at least for my part) not a single outburst of violence and no arrests reported (unlike the "civil discourse" of peace protesters). They paid to arrive in DC, taking time out of their busy schedules, work, and domestic obligations. They were not ginned up by an autocrat as Glenn Beck did not directly organize it; rather he handed it off. And unlike the plush Pro-Obama signs, perfect, clean, and sent from the White House directly to union drones to be printed, the signage was homemade. And after hundreds of thousands of people (possibly millions) shut down Washington DC, marching on a domestic issue for the first time in their lives, the Liberals in Congress have fallen out of touch with the rhythm and blues, and now have some serious trouble accusing us of orchestrating theatrics while phoning in the funk. And unlike the militarist triumphs of ancient generals, this vast army marched not in adulation, but reproach. Peacefully.

I left on a chartered bus Thursday night (utterly sleepless and rickety, I might add) with a Fair Tax group, and then we arrived Friday morning at a Marriot in Alexandria, VA. After unpacking and filing into the Metro, we headed to a protest with Republican wunderkind Jonathan Chrone in front of the oddly majestic IRS Building. I guess that I like the façade, but not the use. Throughout the day, we perambulated through the city and carried our signs with us as we visited congressional offices. I would note that the career residents of DC were passively hostile, either stone faced or snickering in their suits and ties, and I witnessed that young pages and congressional aides fought to contain smiles and laughter as they pushed by us. I even received a few brusque shoulder bumps from people hurrying by and curtly muttering "excuse me!" The hate was palpable. I saw Liberals on defense in their progressive Jerusalem, and they were visibly scared while deftly concealing it behind mockery.





The night before, I called my muñeca for some warm words as I headed off to bed. Yet in spite of the cheer infusion, I felt lingering doubt as to how many people would make a showing the following day. That said, a thought occurred to me: "I am a very political spectator, while most people are not. I take for granted that myself and my close cadre all swim in an idea universe, but I never take into account that most people never give my enjoyable pursuit a second thought." I shook off the instinct to feel austere contempt for the sheeple whom I judge deserve a master, but was nonetheless troubled that such an apathy could matriculate into the ranks of our movement, or that Conservatives are just more satisfied and placid than Liberals. That in mind, I went to bed with a furrowed brow regarding the turnout.

I woke up and threw down a hearty (steeply overpriced) breakfast at the Alexandria Marriott, and then carried off my sign to DC (I mean, I got dressed... but I felt that went without saying). We pushed through the Eisenhower terminal and poured out of the Metro into Freedom Plaza as seen below:

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=freedom+plaza+dc&fb=1&gl=us&hq=freedom+plaza&hnear=dc&cid=0,0,12406375467194264826&ei=48W2SsnZB8zk8Qao1cyTDw&ll=38.895763,-77.030629&spn=0.002605,0.005681&t=h&z=18

Adulation, anger, and an undulating roar echoed off of the city's granite walls and caverns like an ancient hippodrome. Within minutes, I found myself immersed in a sea of protesters. Signs bore the hammer and sickle of the Soviet Union, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Obama's profile as the Joker, American flags, the Gadsden Flag, and some Marine and Army banners as well. We assembled, and then marched directly to the Capitol Dome, with Georgia's group directly out in front. A marching band and drum line led the procession, clad as colonial minutemen, thundering out battle hymns of yore. The march continued as thousands blurted "we don't pledge allegiance to socialists!" and "we need a government small enough to fit into the Constitution!"





Filing into the Mall, I had front row seats to the Capitol and listened as guest speakers crowded the stage and added their two cents. After each one, the host asked "CAN YOU HEAR US NOW!!?" to which the hundreds of thousands of angry Americans would belt a nuclear blast in choral apostrophe.

As I headed home, I felt in the dark as to how our coverage was on the news. I figured automatically that MSNBC and CNN would simply downplay us or call us "white." I heard C-Span give an estimate of 2.5 million marchers and I heard of city police services giving an estimate of 1.5 million. Some numbered us in the hundreds of thousands. Either way, I felt that we were being given the cold shoulder in light of my remembrance of the Million Man March on DC in 1995 and its enduring publicity. In weight of the raw numbers I saw, I honestly felt in my heart that we were grossly under-assessed. The Left was scared. If anything, this event will highlight the diminished credibility of the Big 3 networks. After all, many of the signs themselves poked fun at these outlets, evidencing that the public consciousness over journalistic hackery had reached peak game.





On cue, Liberal dirtbag David Schuster mocked us all as white fogies, and shockingly so did Bill O'Reilly in a less tone-deaf fashion. And all this from the same crowd that applauded the Million Man March's own racial motivations and dismisses that ACORN disproportionately represents blacks. Being middle-aged is not a crime nor a shame as the mainstream media would have you believe, as most people in that class have earned their living and stripes by that point in life. Somehow age and whiteness are a smear of shame to the cult of youth, and as the old 60s T-shirts bragged "Never Trust Anyone over 30" has become the new rallying cry of the Left. For the millions of seniors who vote, they may want to reassess their allegiance to the Crats.

Idea Bomb: Where were Nancy Pelosi's tears when a pro-life protester was recently shot to death? Where were her tears when Kenneth Gladney was beaten by SEUI thungs? Where were her tears when a townhaller had his finger bitten off by an Obamaton?

Ok. Now where was I?


Time will make fools of the potentates who ignore armies on the march. It has been so throughout history and will continue to be so until the end of time. Most of the people I did see there did not seem like the typical activists; not the class that votes and receives for a living, and so the surrealistic sprawl of their numbers was absolutely staggering and biblically reminiscent. Unlike the self-indulgent youth of Woodstock, who waded in feces and tripped on acid while wife-swapping (those who did actually commit to spouses), we didn't leave too much of a mess behind us as we left to turn out the lights and headed home. All and all, history will be the judge, and I think that after seeing this many conservatives and independents mobilized, 2010 will be judgment day for the DNC. It took 8 years for the RNC to fall from grace, while less than 4 for the Dems to do the same. And if they manage to beat our rather slow track record into unpopularity, then who says that Leftists never strive to be #1 at something?

 See Drake's website at www.thedrakingpoint.com

© Drake Dunaway

 

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Drake Dunaway

Drake Dunaway was born in Kettering, Ohio, in 1982, and currently works in Atlanta for a large company doing semi-important tasks. Drake enjoys classical history and literature, studies pertaining to Western Civilization, cartooning, and unapologetically believes in American Exceptionalism... (more)

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