Madison Then and Now: 1960's and the Walker Protests

No, I never saw in the 1960's what is occuring today in this effort to stop Governor Walker's union busting.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:   

Soglin: "I've never seen anything like this"

Soglin said he has participated in the protests against Walker’s budget repair bill for a week, starting with a march Saturday from Memorial Union on the UW-Madison campus. The crowds have built every day, and on Thursday and Friday exceeded 20,000, he estimated.

He compared the mood of the crowds to those he saw during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. There’s anger, he said, but there was also “elements of joy and enthusiasm, and that’s what’s going on here as well.”

The anti-war movement, he said, was “all energized and angry - because it was focused on stopping a war. It could not have the almost spiritual nature of what’s going on in Madison today.”

Spiritual? Joy? Soglin said the teachers and other public employees from across the state are finding a bond with each other.

“There are a lot of people who are scared about the economic consequences of what’s going to happen” with Walker’s bill, he said. “But they’re also getting strength from all of the people they are meeting.”

Comments

[anon]

Is it a coincidence that Walker is going after the unions where women and minorities are best represented?

[Gwen Drury]

I have lived in quite a few states, on both coasts and a short time overseas. I prefer to live in snowy Wisconsin because of the hard-earned reputation for honesty, transparency and "squeeky-clean" government, and the culture that sustains it. Having lived in places where corruption was the norm, I deeply appreciate and value Wisconsin.

At the same time, I realize that we aren't perfect....we began the slide down the slippery slope away from clean government several years ago - with all the pay-to-play corruption. But we also took action against it.
Trust and trust-worthy institutions are the most important assets we can contribute to our State's infrastructure.... especially in the Knowledge Economy of the future.

No matter what happens with the current debate, Wisconsin needs to proceed by constantly seeking and keeping to the high-road. Everything each of us does should be calibrated to make this place more open, more transparent and more clean.

We need to keep building Wisconsin's integrity. This is a special place because many generations of people have worked hard to make it so.

We find ourselves forced onto a stage for a local enactment of what is really a national agenda for various groups....we know that now.

Our best hope is to maintain (even improve) the standards of honesty and integrity that have prevailed here. Integrity will both help us get through this current situation, and will maintain or even improve our reputation for the future. Our example can even help people watching us in other places.

A reputation for civility, trustworthiness and integrity is even more powerful when it has been publicly tested under tough circumstances.
Our own behavior in this moment represents a significant investment in our future.

Proven integrity is to social capital what a AAA bond rating is to financial capital.

Invest now.

Gwen Drury