By: Deborah Robinet
I had several different responsibilities with regard to organizing the march. I focused mainly on the speakers, the budget, the book signing, putting the program together, and the congress lobby and federal reserve picket. I was involved in other areas, but a few of these particular projects were my babies.
I enlisted in the 'call for duty' the day after Ray and Bryan put up the first Revolution March website (cheesy though it was - hehe - sorry guys), and they contacted me right away. That was in early February. We quickly formed the organization (Revolution Management Foundation) which also included Oyate, so that we could begin to take donations in order to fund the event. Catherine joined us a few months later. Apart from Ray and Bryan, none of us knew each other and met for the first time at the march.
The thing is, even though we were ready to go in the middle of February, we didn't know until around April 13th that we would be marching on July 12th! (Long story.) That only gave us 3 months to actually plan for this. Needless to say, we had to work every spare moment on this. My husband would come in the office at night and kiss the top of my head and then head off to bed while I worked late into the night. He's happy that we now go to bed at the same time. ;)
A couple of things stand out for me from this experience. The first one is, how incredibly supportive people are in the Freedom Movement. I've put on events in the past but never experienced the warmth and generosity that is to be found in lovers of freedom. The marchers, the speakers, the volunteers, everyone has been just incredible. The other thing I learned is that knowledge of our beloved Constitution is about the only thing we need to convince people to join us. It is the thing that brings us all together.
I witnessed this first hand with the DC cops when we picketed in front of the Federal Reserve. At first the cops there looked at us like we were nuts. I offered each of them a copy of our
Revolution March Programme and they politely declined, but after reading our signs, listening to our chants, and our messages on the bull horn, eventually one came over and asked for a few programmes. Shortly after that, a SWAT cop showed up and began asking questions. He too, took a program, and was very supportive - and we had no permit! (Another long story.) Their demeanor just changed, and their numbers declined. It was also noted that the cops at the rally the next day were paying close attention to the speakers, and even made some comments that indicated they knew what was up. Our group also had an impact when they lobbied Congress. We provided several Senators and Congressmen with research on
NAU Timeline - HCR40, and we planted seeds everywhere we went that week - from the halls of Congress, to the various DC police forces, to passersby. We made an indelible impression on D.C. that week.
That is our job, Freedom Lovers. To plant seeds of knowledge and awareness everywhere we go, and to nurture those seeds. RMF will now go to PHASE 2 and tell you how to do just that. Stay tuned.....
» NAU Timeline - HCR40
» Revolution March Programme
