www.OneNationWorkingTogether.org

I am passionate about life, love, family and all things creative. I tend to avoid politics because I think that politics often get in the way of us becoming our higher selves and most certainly present obstacles to otherwise kind and rational people coming together as one.

These past few months have been a reminder of how adversity has the power to bring out the best in people, but when that adversity is coupled with fear it also can bring out the worst in people. I honestly believe that the only way we can survive as a country, rebuild a thriving economy and heal the wounds that threaten to tear our communities and country apart is to earnestly listen to each others complaints and fears and to find common ground. I pray that the day soon comes where we can set aside our petty differences so that we can create a world that is safe, clean and peaceful for our children.

Every institution, relationship, and structure large and small must be built on a solid foundation in order for it to survive. To move forward to a brighter future for ourselves and our children we must first make sure that the foundation of this country is safe, secure and strong. Everyone who wants to work should be able to work, immigrants (of which every single one of us is a descendant) should be lawfully admitted, welcomed and treated with respect and EVERYONE regardless of race, creed, sex, gender or sexuality should be treated with equal protection under the law.

This weekend the NAACP and over 300 organizations including labor unions, Latino cilvil rights organizations and for the first time ever LGBT organizations will march in Washington D.C. to present a common set of values, demands and concerns to our "leaders."

I honestly believe that somewhere between the often hateful and almost always hyperbolic statements made on both sides that there is ultimately much common ground to be tilled in preparation for the next great American harvest. If we plant the seeds of hope, till the common ground of our collective challenges and nurture our children and their dreams as we would crops we will ultimately come together and celebrate a bountiful harvest. Republicans, Tea Party activists, conservatives, liberals, Democrats, straights, gays, women, men, Christians, Jews, Muslims, children, teens and adults are all ultimately human beings entitled to the same inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This weekend is about presenting the progressive approach to securing basic human and civil rights for ALL AMERICANS!

I have lost much of my faith in both sides of our political spectrum to see beyond petty differences, fear and sound bites, but as a human being and artist I do not have the luxury of giving up or giving in. So I urge progressive folks who believe in equal protection under the law, a strong education system and using every tool at our disposal to create new jobs NOW to march this weekend and show our leaders there other voices in this discussion and that we all strive to sit at the table, be heard and to move forward as one country as we renew the American spirit.

On Oct. 2, 2010, we have the opportunity to make history. On that day, the LGBTQ movement will join together with labor, civil rights, women’s, youth, environmental, immigrant, faith and peace communities as we all stand unified as One Nation Working Together (ONWT). Join over 30 local and national LGBTQ organizations and over 300 other progressive organizations as we demand equality for all, because everyone deserves equal access to jobs, justice, and education.

Everyone in America deserves a just and fair chance to achieve the American Dream. Our national identity is rooted in the ideal that all people - regardless of race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or ability - should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential and contribute to an economy that works for everyone.

Yet today our nation remains in crisis. We face serious challenges, including: a deepening jobs crisis caused in part by a bubble economy of low wages and exploitative credit. We continue to struggle with a broken immigration system; crumbling infrastructure; too many failing public schools that help some, but not all, children; increased levels of division and discrimination; economic and energy peril; and environmental catastrophe. And, in this time of crisis, too many voices offer only a choice between doing nothing, and turning against one another.

Today, more than ever, we need to break the gridlock in Washington, and we need decisive leadership and policy that will move all in Congress, especially the Senate, forward. A committed public is also needed more than ever, to advance inclusive solutions that will overcome these challenges, put Americans back to work, and pull us all back together as one nation.

One Nation Working Together is about a better future for all of us here in America – a future of justice at home and peace abroad, where we create good jobs for all of us and take on the great challenges we face as a nation: rebuilding our economy; respecting all families; educating all our children in safe environments; transforming how we use energy; ensuring safe, vibrant, diverse communities; and providing for an economic future built on the principles that America has always aspired to achieve.

One Nation Working Together will chart a bold, pragmatic path toward a more unified, sustainable, prosperous future.

If you're based in NYC and you want to participate there are buses leaving from Union Square at 6am on Saturday. For more information http://onenationlgbtnyc.eventbrite.com/

One Nation Working Together
For Jobs, Justice and Education for All

WHO WE ARE

We are One Nation, born from many, determined to build a more united America – with jobs, justice and education for all.

We are young people, frustrated that society seems willing to spend more locking up our bodies than educating our minds, yet still we find ways to succeed and shine.

We are students and newly-returned veterans – persevering in the face of mounting debt – determined not to be the first generation to end up worse off than our parents.

We are baby boomers and seniors – who saw hope killed in 1968 and will not let the dream of a united America be taken from us again.

We are conservatives and moderates, progressives and liberals, non-believers and people of deep faith, united by escalating assaults on our reason, our environment, and our rights.

We are workers of every age, faith, race, sex, nationality, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and ability – who have suffered discrimination but never stopped loving our neighbors, or our nation.

We are American Indians and Alaska Natives - citizens of Native nations – who maintain our cultures, protect our sovereignty, and strength America’s economy.

We are the new immigrants, raising our children in the torchlight of the Statue of Liberty, while confronting the shadows that are bigotry and mass deportations.

We are the native born. We inherited the divided legacies of settlers and American Indians, black slaves and white and Asian indentured servants. And yet, in this moment of shared suffering, we rejoice in newfound friendships and new alliances.

We are people who got thrown out – thrown out of our jobs, schools, houses, farms and small businesses – while Wall Street's wrongdoers got bailed out. We are families who pray every day – for peace and prosperity; for deliverance from foreclosures; for good jobs to come back to urban and rural America.

We are unemployed workers – forced to watch hopes for bold action dashed – because some Senators threaten filibusters, and other would-be champions fold in fear.

And yet, we are the majority – fueled by hope, not hate. We have the pride, power and determination to keep ourselves – and our country – moving up and out of the valley greed created.

And most importantly – from ensuring women are treated fairly at work, to expanding health care coverage for millions– we have been victorious whenever we worked together. We have proven the only thing we need to succeed is each other.

And so, on 10-2-10, we come back together - to march.

WHY WE MARCH

We march for a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. We march for jobs, justice, and education. We march for an economy that works for all. We march for a nation in which each person who wants to work can find a job that pays enough to support a family.

We march to create a million new jobs right away, because the national values that got us out of the Great Depression will get us out of the Great Recession.

We march to build a world-class public education system, from pre-school to community college and beyond - because our nation must start unleashing the greatness of every child today.

We march to end racial profiling and re-segregation– from Arizona to Atlanta. We march to defend the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment. We march to advance human rights, civil rights, equal protection, and dignity for all.

We march to fix the broken immigration system – because no child should live in fear that her parents will be deported.

We march to ensure every worker has a voice at work. We march for green jobs and safe workplaces, so no worker will have to choose between her livelihood and her life.

We march for a clean environment, so no child is ever forced to decide between drinking the water or breathing the air and staying healthy.

We march to move our nation beyond this moment when a handful of Senators can block urgently needed progress – skewing our national budget towards tax cuts for the wealthy, unjustified military spending and prisons.

We march to demand full equality for all women in all communities, indulging an end to wage discrimination.

We march for peace abroad and job creation at home. We march for energy independence, public safety, and public transportation because the nation we want to build most is our own.

We march to demand full equality for all women in all communities, indulging an end to wage discrimination.

And on 11-2-10, we will march again – into the voting booths. We will bring our families, our friends, and our neighbors. And once the ballots are counted, we will keep organizing, we will hold our leaders accountable, and we will keep making our dream real.

This movement will grow. It will put America back to work, pull America back together, and keep us moving ever forward.

Join us. We are One Nation Working Together: For Jobs, For Justice, For Education, For All.