The constant rain that dampened the activities of the kick-off rally on Saturday, April 2nd, seemed to be a metaphor for what ails the organizers of Democracy Spring.org. The idea was to meet in joyous communion at Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia’s Historic District and begin a march to Washington, D.C. That would culminate in provocative but peaceful demonstrations intended to bring national attention to the failure of Congress effectively to deal with the excess of money in politics and a host of other outstanding matters it has been ignoring. That was/is the plan, which appears to be dissolving in the soggy forecast of that kick-off Saturday.
Representatives of Idiot Free Zone (IFZ) and Musical SoCal (MSC) were on scene in the City of Brotherly Love as participants for the kick-off rally only. The sense of organizational ineptness was evident long before the gathering of that sparse crowd at Independence Square. The IFZ-MSC connection came through one of the movement’s better-known supporters: Douglas Hughes is the pilot who set down his message-to Congress gyrocopter on the lawn of the nation’s capital. Hughes made contact with IFZ and MSC after those websites posted on YouTube a musical video suggesting Doug Hughes to be Superhero Autogyro.
Subsequently, IFZ published several articles about Hughes’ passion for getting money out of politics, along with his association with Democracy Spring.org. Ultimately, IFZ arranged for a Skype interview with Hughes, who resides in Florida. That 75-minute interview revealed a good deal about the intrepid Doug Hughes in the form of a mini-bio article.
An MSC inquiry to Hughes about a theme song or anthem for Democracy Spring evoked such enthusiasm on Hughes’s part that, on the spot, MSC was engaged to write an anthem. MSC took the further step of incorporating the anthem into a video that could serve as a promotional vehicle for the cause. It is unfortunate that the movement’s leadership did not grasp Doug Hughes’ perception of the effectiveness of the unifying power of a stirring anthem!
With all of the promotional exposure for the Democracy Spring Movement provided by IFZ – combined with the years of expertise and musical production donated by MSC – one would expect the organizers warmly to embrace such a lucrative source of support. Alas, the opposite is true! IFZ and MSC were/are treated as annoying step-children. The woeful lack of organizational leadership, as reflected through the Democracy Spring website, should have alerted IFZ and MSC as to the likely reception they would receive at the kick-off rally. As it turned out, the organization there accurately reflected the dismissive treatment received from the organizers and the website.
Nevertheless, IFZ and MSC representatives soldiered on, distributing attractive brochures with information on the respective websites, along with the lyrics of the anthem. Despite the rain and intermittent WIFI, some of the crowd were able to hear the recording of the anthem. Additionally, a video record of the rally was made, including most of the speeches. (link)
IFC and MSC have done what is physically possible for the movement. We send our good wishes for the successful completion of the march, and truly hope that the projected demonstrations in Washington may evoke the expected response.
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