[Peace-discuss] flyer

[Bob Illyes]

I find most of the flyer's text to be well put and accurate, although
I'm a bit unsure that the extended discussion of free enterprise is
something that AWARE wants to weigh in on. I'm willing to go with this,
but wonder if there are any contrary opinions. I was going to go
over this at the meeting last night, but not enough folks had read the
flyer.

I would go further regarding corporations. The problem is not just
corporations, it is that the corporate insiders are the same people
as the government, i.e., that we have crony capitalism. This is the
worst possible sort of economy. Free enterprise has its good points
and its bad. So does socialism, although they are different good and
bad points. But crony capitalism has no good points, except for the
insiders, who view themselves as a sort of Calvinist Elect.

In the last paragraph, "free enterprise and peace are impossible until
the corporate economy is brought under democratic control," I would
replace "corporate economy is" with "corporations are." It is too
easy to misread this as bringing the economy under democratic control,
a misreading which would alienate antiwar folks in the libertarian right.
I think a coalition with these folks is critical to getting us out of
the Middle East.

The next to last paragraph is the most problematic, because it is
pretty much the Chomsky analysis. Chomsky has considerable merit,
in my opinion, but tying AWARE to him or his analysis will
completely alienate the libertarian right and turn off most people
in general. I heard someone joke that when you had Chomsky in to
speak, he made people so depressed that you needed to have in Zinn
to cheer them up.

I'd be inclined to strike the speculation about why the unholy alliance
of government and capitalists are doing what they're doing regarding
oil, and to start this paragraph with a quote of Eisenhower's warning
about the "military-industrial complex." The utter corruption that this
complex leads to is not palatable to the vast majority of the American
people, and if they are ever made fully aware of that corruption they
will throw the rascals out.

But what do other folks think? Do we want to take the hook and talk
about the parade's theme, letting someone else control the debate,
or do we want to have something more directly about war?

Bob