10 GROUNDCOVER NEWS LABOR POWER How to win a general strike I wrote “Preparing For a General Strike “ in the February 20 edition of Groundcover News. That sets the context for this article. The No Kings Rally was a big inspiration for me to think about what we need to do, that protests are not enough and that we need a deeper discussion about what we can do. By understanding this precious human birth and our sacred labor power, we can apply that awareness in our life. Mind training is an essential activity to prepare ourselves to face reality. As we develop our awareness we will discover the all-good expanse of primordial purity, which to me is the basis of underlying reality. Of course this is a faith assumption and needs to be tested in everyday life. By exploring the middle path which avoids the extremes of eternalism and nihilism we will become at home with our own mind. Eventually, natural mind will arise. And we will learn to appreciate all teachers who can point the way. In the belief that reality is a workable situation, our life becomes more interesting as we experience the interrelatedness of the parts to the whole and drop the ignorance of dualism, especially the dichotomy of self and other. It’s a simple philosophy but not at all in compliance with the feel for this at any powwow. “We are still here” is an indigenous expression based on a community of love and our natural connection to reality. Read my KEN PARKS Groundcover vendor No. 490 dominant culture of capitalism. We are all socialized into habitual patterns that support the supremacism of the bourgeoisie and their monopoly on violence. Our labor power is seamlessly connected to the all-good expanse. This primordial reality is in fact our birthright, our fully awakened mind which is often hidden behind a veil of ignorance, usually an ego formation that fixates on self and other. This illusion is the world of compliance and bureaucracy that demands all your time. This mental slavery must be dissolved into the all-good expanse in order to be at home with our true nature, a fully awakened mind as Buddha, Jesus and all enlightened beings demonstrate. The elders at Standing Rock were holding this tradition. You will get a “Powwow Origins” in the March 20 Groundcover News. Take note of James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw who brings world traditions into our life in a good way. At the recent powwow, I learned that the American Indian Unlimited organization is the mother of the Native American Student Association and the U-M-related powwows. Our preparation will continue even as we engage in a general strike. We are learning that mass protests may be important but by themselves will not bring peace because the war machine ignores and belittles them. We go back to everyday life, which feeds the war machine. When we are prepared to engage in a deeper level of struggle, we will focus on bringing our work to build the world we want to live in and to strike as we simultaneously do the work that needs to be done to make the strike successful. The 1937 Flint sit-down strike is an outstanding example of this. The community went to work to support the workers who occupied the factories. Michigan’s legacy of musical genius includes Bill Meyer, the well known jazz musician who wrote an opera on this strike called “Forgotten.” His talents as a producer and director brought it to stage as an exceptional expression of working class culture. Now is a good time to revisit and promote this opera and learn about winning a general strike. I once was an activist supporting the American Serviceman’s Union, a drive to organize the military rank and file into a union. Search that! During the Vietnam war, peace activists visited coffee shops near military bases for some good networking. Can we restart the American Serviceman’s Union? We can advance our work as a working class by applying Fidel Castro’s advice "analizar y meditar.” Working with candidates and elected officials is an important front, especially as people begin to look for real solutions. The No Kings rallies are a good sign of a shift in public opinion. The campaign of Yousef Rabhi for Mayor of Ann Arbor is an expression of this new convergence to put people before profits. Let us work together in all the small ways that add up to a big difference. The future begins now. Take a breath and engage. We will learn more about the struggle on Earth Day (see page 8). APRIL 17, 2026
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