Beyond Ranting, What Am I Doing About Endless War?
Reflections on the global peace movement and me.
photo by divineorder, Most na Soci, Slovenia, July 2017
How's it going? Sitting here waiting on UPS to bring a replacement disposal that jakkalbessie and I intend to diy into place today so we can wash dishes without having to dump the water in the toilet. As my nephew says, we have a 'first world problem.
True confession. Yesterday I lied. In the comments to my essay on the upcoming Trump speech on Afghanistan policy I told Big Al that I was not going to watch Mr. Trump either. Don't have a TV, I bragged, but then while doing some reading online discovered that I could watch it streaming. Since we have been traveling outside of the US much of the last 7 months I have been fortunate not to see much of Mr. Trump speaking. Just could not help myself, had to watch it to see if the Big Lie would remain transcendent.
I am thankful to La Feminista in her excellent rant this morning for expressing in a far better manner than I could the frustration and anger many of us feel after one more President used THA TROOPS to promote American Exceptionalism, Profits, Patriotism and the hidden policy of Endless War with the Welfare for the War Profiteers/American Interests.
I woke up at 4:30am this morning fretting over what I could do about it. Beyond discussing it. Ranting about it. Getting angry.
Speaking of getting angry, I often feel myself getting angry when I read people here whinging about 'where is the peace movement.' That's my problem, not their problem. I have to look inside and see why it is that I get so upset. Maybe because I expect more of myself and am just not getting it done.
'Where's The Peace Movement' ? Better yet, 'Where Am I?'
Back in the 80's my wife jakkalbessie and I were involved with Nuclear Freeze, Beyond War, US/USSR citizens exchange movement, Greenpeace, and more. We felt good about that time, the Berlin Wall came down, there was cooperation between the US and Russians, air and water got cleaner. Nothing was perfect, but we moved on to mainly focusing on our teaching careers and our remodeling projects.
We backed off from direct activism over the years but have kept in touch.
These days we are retired, 68, and we have settled on volunteering for WildEarth Guardians and 350 Org NM locally supporting and participating their work on conservation and climate as our main activism after Occupy.
But back to the Peace Movement. Psstt. Believe it or not the Peace Movement is alive and well.
Maybe you want it to be in the streets like it was in the 60s and 70s, people getting beaten and shot, and you will not be happy with the Peace Movement unless it is like that? True, it waxes and wanes in size and varies activities.
But the main point I want to focus on is that the Peace Movement is me.
What am I doing on a consistent basis?
For example, which of the following am I willing to do?
We are finally home after months of travel and really not in the mood to go anywhere but we are tempted to go join Jill Stein and others at a conference in DC next month.
No War 2017 Conference -- War and the Environment Sept. 22-24 Washington, D.C.
If You Want to End War Click Here
Over 65,000 people have signed in 153 countries.If Your Organization Wants
to End War Click Here
Over 400 great organizations have signed.Find your language.
Lying awake in bed before daylight this morning and trying not to wake up jakkalbessie, I decided to review the conference materials again and found the following 'Declaration of Peace - Individual.'
So I asked myself to think about which of the following am I willing to do as part of the peace movement. You know, in order to get beyond just reading and bitching like I am doing now? I must say that I have to hand it to people like gjohnsit who keep researching and writing year after year.
Declaration of Peace - individual
I understand that wars and militarism make us less safe rather than protect us, that they kill, injure and traumatize adults, children and infants, severely damage the natural environment, erode civil liberties, and drain our economies, siphoning resources from life-affirming activities. I commit to engage in and support nonviolent efforts to end all war and preparations for war and to create a sustainable and just peace.
...
I agree with the statement above, and as a demonstration of my commitment:
___I will ask other individuals and organizations to join this network.___I will spread the word in my community.
___I want to work on divestment.
___I want to work on closing bases.
___I want to work on global justice.
___I will work on media outreach.
___I will blog about World Beyond War.
___I will work on social media campaigning.
___I will be available to speak publicly on this issue.
___ I will work on research, fact sheets, articles.
___I will help with the website if needed.
___I will donate financial support.
___I will help with fundraising.
___I will participate in nonviolent demonstrations.
___ I will engage in nonviolent civil resistance to wars and militarism. I will lobby elected officials.
___I will create my own form of participation:
We must work to end all war because:
Lots of choices. Thanks in advance for reading and commenting.
So far hundreds of people have apparently chosen one or more of those.
Which will I choose?
Why me? Why now?
Bipartisan fail needs a pattern interupt.
Obama had a 16yr old US born kid killed by drone.
Trump had his little sister shot in the neck by SEALs
I'm going to really miss Obama! pic.twitter.com/y6l8StphYM— William Owen (@Bill_Owen) January 31, 2017
The stakes have never been higher.
Trump’s Entourage Of Generals, And What It Means For The Country https://t.co/F8I3d8k6Cm
— @AdamsFlaFan (@AdamsFlaFan) August 10, 2017
Letter: Do we even qualify as a civilized nation if we continue to head toward war and climate destruction?https://t.co/PtVe9EVRpG
— Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) August 12, 2017
Comments
....
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
I'm with you, DO.
It is up to me. It is up to each of us individually. I've commented on this many times, in many essays. We can only control ourselves and our actions. I choose to act in favor of opposition to the oligarchy in any way I can.
I participate because without participation, I feel I am complicit.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Hi, what a great way to express that, RA.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
I'm where you are Raggedy Ann
We have to resist any way we can. But marching has apparently become illegal. Or you just become a target of some right winger or police or both. Writing letters just fills up wastebaskets of other unread letters. Voicing our views to tptb results in smirks at best, or a form letter pitching for money.
So I must concurr with Big Al, we have to start at the source of power.
To that end, I have;
Cut up my credit cards and use only cash.
I use my cash only with small businesses that are local, even if I have to pay a little more. I avoid patronizing corporate businesses whenever possible.
My retirement check goes into a credit union account, not a damned TBTF bank. I withdraw $300 at a time using my debit card. I write checks for larger purchases.
I bought a battery electric car(Leaf).
I bought a battery electric lawnmower.
I have reduced my consumption of trinkets and popular "must have" widgets and practice reduce, repair, repurpose, or recycle everything before I replace it. And sometimes find a way to do without it.
I keep and maintain a genuine organic garden free of petroleum based fertilizers and keep a compost pile year-round. In summertime it doubles as a potato patch. I compost/recycle everything from yard debris to kitchen scraps.
I allow my lawn to go dormant in summer to save water. My neighbors are following my lead.
I have begun to use part of my front yard to plant crops. My neighbors are, again, following my lead.
I have installed a geothermal hvac system and doubled the insulation in my attic to conserve electric and subscribe to part of my electric coming from renewable sources.
Future plans include a solar array doubling as a patio cover (spring 2018), a new metal roof done in bright white to reflect sunlight (summer 2018), and a new driveway done in white breathable concrete aggregate to both return rainwater to the water table and sunlight to offworld (2019).
I may not be able to march like I did in the 60s, but I can still make my views felt, however small.
And still make a difference in the environmental damage.
And it just feels good.
Bastards.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Thank you.
Enjoyed the entire essay, but growing potatoes in the compost heap is especially brilliant. I can't wait for spring.
Good job d.o.
Funny how just yesterday, with Trump's unbelievably condescending speech in front of military dupes and American sheeple, I was thinking about what a waste a time I've spent the last ten plus years in advocating against wars and imperialism. I don't know how many "End the Afghanistan war!" diaries/essays I've written. I know I did one here earlier this year and I'm sure at DK about ten years ago now.
Amazing isn't it?
I've changed some since I started with it. Now I'm more into trying to end oligarchy/plutocracy as opposed to just ending war and imperialism. I used to think ending imperialism could translate into ending oligarchy, and it could, but I think we have to go to the top now, take down the power and all their fucking illegal and immoral games, including military and economic imperialism.
I guess what I try to do is push. I've spent a good part of the last ten years reading almost every day about war, foreign policy, history of war and conflict, etc. It really can be summarized down to one short sentence, ALL WAR IS A LIE. So I push people to pay attention, to understand how important it is. To understand they are KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE. It's hard not to get mad at that.
Trump's speech last night was a good example of it. It was one long lie from start to finish. Everything about it was based on lies, false narratives, and the illusions we accept in this society.
I first 'met' you because you were one of the few at GOS
who blogged about ending war etc.
With you about focusing on the global oligarchy.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
You would think that, wouldn't you?
However, I read the comments on Trump's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, and his supporters in Utah are okay with it. They say the usual canned response on everything that has to do with the military.
Whenever someone wrote anything against this, they were taken down with the same platitudes that people usually say regarding the military.
These are the people that need to wake the hell up and understand that our military isn't fighting for us, but this has been so ingrained on people's minds, I don't know what it's going to take to get them to see the truth.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
One at a time is very difficult isn't it.
Tells you something that Bernie could take on Wall Street, Occupy could take on Wall Street, but no one can take on imperialism.
Yes it is. And I have no idea what it's going to take
for people to let go of the propaganda they have been bombarded with their whole lives.
I'm going to try this on some of the comments I read here at home and see if I can get people to understand this.
(Strife's comment)
I did try something like this at my last job. I asked a mom whose son was in Iraq about the children that we were killing there and her reply was: "what about the children whose parents that were killed on 9/11?"
How do you respond to this? I kept trying, but I got nowhere.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
@snoopydawgI did try something
I mean something like that would be simultaneously infuriating and depressing.
Iraq had 0 to do with 9/11. 0. Zero. Absolutely nothing. And yet if I remember the stat right, like 77% of Americans believed Iraq caused or contributed to 9/11. Why? Propaganda from media and the government. And then, Bush would state that he never stated or claimed anything.
It's like Truman. The lie that we had to use the nukes because a land invasion would kill so many American soldiers. The problem was that over the years of him doing interviews, he kept increasing the number of soldiers who would have died from invading Japan. So he kept adding onto the lie, the big lie being about the necessity of nukes. There was going to be no invasion, no loss of Americans. Nope, Japan feared Russia more than our nukes. And so we feed the American people a lie that they gobbled up while we inadvertently let the rest of the world know our true intentions.
It was very depressing to work with these types of people
Hill Air Force base was 10 miles from the hospital I worked at and the military mentality was strongly inbred in this community.
I did tell that military mom that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, but she came back at me with the WMDs lies.
One gal's husband was in Iraq and he sent home a lot of movies on DVDs.
She waltzed in the door with about 100 of them and said her husband bought them from the towel heads and sand n*ggers. Everyone laughed at this, except me.
There was a part of me that wanted one of their family members to get killed over there. I wanted them to experience what the Iraqis were experiencing.,
This is the type of environment that many people here are very comfortable with.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Widen the objection the wars are integral to the "system"
we have now.
David Swanson argues for bringing movements together
in part for this reason.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
BTW he's not for 'drafting Bernie' . Here's a taste
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Agree, and
I believe, as RA said above, that without participation, I'm complicit.
On the other hand, I have become so cynical the past several months that I don't see participation as anything other than a moral victory. TPTB don't give a rat's ass about what we think or do. We can work to change hearts and minds, but where will that get us? Capital-T They have the weapons to keep us down if it came to that. The 99% around the world are screwed.
Never thought I'd ever be a nihilist.
Well . . .
I hear you, and frequently finding myself in that same spot. But, I think there are some ways listed in this article that can make a difference in your own life and with your own self.
--Divestment. I think that's great, and try to do the same with companies I view as not supporting my end goals. About 10 years ago, I switched out my banking from the large, problematic banks, to credit unions and local banks. Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank, etc., don't make a penny off of me, and never will again. I've tried to convince others to do so as well (another of the action items listed in this diary). Don't buy things you know will send money to the elites to keep you down. For example, I avoid all Koch brother's products (no Brawny paper towels for me!), etc.
--Vote. Yes, it's rigged. However, an interesting thing happened this past year. A non-establishment person got elected. Yes, he sucks--a lot--but I guarantee you the establishment did not want that to happen (and they are still fighting him, tooth and nail, on every side). That means someone like Bernie (or whoever) on the progressive end, could be elected if the right circumstances came together.
--Educate, communicate, and talk to people. Support (financially) web sites like this, where news and communication is based in reality. Send people here! Teach your children well.
"Not Me" Effect
I'm tired of both parties.
I'm tired of the people of both parties.
The vast, vast majority of them are asleep and easy to manipulate. The brainwashing is so advanced. America is unique in that you have the easiest people in the world to control with the most advanced propaganda system in the world. A deadly two-for-one.
Try this out: Walk up to a Democrat and tell him/her that by voting for Democrats they are voting and tacitly supporting rape, torture, the use of chemical weapons, terrorism, slavery, war crimes, and the potential extinction of the human race.*
The response? "What, no, not me. How could you even say that?"
Then you point out Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Vietnam, the potential nuclear devastation from a war with Russia, the tens of thousands of rapes that have occurred throughout our decades of wars, people being sold in Libya due to destroying the nation, arming terrorists around the world, etc.
And the response to that? Nothing. It doesn't sink in. Why? The "Not Me" Effect. See, people go into the voting booth thinking they are righteous and good people. Therefore, the people they vote must, to some degree, be good people as well right? People go in voting for the "good" stuff. Anything good a politician does is because well the people voted in the good part of it. Anything bad a politician does is due to the politician just being bad of their own volition.
Therefore, if you vote for a system that slaughters tens of millions of people...well that's not me. I didn't vote for that. But yet, in the end, you did.
"I voted for abortion rights." OK, great, and you voted to slaughter tens of millions of people.
"I voted for gay marriage." Fantastic, but you also voted to keep slavery alive in this country and around the world.
"I voted for gun control." Alright, but you also voted for a potential nuclear war with Russia that will wipe out all life on this planet.
In the end, no matter what information you present to those chained to the duopoly, they will either shrug or say that isn't them. They wear a cloak of self-righteousness that everyone but them sees is dripping with the blood of millions. It seems that the only way to stop America from doing endless war is for the world to stop America. Because it seems that America's own people won't.
*I used Democrat for this example but either of the duopoly suffices.
Spot on!
This too is part of Obama's legacy. The first Black president has both endorsed and created slavery.
When he allowed Malaysia to be partners in the TPP, he overlooked their slavery and human trafficking.
He says that he now regrets what he did to the Libyan people. But this and $5 will get him a coffee at Starbucks.
This is what voting for the lesser evil has gotten us. No more is right.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Obama had Citibank choose his cabinet members
does anyone want to bet that Trump had his cabinet members picked for him too? Looking at all the military members he has on his staff, he doesn't stand a chance of them not influencing his opinions. This is even if he wanted to do something different with regards to his foreign policies.
But just like Obama told us that he would end the wars quickly, he either changed his mind or someone changed it for him, Trump had been saying for years that the military needs to leave Afghanistan, yet just like Obama, he is sending more troops to Afghanistan. If the military couldn't win when they had over 100,000 troops there, then for gawd's sake why would another 4,000 troops make any difference? And why did he change his mind, or did someone change it for him?
Obama chose Hillary for his Secretary of State and he had to know that she had been for every military intervention this country has been involved in. Whose decision was that? Was this really a consultation prize for her because she lost the election? This is what many people think. Doesn't make sense to me.
The military is supposed to run by a civilian so that the military can be controlled, but Trump has turned our foreign policy over to the generals. And civilians in the countries we are involved in are being killed in unprecedented numbers.
Are Trump's supporters going to support him after he has broken another one of his campaign promises, just like the obamabots did? Oh well, obamabots have gotten over their blindness to what Obama did and maybe they will take to the streets again. Or not. They might run into a Russianbot and that would be bad.
Sigh.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
I love that photo
It's absolutely stunning.
I can't wait to see more of them Friday night.
Don't forget, k?
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.