Wheels of Justice

Greetings from the bus! We’re out in Butte, Montana - which we’re told is “the armpit of Montana” but seems quite lovely to us, the gigantic scar of strip-mining towering above the town notwithstanding. This morning was great - we got to talk to two “Western Civilization” classes at Montana Tech before encountering support, debate, smoke, and a small bit of hostility (and a lot of support) at the Butte Elk Club this evening.

We gather scores of email addresses at each presentation, people stay after to talk to (and compliment) the presenters, get more information and buy the Palestinian goods (and Anna’s book) we’ve been tabling with. We’ve done well passing the hat, which is how we get to the next event. We’ve had some amazing on the ground organizers in Montana.

Tomorrow we head to Boulder (is there a Boulder in every western state, or is it just me?) to talk at a senior center, an alternative high school, and the Montana-usual evening pot luck event. I gotta say, Montana hospitality is definitely under-rated - we’ve been getting it pretty good up here. The forecast says snow for Butte on Wednesday, and I think we’re all glad to be dodging that.

On Friday, Anna and I fly out of Missoula, leaving just Ceylon and Bill on the bus for the last two events in Kalispell and Whitefish, MT. I have no doubt that the two of them can carry the show and then some, though I don’t envy the task. My time on the bus has flown by - I’ve learned a lot and had a lot of fun, and I hope I get a chance to do it again sometime soon.

We see change, significant change, as this country becomes more comfortable with openly discussing the Israeli occupation of Palestine; the taboo has been broken and the lie of silence can’t blanket honest discussion and witness any more. I worry, though, that American activists are burning out on Iraq; reconnecting with other activists across the country and seeing how connected we really can be is putting wind back in our sails that we carry our efforts further and farther. We are not alone, you are not alone, and, until we’ve exhausted all our efforts and run out of ideas, we have no reason to despair or burn out. We can be creative, we can try things we haven’t tried, and we can do things we’re afraid to do. Let nonviolence be our tool and courage be our motor…the rest are obstacles that have already been climbed. Let’s gather the strength to step further outside our comfort zones and end this war.

Much love to all of you, -Michael, Ceylon, Anna, Bill on behalf of the Wheels of Justice Tour