March 31, 2003
Proposal: Town Criers
After reading stories in the recent days such as these:
The resemblance to Vietnam War can't be overlooked
US Marines turn fire on civilians at the bridge of death
Americans' rough handling of civilians poses problems
Either Take a Shot or Take a Chance
Bush reportedly shielded from dire forecast
Rumsfeld Faulted For Troop Dilution
I propose the creation of a Town Crier corps, who will, on a regular basis, take to the speaker's corner at Pioneer Courthouse Square and read aloud such stories, to call attention to underplayed, under-reported, or outright unreported (domestically anyway) news.
Two precautions would need to be taken: (1) Small signs identifying the soruce of each story should be held aloft during each reading, so it's clear that the speaker is not speaking for themselves. (2) Enough supporters need to be present to wall off any potential troublemakers who simply don't want to hear such truths spoken aloud.
Now, I'm not sure how much time I have to commit to organizing such a thing, but if someone wants to take the lead, I can certainly lend some involvement. And we certainly will have no shortage of such stories to be read.
Inspiration credit goes to the Army of None, who read from Tom Paine and the Oregon Constitution prior to this Saturday's successful permit-less march.