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Healing Our World: Weekly Comment By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D. Protests Are of Great Value
I would like you to know Some folks who misunderstand the peace movement took to the streets to support the Bush administration’s proposed war with Iraq because they said doing so supports our troops. It is perplexing that they cannot see that not having a war at all and not killing our soldiers or civilians is the best way to support those members of the armed forces who have been sent to the Middle East. Not going to war is also the best way to avert what could be an environmental Armageddon if Iraqi troops set fire to the oil wells. The largest anti-war demonstrations since the Vietnam era took place around the world on February 15th. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people turned out in Seattle alone and over 1.3 million protesters filled the streets in Barcelona, Spain, a city of 1.3 million.
Thousands fill London's Hyde Park on February 15. The demonstration was jointly organized by the Stop the War Coalition, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and the Muslim Association of Britain (Photo courtesy Stop War)Some people have questioned the value of this form of protesting and even President George W. Bush himself has dismissed it. But the value of demonstrating for what you believe in cannot be underestimated and, in fact, is a unique and important element of any representative democracy.Most elected representatives crave public and industry input. True, they are elected to represent large numbers of people, but few elected officials would claim to know the scientific, ecological or sociological principles and consequences behind most of the legislation they are called upon to enact. They need input from those groups and citizens who advocate the pros and cons of an issue. Not communicating with elected officials or expressing personal and professional views on issues is really an abdication of one’s responsibility. Activists are not malcontents, misfits, and criminals. They are the true participants in our culture and our government. Not all activism must take the form of demonstrating. You can vote, write letters, make phone calls, or boycott products and industries.
Police arrest a Greenpeace activist who with 16 others chained himself to the Melsbroek military airport gates to protest the arrival of President George W. Bush, for his rejection of the Kyoto global warming treaty and arms control. June 13, 2001. (Photo courtesy Greenpeace/Reynaers)Of course, businesses, industries, and many political leaders, such as President Bush, who are not interested in truly representing the needs of the people, will try to convince the public that they have no voice and that their protests are meaningless. The reality is that all forms of activism are carefully noted by those in power. Even peace demonstrations weigh heavily on the administration and the President takes careful note of each and every one. Bush is carefully planning his reelection and balancing the degree to which he can go against public opinion and repair the damage before the next election. If the anti-war movement can keep up the pressure, it can make him change policy. Expressing your opinion does count.The presidential administration will NEVER admit this, though, and they will lie to us, like Bush did, about the importance of protests. How far would you go to defend what you believe in? Are you prepared to be arrested, ridiculed, and deprived of your job and your ability to earn a living? Would you reduce your standard of living to below the poverty level and get what support you could from handouts from friends? Would you live for months at a time in strange surroundings, often deprived of television, telephone, and other creature comforts? Would you stop eating for even a day to take a stand for what you thought important? Most of us would answer “no” to most of those questions. And that is OK - there are many acceptable modes for activism. But we must remember that those people who answer "yes" to those questions are on the front lines in our battles. They make it possible for so many others to go about their lives with minimal participation in the decision making that happens every day in our government.
The Pierce Downer's Heritage Alliance demonstrates to protect and preserve open space in DuPage County, Illinois. (Photo courtesy PDHA)The biggest challenge for a peace activist - or any activist - is to keep up the pressure in the midst of the talk from our leaders about how powerless they are. We are not powerless. We hold all the power, and those in power will lie through their teeth to try to convince us otherwise. But they DO listen. The ultimate audience of the activist is the dying child or soldier on the battlefield whose life may be saved by our demonstrations, letters, and phone calls.When protesting federal actions, activists who are arrested are often charged with federal crimes. Conviction of a federal felony in the United States carries severe penalties. You probably won't be hired again by anyone for the rest of your life. You also lose your right to vote, an ironic loss for activists fighting for the health and wellbeing of you and your children. There is an entire underground of activists who can no longer work or support themselves or vote because of their non-violent actions and vision of the future. Many activists, once they are released from unfairly long prison terms, are cared for by other activists, and some get occasional income from speaking engagements. I remember reading of an imprisoned anti-nuclear activist a few years ago whose mail was censored. During an interview with the "Nuclear Resister" newspaper, he asked readers to please contact his family and his children and explain to them what he had done and why. So please keep demonstrating, writing and thinking and caring. Please keep working hard to reduce your consumption, re-examine your behaviors, and live more lightly on this Earth. But each day, please send thoughts to those who have thrown all caution to the wind, who have given up all comfort to sit on the front lines, chained to fences, shivering on the high seas, sitting in trees, or languishing in prison. Say a silent prayer for them and thank them for the comforts you have. And then go write a letter. KEEP UP THE PRESSURE, no matter what they say. RESOURCES 1. Visit the Non-violence Web at: http://www.nonviolence.org/ 2. Find out who your elected representatives are and contact them. Tell them we must begin waging peace now. You can find them at http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ziptoit.html 3. Keep track of worldwide anti-war protests at: http://www.protest.net/iraq_action_digest_dec_3.html 4. Visit Citizens Concerned for the People of Iraq at: http://www.scn.org/ccpi/ 5. Read about the cancers and birth defects in the children of Iraq from the radioactive material left by the U.S. after the 1991 bombing at: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/95178_du12.shtml 6. 20/20 Vision will help keep you informed of issues at: http://www.2020vision.org/ 7. Learn what to buy and what not to buy through the Boycott Action News at: http://www.coopamerica.org/boycotts/index.html 8. For international activism information, visit: http://flag.blackened.net/agony/links.html for a listing of worldwide sites. 9. Keep an eye on the School of the Americas at: http://www.soaw.org/ where the U.S. government trains international political leaders who will become the human rights violators of tomorrow. See their rogues gallery at: http://www.soaw.org/grads/ 10. Visit the American Friends Service Committee and see their worldwide programs for peace at: http://www.afsc.org/ {Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D. is a writer and teacher in Seattle and the author of "Healing Our World", A Journey from the Darkness Into the Light," available at: http://www.xlibris.com/HealingOurWorld.html or your local bookstore. His new book of photographs and thoughts on interconnectedness, “Of This Earth, Reflections on Connections,” is now available. Learn about it at: http://ofthisearth.org. Please send your thoughts, comments, and visions to him at: jackie@healingourworld.com and visit his website at: http://www.healingourworld.com} |
