By Joseph J. Honick
– A Guest on 21st Century Radio shows
The nation’s capital has always been a great place for those pleading
one case or another to stage mass demonstrations, parades and other
gatherings to get the attention of government, media fellow
believers and opponents alike.
World War I veterans who had been promised $500 bonds for their
service set up shabby cardboard and tent encampments from which to
plead to a hypocritical Congress that delayed those payments. To
clean up the situation, none other than General Douglas McArthur and
his trusty aide, Ike Eisenhower, were dispatched with troops and the
right to use arms against those veterans.
Then those who finally said they were not going to suffer second or
third class citizenship launched the civil rights campaign that wound
up in a parade of hundreds of thousands, including this kid, and
concluded with the historic “Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King at the feet of the Lincoln Memorial.
Then we have seen former Congressman Dick Armey’s army of Tea Party
screamers defying the idea that all Americans need and deserve medical
care and with taxpayer help if necessary. Having upset town hall
meetings with shouts that accused the President of being another
Hitler, they then marshaled their forces to descend upon Washington,
D.C. to make their cases and pose for the media, no doubt fortified in
some measure by help from the insurance industry.
Still more recently, the gay and lesbian community powerfully
presented its own concerns in Washington and have demonstrated a clear
commitment to reinforce that part of the Pledge of Allegiance that
concludes with “….with liberty and justice for all.”
The one group that has yet to come together is the growing masses of
the unemployed, especially the millions for whom all benefits have
been exhausted and who represent huge numbers families, school
children across the nation.
The happy headlines reciting the Dow Jones finally soaring above the
10,000 mark are not lost on these ordinary folks who received no
bailouts, bonuses or much else as their homes are foreclosed, their
credit destroyed, seen college tuitions unpaid and all the rest.
And all these severe events have occurred as these people read about
massive bailouts of banks, corporations and other institutions who are
likewise paying out huge bonuses to people who remain in top positions
courtesy of the American taxpayer.
These Americans will not remain quiet for long and are extremely
fertile candidates for some clever agitator for action, having seen
others getting the attention for other causes.
It is hardly an exaggeration to note that, among the millions hit by
layoffs and losses of benefits, have been some very capable
professionals from the media, public relations business and related
fields who know how to organize and communicate powerful messages …
and ultimately perhaps to organize a march on Washington the likes of
which have never been seen except perhaps for the civil rights effort.
Not the least among the millions of former taxpayers are the families
of men and women dispatched over and over again to risk their lives in
Iraq and Afghanistan … after all seldom does military pay cover the
total needs of a family.
Nearly 20 years ago, in a talk before an industry group in Seattle,
Washington, I proposed the concept of a Public Relations Peace Corps
to help communicate messages to and for the people who have no
spokespersons and whose causes are quite legitimate and to get those
causes and claims more attended to by government and others. The idea
was scoffed at by representatives of some well known PR firms, many of
whom have been since scooped up by larger organizations.
The community of communications professionals has an opportunity and
an obligation to consider taking some risks to help gain critically
important attention to growing needs of the people lost among the
turmoil of name calling and countercharges over health care and other
issues.
So where is the outrage from those who have been sucking off the
government breast while screaming about socialism when it comes to the
poor? Where is the sense of religious leadership that demands prayers
everywhere but ignores the homeless?
If leadership from our industry fails to use the talents we sell to
others in efforts to gain attention to the unattended, the old song “I
Love A Parade” may never be played again as millions of the newly
impoverished swarm into Washington amid the glare of national and
international media spotlights and the relevance and reputation of
America are tarnished beyond measure … while ignoring “liberty and
justice for all,” except for some.
Joseph J. Honick is an international consultant to business and
government and writes for many publications, including www.HuntingtonNews.net. Honick can be reached at joehonick@gmail.com
