TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
| COMMENTARY  |  25
It's time for nation
to stand together
for jobs, education


JESSE JACKSON
In Washington this Saturday,
    I will join tens of thousands
    of Americans to march for
jobs, justice and education. The
march is called together under
the banner of One Nation: Work-
ing Together, a large coalition of
more than 400 organizations.
    Why do we march? We march
for hope. We've seen the politics
of fear. Fear that America is in
permanent decline. Fear that
America is being changed for the
worse. Fear that the president is
not a citizen.
    One Nation calls us back to
positive purpose. This nation
can't go return to the ideas that
drove us off the cliff. We can't al-
low entrenched interests to con-
trol our government and weaken
the common good. We can't lis-
ten to those who stand in the
way of change.
      The vast majority of Ameri-
cans understand the need for re-
form. We have to create jobs and
put people to work, invest in re-
newable energy and capture a
lead role in the green industrial
revolution that is sweeping the
globe. We need to empower
workers and hold bankers ac-
countable.
    We can't be misled by mislead-
ing arguments. Consider the de-
bate about taxes. Under the
Obama proposal, the wealthiest
Americans -- those who make
more than $250,000 -- will get
the same tax breaks as everyone
else on the first $250,000 of their
income. But it doesn't make
sense to borrow an extra $700
billion over the next decade to
give them an additional tax
break for the money they make
over $250,000.
    We march for the unity that is
the strength of our diversity --
young and old, black and white,
yellow and brown, men and
women, immigrants of different
generations, small business own-
ers and workers, teachers and
students, the poor and the afflu-
ent, people of all faiths. A quilt
like my mother used to make:
many patches of many colors
and textures, bound together by
a common thread to make some-
thing of beauty and warmth.
      We choose common ground
over racial battlegrounds. We
march so that children -- all
children -- can have a fair and
healthy start in life, and a world-
class education from pre-K to
college. We march so that work-
ers -- all workers -- can fairly
share in the profits and produc-
tivity that they help to create.
    The New York Times suggests
that our agenda is as extensive as
our coalition, but we know the
big changes we need. Jobs now. A
commitment to world-class edu-
cation for all. Justice even for the
powerful; opportunity even for
the poor. We represent an Amer-
ica confident enough to address
the challenges it faces and over-
come the powerful interests and
lobbies that stand in the way.
    This march will reflect the
emerging reform majority that
showed its potential in 2008.

This march will
reflect the
emerging reform
majority that
showed its
potential in '08



    That majority is committed to
transforming America, not tak-
ing it back to an idealized past
that never existed. That major-
ity works for a government by,
for and of the people, not an in-
strument for the moneyed and
the powerful. We've heard the
voices of reaction. We share the
same anger about our current
condition, but like our founders
and each succeeding generation,
we look to make America better,
not take it backward.
    So this Saturday, we will
march to revive hope. When our
spirits are broken, our faith sur-
renders. So we must march. We
can survive broken sidewalks
and broken buildings. We cannot
survive the collapse of spirit. In
these difficult hours, you can't
fight fate with fists and guns. You
fight fate with faith. Faith is the
substance of what is hoped for,
evidence of what is unseen. Even
with our backs against the wall,
we can see a new heaven and a
new earth -- the old one passes
away. We have been down, but
the ground is no place for a
champion. We are one nation, if
we make it so. We are a nation of
hope if we keep hope alive. And
so we march on 10-2-10, and we
will march to the polls on 11-2-10.