[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Movement Leaders & Activists - 'We Work for Peace and Justice'
manni at snafu.de
manni at snafu.de
Thu Mar 27 21:00:53 CST 2003
Forwarded Message:
> To: portside at yahoogroups.com
> From: portsideMod at netscape.net
> Subject: Movement Leaders & Activists - 'We Work for Peace and
Justice'
> Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 18:46:52 -0500
> -----
> The following statement was co-written by 76 people
> prominent in the movement for peace and justice - including Michael
> Albert, Tariq Ali, Leslie Cagan, Noam Chomsky, Bill Fletcher,
> Eduardo Galeano, Arundhati Roy, Howard Zin. Others are encouraed
> to add their names.
>
> http://www.zmag.org/wspjart.htm
>
> To add your name go to: http://www.zmag.org/wspj/index.cfm
>
> ***
>
> We Work for Peace and Justice
>
> Building a movement powerful enough to stop the war in Iraq or to
> successfully curb a next war in Syria, Iran, or Venezuela, involves many
> factors. Among these, and perhaps the most fundamental, is sufficient
> numbers.
>
> To successfully challenge those in power, our movement must
constantly
> grow in numbers as well as consciousness and commitment. We must
reach
> out to people who are against the war, but who have not yet acted on
> their beliefs. We must reach out to people who are troubled by what they
> are witnessing, but who have not yet decided to oppose the war and the
> policies behind it. We must reach out as well to those who now support
> the war, but without full knowledge of the context, history, and
> implications.
>
> A key task therefore, in addition to demonstrating, is to talk to
> people, to hear their misgivings, their confusions, and their insights,
> and to provide an alternative viewpoint able to generate critical
> solidarity that can last. We need to address the people whose
addresses
> we don't have. We need to go door to door in neighborhoods and
dorms,
> and we need to do it over and over. We need to talk to coworkers on the
> job, to people who we encounter during the day shopping, to our
> neighbors, and to the person next to us in class or in church or
> wherever we may be. We need to organize.
>
> On a larger scale, our collective efforts can also reach out to
> audiences beyond our current membership. Our marches can go
through
> neighborhoods instead of only downtown. People on the marches can
go and
> talk with those who will inevitably be drawn to watch such events.
> Thousands of groups can go into shopping areas and set up tables and
> then talk to those in the area. Talk. Talk. That is the foundation of
> building larger demonstrations, deeper commitment, and raising costs
for
> elites, and thus winning change.
>
> If 100 or 500 or 5,000 or 50,000 people or more are ready and willing
> to block streets or obstruct buildings as a means of pressuring elites
> in a context where support is growing, that's wonderful, especially when
> the targets are part of the war machine, as in the efforts to block
> military trains in Europe. But shouldn't as many people, the next day,
> or the day before, or both, be willing to spread out and talk to the
> population, facilitating their becoming actively involved as well?
>
> Our demonstrations create a context that facilitates reaching out to
> organize the populace, but as important as they are, marches, rallies,
> and obstructions won't by themselves do that organizing. To hear views
> and to change minds requires that we listen and then convey evidence,
> arguments, and also sympathy and respect for where people are at. It
> takes talk.
>
> To win against this war, the next war, and the causes of war and of
> injustice more broadly, we need to assemble tens of millions of active,
> committed movement members. But even if we continually talk to those
who
> disagree with us, how can we know what we are accomplishing, and
what
> can be our point of entry?
>
> A possible technique would be for all of us, worldwide, to go to people
> with a statement for them to sign -- something that's timely but that
> won't grow stale, something that is concrete and specific, but that is
> also universal enough for international use and thorough enough so
that
> to get signatures we will have to address all the issues that obstruct
> people becoming actively involved in a growing movement for peace
and
> justice.
>
> Maybe something like this:
>
> "I stand for peace and justice.
>
> I stand for democracy and autonomy. I don't think the U.S. or any other
> country should ignore the popular will and violate and weaken
> international law, seeking to bully and bribe votes in the Security
> Council.
>
> I stand for internationalism. I oppose any nation spreading an ever
> expanding network of military bases around the world and producing an
> arsenal unparalleled in the world.
>
> I stand for equity. I don't think the U.S. or any other country should
> seek empire. I don't think the U.S. ought to control Middle Eastern oil
> on behalf of U.S. corporations and as a wedge to gain political control
> over other countries.
>
> I stand for freedom. I oppose brutal regimes in Iraq and elsewhere but I
> also oppose the new doctrine of "preventive war," which guarantees
> permanent and very dangerous conflict, and is the reason why the U.S.
is
> now regarded as the major threat to peace in much of the world. I stand
> for a democratic foreign policy that supports popular opposition to
> imperialism, dictatorship, and political fundamentalism in all its
> forms.
>
> I stand for solidarity. I stand for and with all the poor and the
> excluded. Despite massive disinformation millions oppose unjust,
> illegal, immoral war, and I want to add my voice to theirs. I stand with
> moral leaders all over the world, with world labor, and with the huge
> majority of the populations of countries throughout the world.
>
> I stand for diversity. I stand for an end to racism directed against
> immigrants and people of color. I stand for an end to repression at
home
> and abroad.
>
> I stand for peace. I stand against this war and against the conditions,
> mentalities, and institutions that breed and nurture war and injustice.
>
> I stand for sustainability. I stand against the destruction of forests,
> soil, water, environmental resources, and biodiversity on which all life
> depends.
>
> I stand for justice. I stand against economic, political, and cultural
> institutions that promote a rat race mentality, huge economic and power
> inequalities, corporate domination even unto sweatshop and slave
labor,
> racism, and gender and sexual hierarchies.
>
> I stand for a policy which redirects the money used for war and military
> spending to provide healthcare, education, housing, and jobs.
>
> I stand for a world whose political, economic, and social institutions
> foster solidarity, promote equity, maximize participation, celebrate
> diversity, and encourage full democracy.
>
> I stand for peace and justice and, more, I pledge to work for peace and
> justice."
>
> If a million or more new people in many countries around the world
come
> to understand and to agree with this statement, it will have powerful
> short and long run repercussions, enlarging our movement and giving it
a
> positive tone, as well. We therefore think this is an approach worth
> considering. At any rate, we ought to organize, organize, organize --
> among those not yet organized.
>
>
>
> Signed,
>
> Ezequiel Adamovsky, Argentina
>
> Vittorio Agnoletto, Italy
>
> Christophe Aguiton, Italy
>
> Michael Albert, USA
>
> Tim Allen, USA
>
> Tariq Ali. England, England
>
> Bridget Anderson, England
>
> David Bacon, USA
>
> David Barsamian, USA
>
> Phyllis Bennis, USA
>
> Elena Blanco, Venezuela
>
> Nadine Bloch, USA
>
> Peter Bohmer USA
>
> Patrick Bond, South Africa
>
> Jeremy Brecher, USA
>
> Paul Buhle, USA
>
> Nicola Bullard Thailand
>
> Leslie Cagan, USA
>
> Alex Callinicos, England
>
> Daniel Chavez, Netherlands
>
> Noam Chomsky, USA
>
> David Cromwell, England
>
> Will Doherty, USA
>
> Brian Dominick, USA
>
> Barbara Epstein, USA
>
> Laura Flanders USA
>
> Bill Fletcher, USA
>
> Eduardo Galeano, Uruguay
> Susan George, France
>
> Andrej Grubacic, Sebia
>
> Marta Harnecker, Chile
>
> Tom Hayden, USA
>
> Doug Henwood, USA
>
> John Hepburn, Australia
>
> Edward Herman, USA
>
> Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistan
>
> Sut Jhally, USA
>
> Robert Jensen, USA
>
> Boris Kagarlitsky, Russia
>
> Sonali Kolhatkar, USA
>
> Saul Landau, USA
>
> Joanne Landy, USA
>
> Rahul Mahajan. USA
>
> Dawn Martinez, USA
>
> Elizabeth, Martinez, USA
>
> Rania Masri, USA
>
> George Monbiot, England
>
> Hector Mondragon, Colombia
>
> Suren Moodliar, South Africa
>
> Adele Oliveri, Italy
>
> Pablo Ortellado, Brazil
>
> Cynthia Peters, USA
>
> Justin Podur, Canada
>
> Vijay Prashad, USA
>
> Prabir Purkayastha, India
>
> Milan Rai England
>
> Nikos Raptis, Greece
>
> Michael Ratner, USA
>
> Judy Rebick, Canada
>
> Tanya Reinhart, Israel
>
> Carola Reintjes, Spain
>
> Arundhati Roy, India
>
> Marta Russell, USA
>
> Manuel Rozental, Colombia
>
> Stephen Shalom, USA
>
> Norman Solomon, USA
>
> Lydia Sargent, USA
>
> Roberto Savio, Italy
>
> James Tracy, USA
>
> America Vera-Zavala, Sweden
>
> Peter Waterman, Holland
>
> Robert Weissman, USA
>
> Tom Wetzel, USA
>
> Tim Wise, USA
>
> Howard Zinn, USA
>
>
>
>
>
>
_________________________________________________________
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