Monologues of Dissent: Wisconsin Children's Union

Friend of MoD Cathi Teeter McCutchan shared this wonderful story with me and I just had to pass it on. Cathi's 9-year-old was given a spelling assignment to complete at home. As a child of the Wisconsin Renaissance, he refused to accept the hypothetical situation the project proposed and set out instead to set the injustice right:

Directions: Your favorite store is going out of business. Write an e-mail to a friend about your last visit to the store. (He didn't like this and objected to a business having to close. So he made a little change ;-)

Answer: “Last Friday, my favorite store nearly went out of business. And do you think I’m going [to let] a store discountinue just because of budget cuts and a refund policy? Absoultly not! We had to hold protests and we even had to rearrange premisses. By Sunday people had donated $1,500! What was kind of unsual because it was that exact number, and not a dollar more. And that is how I saved a store.”

So the next time you're feeling overwhelmed by all the work that still needs to be done, or the next time someone tells you we aren't going to win this battle, just remember: we've already won. The proof is in the next generation. Our children know what's at stake. They know there's no "budget cut" so big we have to sacrifice our communities to fix it. They know we have to fight for what is right, and they know we have to do it together. And, most of all, they have the confidence that proves we cannot lose. And that is how we saved Wisconsin.

Click here to download the part-color version.
Now available on cafepress - buttons, stickers and more! http://www.cafepress.com/WIChildrensUnion

Dear supporters of children's rights and protectors of Wisconsin's future,

Of all the rally signs I've made, my favorite is the "Wisconsin Children's Union" one. I chanced across this picture (at right) of my daughter and me at a snowy February rally in Madison on WEAC's facebook page. Since I keep getting requests to share it, I'm providing it here it is for easy copy/pasting and borrowing of any kind (see below for other versions). If you've got better skills and want the original version for editing, be my guest. Just email me and I'll send the file.

This sign is my favorite because it's a constant reminder that this fight is not about the money, and it's not about the budget. It's about our rights, and it's about our future.

The struggle in Wisconsin is about labor, for sure. It's about protecting workers' rights and ensuring that current and future generations will have a say in their own lives. But it is also about draconian cuts to education and basic health care services that affect our children directly.

In the early days of this uprising and continually since, Wisconsin teachers have stood together and given our children the best lesson in civics we could have asked for: teaching them that democracy means standing up for what's right when it's time to stand. As a parent, I continue to teach that lesson every time my children join me at the Capitol, every time they see me sending a letter to our elected officials, every time we talk to each other, and to friends, neighbors and others in our community, about how important it is for us to stand up for our rights. I am proud to have my children join me in this struggle, and I can only hope that these moments of solidarity are among their earliest - and fondest - memories. Our children aren't just witnesses to this struggle; these children ARE the struggle. And they need to be here even more than the rest of us. It is our moral obligation as parents to let our children know that being a productive member of society means standing up, speaking out, and coming together. This is what democracy looks like, and it's cute as a button.

The children, united, will never be defeated!

Solidarity!

Heather