Boots on the Ground
For years Gerald Celente's Peace & Freedom rally in Kingston, New York has been a summer fixture for Hudson Valley peace activists. Today its future is in doubt.
The need today for a viable anti-war/pro-peace movement is as great as it has ever been. But the causes that once motivated millions to take to the streets no longer resonate with the younger generation, which is more attracted to the allure and immediacy of digital communications. But the harsh reality is this: just as one cannot win a shooting war through high-technology weapons alone, one cannot generate the kind of political change needed to end current wars and prevent new ones by relying upon social media. You need boots on the ground to win. And the anti-war/pro-peace movement isn’t mustering the numbers necessary to achieve victory.
This past weekend I travelled down to Kingston, New York, just as I had for three of the past four years, to participate in the Peace & Freedom Rally, hosted by Gerald Celente, the long-time editor of Trends Journal. The rally, located in the Stockade District of Kingston—the “crossroads of American history”—has been a summer standard for the past several decades, a gathering of like-minded persons who all shared a vision of making the world a better place to live in through the pursuit of peace and harmony.
When I first spoke at the rally, in the summer of 2022, there was a vibrant crowd that numbered in the hundreds. I missed out on the 2023 rally (I was travelling in Russia at the time) but made the 2024 rally the kicking off point for Operation DAWN, my campaign to inject arms control and the prevention of nuclear war as an issue of concern in the November 2024 Presidential election. Again, a crowd of more than 500 attended the rally.
Boots on the ground.
One thing all these rallies had in common was the fact that the attendees, and those they came to listen to, were mostly on the far side of 50, and oftentimes by a wide margin. Gerald and I spent some time talking about how we could attract a younger crowd this year, examining options regarding speakers and the possibility of busing in college students from New York City. For a variety of reasons, these plans did not pan out.
We gathered in Kingston this past Saturday, September 27, to promote those causes near and dear to our collective hearts. We had assembled an A-list lineup of speakers: Garland Nixon, Diane Sare, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Lauria, Ray McGovern, Roger Waters (by video), me and Gerald Celente. We talked about freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, the Constitution, citizenship, the state of politics in America today, nuclear weapons, nuclear war, arms control, and the need for a vibrant and active anti-war/pro-peace movement.
The crowd, which numbered just over 100 strong, was appreciative and supportive.
But you can’t occupy peace if you don’t occupy the ground.
Last year, the speakers were electrified by the energy of the crowd. We hung out afterwards, speaking to those attendees who lingered, and then amongst ourselves over dinner and drinks. We left Kingston empowered by the energy of the crowd, motivated to continue the struggle for peace.
This year, the energy that empowered us in the past was not present. Speakers left soon after speaking, and there was little of the synergy between the crowd and speakers that defined the past gatherings. The speeches were great, delivered with passion and conviction, possessing content as moving and relevant as always. And the crowd was appreciative with their applause and cheers.
But there were fewer of them—much so.
They did not fully occupy the ground.
Last year, in Kingston, I kicked off Operation DAWN, my campaign to promote arms control, encourage disarmament, and prevent nuclear war. The importance of rallies like Kingston goes beyond spreading simple awareness of an issue, but also generating real and meaningful support, primarily financial. The money raised through the Kingston Peace & Freedom Rally helped sustain Operation DAWN throughout the fall, contributing to actions which helped prevent nuclear conflict.
This year I had hoped to follow suit and use the Kingston rally as a vehicle for raising money to promote Project 38, my documentary film about the danger of nuclear war, and the Poughkeepsie Peace Initiative, a campaign designed to keep the last remaining arms control treaty between Russia and the US—New START, which expires in February 2026—alive.
In the week leading up to the Kingston rally, I had brought together a group of experts on nuclear war, arms control, and Russia to strategize about how to keep arms control alive. This was an ambitious project, which had significant overhead attached. I invested resources that had been gathered through earlier donations into this gathering, and the product that was produced as a result gave all who attended confidence that the goals and objectives set for the gathering could be met.
I had looked to the Kingston rally as an opportunity to recharge the coffers going forward (the Poughkeepsie event had, for a variety of reasons—all legitimate—gone well over budget.) But the money raised through book sales and donations fell far short of expectations, perhaps a reflection of the fact that the crowd was about ¼ the size of last year.
During my presentation, I appealed to those who might be watching online (the event was streamed to several channels, including YouTube and X) to support independent journalists such as Gerald Celente and the speakers he had gathered in Kingston. I spoke of the dangers associated with digital suppression and noted that the thing that made independent journalists independent (the fact that they were not controlled and/or influenced by corporate funders) also made them vulnerable when it came to sustaining their work and their message. I asked the crowd to support those speakers and channels that they relied upon for their news and information.
I can’t speak on behalf of any others, but as of this writing, my donation page has been a flat line.
I know Gerald took a huge financial hit this year. The goal of the Peace & Freedom Rally was never to make Gerald rich, but to at least break even, and even better, generate money that could help promote future rallies.
Earlier this year, in June, Gerald was kind enough to grant me the use of his lovely Kingston facility to host the US-Russian Citizens Summit. The event was a great success, made even more so by the physical beauty of the stage upon which the American side of the equation was situated. As with any event of this nature, costs far exceeded income. The imbalance would have been even greater if it weren’t for the fact that Gerald provided his facility and many of the support costs free of charge.
I can’t speak on behalf of Gerald, but perhaps he, like me, was hopeful that some of the losses could be recovered through a well-attended Kingston rally.
By an anti-war/pro-peace movement willing and able to put boots on the ground.
Sadly, this was not the case. We needed a battalion, and we got a platoon.
Those who attended were, simply put, awesome.
Thank you very much for your support.
But it was, and is, not enough to allow this project to go on.
We may have witnessed the last Peace & Freedom Rally. An event like this requires a prodigious amount of work, and a significant amount of money, to pull off. Gerald has been doing this task selflessly for many (11!) years now. But like his audience, Gerald is no spring chicken. The years take a toll on us all, and I can say as someone who knows Gerald very well, as a friend and colleague, his batteries may be beyond the capacity to be recharged.
The 2025 iteration of the Peace and Freedom Rally produced enough high points to go into the books as a worthy event—Roger Waters premiered his new song, Samud, something that alone guarantees the rally a place in history. Any of the speeches made could be viewed in isolation by college-level civics and governmental classes for their moral and intellectual value.
We had a good day.
A good event.
But to prevail in this day and age of informational warfare, we needed a great event, and a great day.
We are in the midst of an ideological struggle the likes of which has not been experienced by this experiment in democracy we call America.
What makes this struggle even more acute is the fact that the consequences of failure on the part of the anti-war/pro-peace movement in the nuclear age is far more existential than any similar struggle in the past.
Humanity survived World War One.
Humanity survived World War Two.
Humanity will not survive World War Three.
Simply put, when it comes to the anti-war/pro-peace movement and nuclear war, failure is not an option.
And yet we are failing.
One of the goals of the Poughkeepsie Peace Initiative is how to get the message about the danger of nuclear weapons to resonate with generations of younger Americans who have never experienced the visceral fear of imminent nuclear war.
Last year, in large part because of the emotional and financial bounce we got from the Kingston rally, we were able to take the message of saying no to nuclear war to Washington, DC, and achieve a very positive outcome.
This year the bounce wasn’t there. The reality is we are anchored in debt that must be paid off before we can move on.
Boots on the ground equals money in the bank.
As for me, I will continue to press forward, limited only by time and resources.
As for Gerald, I can’t say.
The reality is Gerald will need to find a partner who is willing and able to commit the time and resources necessary to continuing his legacy of pursuing peace, justice and freedom.
The Kingston Peace & Freedom Rally was a marquee event held in an ideal location. It is not readily replaced, if in fact such a thing is possible.
Gerald’s Kingston venue has the potential to continue being thus, but only if the anti-war/pro-peace movement can expand its demographics and resources in such a way that sustainability issues related to continuing this important work can be successfully addressed.
There is much work to be done in the cause of supporting peace and preventing war—especially nuclear war. Like all worthwhile causes, the struggle for peace in the nuclear age requires hard work and sacrifice on the part of those so engaged. It also requires resources, both in terms of time and money.
We have a year to see if we can shape events in a way to make continuing Gerald’s Peace & Freedom rally a possibility.
Time is not on our side.
Boots on the ground and money in the bank.
Let’s see if we can make both of these happen and, in doing so, keep the prospects of peace alive.
You can support Gerald Celente’s Peace & Freedom Rally by going to occupypeace.com and clicking the “donate” button.
I love you guys. Gerald is the best.!
Peace everywhere!
I wish I was at the rally coming up in Kingston.
I'll stream it if it's online though which it was last year, can't wait for it the best speakers, and of course, the judge and yourself to say the least!
Part of the problem is that we are all getting older, Scott. I reported on antiwar, peace and social justice events in Iowa and beyond for some 20 years for Washington Report on Middle East Affairs beginning in the late ‘90s. One evening post-9/11 I was surprised to hear an NPR commentator tell his national audience that Iowa was home to America’s largest antiwar community. Sad to say, those days are long gone though there is still a dedicated group of activists in Iowa including some younger people. Many if not most of those who were influential and involved 10 or 15 years ago have simply aged out. The pandemic took a toll, then the Ukraine War split the community for a time.
If we want to encourage more participation by young adults we must create events where young people are front and center on stage. I suggest that organizers look to the activists who are now participating in the GSF for many younger leaders and speakers. The flotilla is in the vanguard! There are today’s and tomorrow’s leaders, and they are showing that they have what it takes.
Keep up your good work, brother!
Free Palestine!