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THE DUTY OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
If... the machine of government... is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law: Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, 1849
The stage is set. Cheney and Bush still see themselves as the deciders and their preemptive agenda is still in play. The timid Democrats are about to be sucked into funding the Iraq fiasco and thus setting the stage for being responsible for its consequences when Bush leaves office in 2009.
Even today we see that the insurgency ( freedom Fighters ) have penetrated the Iraq Green Zone with a suicide bomber and that's not counting the 15 to 20 daily rocket attacks.The time for wishful thinking is over ~ we lost and we deserve to lose and be humiliated in the process of Bush & Cheney's illegal occupation and travesty of justice .
Since we lack a national leader who will speak for the people's agenda ~ I call on Britain's George Galloway who proclaims to the British people " If George Bush bombs Iran, we should bring this country to a standstill. "
Even Lee Iococca, at 82 years old, is fed up with this Administration ~ http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17516.htm
" Had Enough? Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course." Stay the course? You've got to be kidding ... This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out ! "
Yes, it's almost time for civil disobedience ~ for we are, indeed, the agents of injustice in Iraq and perhaps in short time Iran and if Congress won't act by cutting off funding or even impeachment hearings ~ we must act even if it means breaking the law . It is our duty !
Allen L Roland http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2007/04/12.html
Resist the war drive against Iran
By George Galloway
03/30/07 "ICH" -- -- " The capture by Iranian forces of 15 British sailors in the Gulf brought shrill, bellicose headlines last weekend and calls for retribution.
The anti-war movement has done a superb job in winning a clear majority against the war and occupation in Iraq.
But no one should believe that because the case against the “war on terror” is so overwhelming then no British government can garner support for another military misadventure.
The capture of the British sailors has all the hallmarks of the kind of incident that has been used in the past as a reason either for war or for escalating confrontation.
In 1949 the British gunboat HMS Amethyst was fired on in the Yangtze river in China. There was much outrage in Britain at Mao’s People’s Liberation Army, which was on the verge of taking power, for shooting at the ship. There was little questioning of what a British ship was doing on a Chinese river.
Whether or not the British sailors were in Iranian waters is disputed. But what is not in dispute is that Britain has joined the US in pouring warships into the Gulf while pressuring and threatening Iran.
Reliable US sources have reported that special forces are already operating in Iran.The Stop the War Coalition has rightly argued that the occupation of Iraq threatens to generate a wider regional war.
The commander of the ship HMS Cornwall unwittingly captured the mentality of imperial occupation when he said the sailors had been captured in “our waters”. He meant the waters belonging under international law and treaty to the Republic of Iraq.
In addition to the immediate argument that this incident is not worth yet more bloodshed and war, it is vital to challenge this imperialist delusion.
Part of that is simply asking the obvious question: imagine if Iran occupied France, had scores of warships in the Channel, was reported to have commandos operating in the home counties, and was pushing for sanctions against Britain – how would public opinion, the media and the British government react?
What makes anyone think Iran is any different?
Secondly, as propagandists try to gloss the “war on terror” in fake humanitarianism, more and more people need to shout out the single greatest lesson of the anti-war movement.
It is not the business of Western governments and the corporations that back them, steeped in the blood and sweat of hundreds of millions of people across the globe, to bring “order” to the “savages”.
It is the business of those of us who live in those imperialist states to do all in our power to stop their militarism and to act in solidarity with those around the globe fighting for a better world.
Everywhere you go this week, make sure people are asking: what on earth are British gunboats doing in Iraqi or Iranian waters in a place called the Arabian or Persian Gulf thousands of miles from home?
It is up to all of us to oppose the war drive against Iran. Can you start a discussion at work or college, arrange a Stop the War meeting, get a letter into your local paper, petition on the streets?
And as the People’s Assembly in London agreed last week, if there is an attack on Iran, we will need civil disobedience in every community, walkouts in every school, protests and strikes in every workplace.
If George Bush bombs Iran, we should bring this country to a standstill. "
OpEd columnist Allen L Roland is available for comments & interviews. ( allen@allenroland.com )
Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on Conscious talk radio . |
