Portside

The Wall goes on, but as the El Paso poet Abigail Carl-Klassen announces: “We’re still here. In protest. In Pachanga. Fists raised.”

A popular narrative today is that we live in a country which is deeply divided. And the Democratic Party, we are told, is nearly as split as the nation itself. But chatter in the press and social media may overlook some fundamental points of agreement about changes we need to make in our economy. That’s the premise behind a new pledge, the “Agenda for Good Jobs, Sustainable Prosperity, and Economic Justice,” that has been signed by more than 70 prominent progressives.

“We will take the streets together because we believe in a future where everyone can feel safe in their schools and in their homes.”

We often debate the pros and cons of welcoming immigrants here. We seldom consider the U.S. impact on the countries they leave. Ultimately, reducing the flow of refugees requires a just foreign policy, one that values people over profits. You can be sure: As long as rights are trampled, voices are silenced, and lives are cut short — there will be forced migration. Even at great risk. Even without parents. Even with a wall.

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Writers once busy in prestigious magazines rationalizing war and torture are now confronting the obdurate pathologies of American life that stem from America’s original racial sin. Coates wonders why those once fierce in defending bloody imperial missions now embrace him for describing American power from the rare standpoint of its internal victims. Yet the danger for Coates is not so much seduction by power as a distorted perspective caused by proximity to it.

Power depends on correlation of strength. The bourgeoisie and its minions use the judicial power to suit their interests as if this was a monarchy, with no oversight by society. They trampled on the Constitution in order to reach their goals. The working class has only one space where it can exert its political power: mobilization on the streets.

Leaders from the women’s and civil-rights movements, labor unions, environmental-justice groups, the religious community and others announced plans to mobilize in Foley Square on Feb. 24 during a massive, nationwide day of action. The Working People’s Day of Action, convened by the workers’-rights organization Jobs With Justice, will include events in dozens of cities across the country, according to the New York State AFL-CIO.

Internet activity of all visa applicants, visa holders and green card holders is now tracked.

It has become clear that Chicago activists have the ability to rally allies on campuses nationwide for what once would have been a parochial concern.