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A 10-Step Plan for Antiwar
Activists
By Bruce K. Gagnon
06/13/07 "ICH" -- -
I often hear from people asking me, "What should we do about all
this? How can we stop Bush?"
I would first say that we must move beyond blaming Bush. The
fact of U.S. empire is bigger than Bush. Hopefully by now, all
of us are more clear how the Democrats have been, and are now,
involved in enabling the whole U.S. military empire building
plan. It is about corporate domination. Bush is just the front
man for the big money.
So to me that is step #1.
Step #2 is to openly acknowledge that as a nation, and we as
citizens, benefit from this U.S. military and economic empire.
By keeping our collective military boot on the necks of the
people of the world we get control of a higher percentage of the
world's resources. We, 5% of the global population in the U.S.,
use 25% of the global resource base. This reality creates
serious moral questions that cannot be ignored.
Step #3 is to recognize that we are addicted to war and to
violence. The very weaving together of our nation was predicated
on violence when we began the extermination of the Native
populations and introduced the institution of slavery. A veteran
of George Washington's Army, in 1779, said, "I really felt
guilty as I applied the torch to huts that were homes of content
until we ravagers came spreading desolation everywhere....Our
mission here is ostensibly to destroy but may it not transpire,
that we pillagers are carelessly sowing the seed of Empire." The
soldier wrote this as Washington's Army set out to remove the
Iroquois civilization from New York state so that the U.S.
government could expand its borders westward toward the
Mississippi River. The creation of the American empire was
underway.
Our history since then has been endless war. Two-Time
Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Major General Smedley D.
Butler, U.S. Marine Corps, told the story in his book War is a
Racket. Butler recalls in his book, "I spent 33 years and 4
months in active military service....And during that period I
spent most of my time as a high-class muscle man for Big
Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a
racketeer, a gangster for capitalism....Thus I helped make
Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in
1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the
National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the
raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the
benefit of Wall Street....I helped purify Nicaragua for the
international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I
brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar
interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for American
fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927, I helped see to it
that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested."
Step # 4 We have to begin to change how we think about our
country. We have to learn to understand what oligarchy means.
I'll save you the trouble of having to look up the definition -
A government in which power is in the hands of a few. When you
have lost your democracy then what do the citizens do? They must
fight (non-violently) to take it back. This of course means
direct action and sometimes civil disobedience. Virtually
everything good in our nation (abolition of slavery movement,
women's suffrage, civil rights movement, anti-war movements,
etc) have come from people stepping up when they were needed.
Calling for impeachment by the Congress becomes imperative
today. Are you in or out?
Step #5 Forget the "every man for himself" mythology. We are all
brainwashed in this country to believe in the rugged
individualism story. But movement for change can only happen in
community - working with others. So forget the ego centric
notion that "one great man" is going to come save us. It's going
to take a village - in fact all the villages. Just like an
addict goes to a group to seek help for addiction, knowing they
can't do it themselves, so we must form community to work for
the needed change if we are to protect our children's future.
Step # 6 What about my job? Another smothering myth in America
is success. Keep your nose clean and don't rock the boat. Don't
get involved in politics, especially calling for a revolution of
values (like Martin Luther King Jr. did) or you will get labeled
and then you can forget about owning that castle on the hill
you've always dreamed of. In a way we become controlled by our
own subservience to the success mythology. We keep ourselves in
line because success and upward mobility become more important
than protecting free speech, clean water, clean air, and ending
an out of control government bent on world domination. Free our
minds, free our bodies and we free the nation.
Step #7 Learn to work well with others. Sure we all want to be
stars. But in the end we have to learn to set aside our egos if
we want to be able to work with others to bring about the needed
changes. Cindy Sheehan should not be hammered just for telling
the truth about the Democrats playing footsie with Bush on the
war.
Step # 8 It's the money. How can I do this peace work when I
have to work full-time just to pay the mortgage? I'd like to
help but I've got bills to pay! Maybe we can begin to look at
the consumerist life we lead and see that our addiction to the
rat race keeps us from being fully engaged in the most important
issue of our time - which is protecting the future generations.
How can we begin to explore cooperative living arrangements, by
building community, that free us up economically to be able to
get more involved?
Step # 9 Learn to read again. Many of us don't read enough. We
spend our time in front of the TV, which is a primary tool that
the power structure uses to brainwash us. We've got to become
independent thinkers again and teach our kids to think for
themselves. Reading and talking to others is a key. Read more
history. All the answers and lessons can be found there.
Step #10 Learn to trust again and have fun. Some of the nicest
people in the world are doing political work. Meet them and
become friends with them and your life will change for the
better.
Bruce K. Gagnon is Coordinator of
Global Network Against
Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. Write me at
globalnet@mindspring.com
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