Saturday, January 25, 2003

Why this Anti-War movement will Grow Up For those of us who were part of the anti-war movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, the sophistication, support, and depth of the present movement against Bush’s war is undeniable.   I was personally sick yesterday reading on CBS news about the plan for a massive missile strike on Iraq during the first and second day of the war.  According to CBS, operation “shock and awe” will launch 300 to 400 cruise missiles each day at Iraq, more than were used during the entire Gulf war.  The purpose is to devastate the country, shut down electricity, destroy buildings, etc.   All I could think of was the U.S. standing hundreds of miles off the coast, out of harms way, killing and maiming Iraqi soldiers and civilians because of the personal war lust of our President.   Today, I had a much different experience.  United for Justice and Peace (the large umbrella anti-war organization) invited Rep. Barbara Lee to Boston this weekend.  Barbara Lee was the only house member to vote against giving Bush the blank check to attack anyone after Sept. 11th. In a famous speech on the house floor, she said “we must not become the evil we deplore.”   Anyway, UJP, together with local community organizations and black activists, organized a meeting on the community costs of the war.  Over 500 people showed up in Roxbury, the black section of Boston.    Numerous community organizers spoke about how the budget cuts in areas such as housing, health care, education and job training were taking a terrible toll of wasted lives at home, while Bush poured more and more money into the war machine.   When Barbara Lee spoke, she gave the following statistics:  If the Iraq war costs $100 billion ( a very conservative estimate), that amount of money could be used to:             -build 1.4 million federally subsidized housing units, essentially ending homelessness in America               --repair 80% of the entire country’s schools, bringing them up to minimal building standards.               --Provide health insurance for 11 million uninsured children for five years.               --Pay salaries of 1.9 million teachers for 1 year.   The peace movement, through UJP, has recognized this convergence of interest.  Instead of standing apart from the movement for economic justice and equality, the two constituencies are banding together right from the beginning.  The constituencies are suburban middle class families opposed to Bush and the war, and the black inner city organizations that have been fighting for equality, economic justice, and better government programs.   Martin Luther King agonized for a long time before coming to the recognition in 1967 that the war abroad was not separable from the war at home.  Today, the knowledge that we will never have peace without justice is a deeper statement than our 1960’s slogan of “peace now”.   In Boston, the links between the white peace movement and black and Latino activism are rapidly developing.  Nationally, 100% of the Congressional Hispanic caucus voted against Bush’s war.   In the Black congressional caucus, all but 4 members voted against it.   The catalyst is Bush’s arrogance in attempting to push a right-wing agenda on so many fronts at once.  We have a president the majority voted against, who is taking the most radical positions of any U.S. president in 100 years.  By opposing affirmative action, women’s rights, by supporting corporate and investor interests against all other public goods, and by his massive tax giveaway, Bush is causing a stirring among people that may transform the democratic party.  See E.J. Dionne’s column in Sunday’s Washington Post.   The impact of this is already being felt.  Rep. Jim Lynch, of South Boston, was one of 11 congressmen who had supported the initial war resolution, but who subsequently signed on to a “let the inspections work” letter to Bush.  Other democrats are feeling more pressure to speak out.  40 of us crowded into Rep. Ed Markey’s office the other day—he being one of the few Massachusetts reps who caved in to the war fever, and hopefully dogged by us until he reverses his stand.   My own feeling is that this time, the peace and justice movement will focus on remaining within the democratic party, forcing the party to confront this right wing coup, and hopefully changing more than just the course of a war with Iraq.  The peace movement is rapidly growing into a movement to take back the public agenda of this country, to restore the commitment to democracy, the common good, and economic justice and equality.  No matter what happens in Iraq, the fight has just begun. 10:38:06 PM   comment []

© Copyright 2003 Toby Sackton. Last update: 2/2/2003; 5:54:55 PM.