Stop the Next War Now (34 page)

PREVENT THE NEXT WAR

MEDEA BENJAMIN

The world we want to see, one in which nonviolent solutions to conflicts are sought and all people are treated as brothers and sisters, is far from the one we have today. Here are ten actions you can take to move us closer to a world free of terrorism and war:

1. Educate yourself on the issues
. One key prerequisite for stopping war is to have an educated citizenry. That means you and me. Make a commitment to learning more about a part of the world or a country that has an antagonistic relationship with the U.S. government, such as Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, or Syria. Learn about the history, culture, language, religion, and values of that society. The more we understand, appreciate, and humanize people we are taught to see as enemies, the harder it is for our government to persuade us to fight them.

2. Demand truthful media
. The media is the voice of democracy. Without a truthful, diverse media, democracy is squelched. Pressure the mainstream media to cover events fairly and to be an outlet for a true variety of voices. Give your local media a list of peace “experts” they should turn to. Complain, call, write, or organize a protest when the coverage is skewed toward war. Support independent news outlets that provide critical information and alternative viewpoints, and encourage others to do the same.

3. Communicate!
After you educate yourself, don’t be afraid to speak out. Talk with your neighbors, friends, relatives, co-workers, classmates. Talk to people outside the choir and learn from people you disagree with. Call radio and television talk shows, including the conservative ones. Write letters to the editor and opinion articles for your local newspaper. The only way to become an effective communicator is to practice communicating, just as the only way to become an effective writer is to write.

4. Hold your leaders accountable
. Whether or not you voted for your city council member or your congressperson, elected officials are civil servants who are supposed to represent you—so pressure them to do so. Develop a relationship with your local representatives, setting up regular meetings between them and your allies in the community. When they take bad positions, like supporting the war in Iraq, make sure they hear from you loud and clear. And if they consistently take bad positions, support alternative candidates.

5. Help the United States kick our oil addiction
. U.S. policy in the Middle East and other regions is conditioned by our dependence on foreign oil. It ties us to repressive regimes (Saudi Arabia) and encourages wars for oil (Iraq). A good first step is to cut down on your own oil consumption. Use public transportation, ride a bike, drive fuel-efficient cars, make your home and work-place more energy efficient. Volunteer with a group in your community that’s promoting local and statewide initiatives to decrease oil consumption, and join national campaigns like the Apollo Alliance (www.apolloalliance.org).

6.
Build the peace movement
. The massive outpouring of antiwar sentiment before the U.S. invasion of Iraq showed that there is a wellspring of support for our cause. It just has to be tapped. Join a local group that speaks to you. Go to teachins, speak-outs, and marches. Learn from them and help organize new ones that reach out to broader sectors of the community.

Make sure you’re connected nationally by joining the Listserve of the largest antiwar coalition in the country, United for Peace and Justice (www.united forpeace.org).

7. Support members of the military who are speaking out
. Support military families who are speaking out against the war, and soldiers who are speaking out and refusing to fight. Two excellent groups are Military Families Speak Out (www.mfso.org) and Veterans against the Iraq War (www. vaiw.net). We also need to support counter-recruitment efforts that provide young people with a truthful picture of the risks of joining the military and of their other options. See www.objector.org for a list of counter-recruitment and support groups for soldiers (including a GI rights hotline).

8. Protect our civil liberties and oppose the backlash against immigrants
. If we’re going to stop new wars, we’ve got to be able to speak freely and organize without government interference. Unfortunately, after 9/11, some of our basic freedoms enshrined in our Bill of Rights are being eroded. Be a community watchdog ready to speak out against repressive measures, from new INS and Justice Department regulations to local police behavior and cases of bigotry. Oppose bills such as the USA Patriot Act that erode our basic rights. Join civil liberties groups such as the ACLU (www.aclu.org) and the Center for Constitutional Rights (www.ccr-ny.org). Remember, when civil liberties are taken away in an emergency, they’re rarely restored afterward; and when constitutional rights are denied to any one group, you could be next.

9. Support the creation of a Department of Peace
. We now have a huge, bloated, overactive Department of “Defense,” but where is the government body dedicated to preventing war and violence? Thanks to U.S. representative Dennis Kucinich, there is a piece of legislation in Congress that would create a Department of Peace. Domestically, the department would address issues such as domestic violence, child abuse, and mistreatment of the elderly. Internationally, it would advise the president on addressing the root causes of war and interventions that can be taken before violence begins. Go to the Web site www.dopcampaign.org to learn the status of current legislation and how you can support the bill.

10. Teach peace
. It is easy to teach children about war; it is much more challenging to teach them how to create peace. Encourage your public schools and libraries to carry peace curricula and create “peace places” in schools. For ideas contact Educators for Social Responsibility (www.esrnational.org), the National Peace Foundation (www.nationalpeace.org), or the Alliance for Childhood (www.allianceforchildhood.net). Help young people find active ways of working for peace and justice through organizations like Kids Can Make a Difference (www.kidscanmakeadifference.org), Free the Children (www.freethechildren.org), or PeaceJam (www.peacejam.org), through which students work directly with Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

The struggle to end war will be the culmination of a global movement that rejects violence on the part of individuals, terrorist groups, and nation-states. That’s why your contribution, however big or small, makes a difference. With patience, energy, and determination, keep your eyes on the prize: a world that thrives in peace.

To get involved, contact CODEPINK at [email protected] or www.codepinkalert.org

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In putting this book together, we were nurtured by a host of wonderful friends, colleagues, and family members.

CODEPINK cofounder Gael Murphy conducted several of the interviews and gave invaluable feedback, and our awesome coordinator Dana Balicki acted as both drill sergeant and midwife who saw this book through its birthing process.

Many talented volunteers gave freely of their time and energy, including Mary Arno, Sara Bella, Brooke Biggs, Chuck Blitz, Trisha Boreta, Lane Browning, Andrea Buffa, Shelley Buschur, Claire Cooke, Patricia Dowd, Claire Droney, Hoda Fahimi, Dana and Lisa Fredsti, Pat Garrison, Lucie Gikovich, Susan Griffin, Shannon Kindle, Melody Lee, Robyn Lee, Nancy “Hallie” Mancias, Heather McArthur, Eileen McCabe-Olsen, Deena Metzger, Linda Milazzo, Seyoum Michaels, Carol Norris, Kelly Nuxol, Panha Ouch, Pilar Perez, Lindsay Pinkham, Erica Pitkow, Lizzy Sandoval, Cissy Sims, Gail Smallridge, Alice Slater, Whitney Stone, Shana Winokur, and Saria Young. A special godsend was sixteen-year-old intern Max Lavine, who turned out to be a stellar researcher.

We are indebted to Anthony Arnove and Mahnaz Isphahani for helping us communicate with Arundhati Roy and Benazir Bhutto, respectively. Dr. Nayereh Tohidi for her assistance in communicating with Dr. Shirin Ebadi. We owe much to Fred Askew for the amazing photos and his commitment to documenting the peace movement. This book would not have been possible without the support of Connect U.S.

We would have ended up with a thousand-page tome had it not been for our wonderful editors, especially Jan Richman, Julia Scott, and Valerie Sinzdak. At Inner Ocean, Karen Bouris was the most awesome publisher we could have hoped for. Her vision, passion, and thoughtfulness were a constant source of nourishment. And kudos to Alma Bune for always keeping us on track.

Medea’s family—Kevin, Maya, Arlen, Alvin, and Debbie—kept her grounded and inspired, as did Kirsten Moller and the rest of Medea’s extended family who make up the staff of Global Exchange. As always, Jodie’s sons— Matthew and Jasiu—and Max Palevsky gave bountiful love, support, and encouragement.

Finally, we acknowledge our CODEPINK sisters and brothers, whose time, energy, and creativity never cease to astound us. Among those who were particularly supportive of this book are Susan Adelman, Elaine Broadhead, Susan Clark, Paulette Cole, Donna Deitch, Adelaide Gomer, Marion Greene, Nancy Kricorian, Dal LaMagna, Lara Lee, Bokara Legendre, Sara Lovell, Sarah Rath, Bonnie Rubenstein, Nancy Schaub, Anas Shallal, Barbra Streisand, Jade Tree Two, B. Wardlaw, Judy Wicks, and the Women’s Foundation. And then there’s the heart of CODEPINK, the forty thousand activists around the world who respond to our alerts and hit the streets in their vibrant pink. We are indebted to you all!

COPYRIGHT NOTICES

“Do Turkeys Enjoy Thanksgiving?” by Arundhati Roy. Excerpted with permission from a speech delivered at the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India, January 16, 2004, and published in
An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire
(Cambridge: South End Press, 2004) 83–94. Copyright © 2004 by Arundhati Roy.

“Colombian Women Create a Path to Peace” produced by the American Friends Service Committee and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Excerpted with permission from a pamphlet
Building from the Inside Out: Peace Initiatives in War-Torn Colombia
.

“Building a Just and Caring World” by Riane Eisler. A different version of this essay appeared in
Tikkun
, May-June 1998. Copyright © 2005 by Riane Eisler.

“The Challenge of Educating for Peace” by Joan Almon. Copyright © 2005 by the Alliance for Childhood. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

“Dark Enough to See the Stars” by Catherine Ingram. Adapted from
In the Footsteps of Gandhi
by Catherine Ingram (Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press, 1990). Copyright © 1990 by Catherine Ingram. Reprinted by permission of the author and publisher.

“The Mind Can Be a Prison or a Door” by Susan Griffin. Copyright © 2005 by Susan Griffin.

“A Mother’s Plea” by Nurit Peled-Elhanan. Adapted with permission from a speech delivered at the Israel-Palestine Day of Engagement at the ICA London in July 2002. The opening and closing paragraphs come from a speech delivered at the European Social Forum Convention in London in October 2004.

“What We Expect from America” by Mary Robinson. This essay appeared in slightly different form in
The American Prospect
, Volume 15, Number 10: October 1, 2004.Copyright © 2005 by The American Prospect, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Heading into the Cave with a Torch” by Katrina vanden Heuvel. Adapted with permission from a talk originally given in New York City, at the New York Town Hall with the Dalai Lama, September 23, 2003. Copyright © 2003 by Katrina vanden Heuvel.

“Ending the Nuclear Crisis: A Prescription for Survival” by Helen Caldicott. Excerpted with permission from an interview transcribed by Julia Scott that took place on Chicago Public Radio’s
World View
on October 12, 2004.

“Armies for Peace” by Gar Smith. First published as “Live from Iraq” in
Common Ground
in June 2004. Copyright © 2004 Gar Smith. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Bring Halliburton Home” by Naomi Klein. First published in the
Nation
magazine, November 24, 2003. Copyright © 2003 by Naomi Klein. Reprinted by permission from the author.

“Ending Poverty, Ending Terrorism” by Benazir Bhutto. First published in the
Guardian
, August 9, 2004. Adapted with permission from “Without a War on Poverty, We Will Never Defeat Terror Dictatorship and Religious Extremism Fueled by Gross Inequality.” Copyright © 2004 by Benazir Bhutto.

“The Cracked Mirror” by Wangari Maathai. Excerpted with permission from
Resurgence
magazine, November/December 2004; and from a speech by Professor Maathai on the occasion of receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Planet Called Home” by Holly Near. Copyright © 1999 Hereford Music (ASCAP). Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The New America” by Cynthia McKinney. Based on a talk originally given in Berkeley, California, at the UC Berkeley’s African Studies Department graduation ceremony on May 17, 2003. Copyright © 2003 by Cynthia McKinney. Reprinted by permission.

“The Opportunity of Imprisonment” by Sharon Salzberg. Adapted from “Finding Freedom in Imprisonment” in
A Heart as Wide as the World
(Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, 1997). Copyright ©1997 by Sharon Salzberg. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

ABOUT THE EDITORS

Medea (right) and Jodie (left) on the Jordan/Iraq border in January 2005.

Photo bt Matthew Palevsky

MEDEA BENJAMIN
is the founding director of Global Exchange and cofounded codepink with Jodie Evans. She also helped bring together the groups forming United for Peace and Justice.

Medea has traveled several times to Afghanistan and Iraq, where she organized the Occupation Watch Center. At the start of 2005 she accompanied military families whose loved ones had been killed in the war to bring a shipment of humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people.

In 2000, she was the Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. Her campaign mobilized thousands of Californians around issues such as paying workers a living wage, providing universal health care, and building schools, not prisons.