Now We Can Finally Get to Work
By David Swanson, Pressenza, 09.11.2016
Dear Democrats, Are you finding yourselves
suddenly a bit doubtful of the wisdom of drone wars? Presidential wars without
Congress? Massive investment in new, smaller, “more usable” nuclear weapons?
The expansion of bases across Africa and Asia? Are you disturbed by the wars in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen? Can total surveillance and the
persecution of whistleblowers hit a point where they’ve gone too far? Is the
new Cold War with Russia looking less than ideal now? How about the
militarization of U.S. police: is it time to consider alternatives to that?
suddenly a bit doubtful of the wisdom of drone wars? Presidential wars without
Congress? Massive investment in new, smaller, “more usable” nuclear weapons?
The expansion of bases across Africa and Asia? Are you disturbed by the wars in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen? Can total surveillance and the
persecution of whistleblowers hit a point where they’ve gone too far? Is the
new Cold War with Russia looking less than ideal now? How about the
militarization of U.S. police: is it time to consider alternatives to that?
(Image by Common Dreams)
I hear you. I’m with you. Let’s build a movement
together to end the madness of constantly overthrowing governments with bombs.
Let’s propose nonviolent alternatives to a culture gone mad with war.
Let’s end the mindset that creates war in
the first place.
together to end the madness of constantly overthrowing governments with bombs.
Let’s propose nonviolent alternatives to a culture gone mad with war.
Let’s end the mindset that creates war in
the first place.
We have opportunities as well as dangers. A
President Trump is unpredictable. He wants to proliferate nuclear weapons, bomb
people, kill people, stir up hatred of people, and increase yet further military
spending. But he also said the new Cold War was a bad idea. He said he wanted
to end NATO, not to mention NAFTA, as well as breaking the habit of
overthrowing countries left and right. Trump seems to immediately back off such
positions under the slightest pressure. Will he adhere to them under massive
pressure from across the political spectrum? It’s worth a
try.
President Trump is unpredictable. He wants to proliferate nuclear weapons, bomb
people, kill people, stir up hatred of people, and increase yet further military
spending. But he also said the new Cold War was a bad idea. He said he wanted
to end NATO, not to mention NAFTA, as well as breaking the habit of
overthrowing countries left and right. Trump seems to immediately back off such
positions under the slightest pressure. Will he adhere to them under massive
pressure from across the political spectrum? It’s worth a
try.
We have an opportunity to build a movement that
includes a focus on and participation from refugees/immigrants. We have a
chance to create opposition to racist wars and racism at home. We may just
discover that what’s left of the U.S. labor movement is suddenly more open to
opposing wars. Environmental groups may find a willingness to oppose the
world’s top destroyer of the environment: the U.S. military. Civil liberties
groups may at long last be willing to take on the militarism that creates the
atrocities they oppose. We have to work for such a broader movement. We have to
build on the trend of protesting the national anthem and make it a trend of
actively resisting the greatest purveyor of violence on earth.
includes a focus on and participation from refugees/immigrants. We have a
chance to create opposition to racist wars and racism at home. We may just
discover that what’s left of the U.S. labor movement is suddenly more open to
opposing wars. Environmental groups may find a willingness to oppose the
world’s top destroyer of the environment: the U.S. military. Civil liberties
groups may at long last be willing to take on the militarism that creates the
atrocities they oppose. We have to work for such a broader movement. We have to
build on the trend of protesting the national anthem and make it a trend of
actively resisting the greatest purveyor of violence on earth.
I know you’re feeling a little beat down at the
moment. You shouldn’t. You had a winning candidate in Bernie Sanders. Your
party cheated him out of the nomination. All that stuff you tell yourselves
about encouraging demographic trends and the better positions of young people
is all true. You just looked for love in all the wrong places. Running an unpopular
candidate in a broken election system is not the way to change the world. Even
a working election system would not be the central means by which to improve
anything. There’s no getting back the mountains of money and energy invested in
this election. But activism is an unlimited resource. Directing your energies
now in more strategic directions can inspire others who in turn can re-inspire
you.
moment. You shouldn’t. You had a winning candidate in Bernie Sanders. Your
party cheated him out of the nomination. All that stuff you tell yourselves
about encouraging demographic trends and the better positions of young people
is all true. You just looked for love in all the wrong places. Running an unpopular
candidate in a broken election system is not the way to change the world. Even
a working election system would not be the central means by which to improve
anything. There’s no getting back the mountains of money and energy invested in
this election. But activism is an unlimited resource. Directing your energies
now in more strategic directions can inspire others who in turn can re-inspire
you.
Dear Republicans,
Your outsider is threatening insiderness. He’s got
the same tribe of DC corporate lobbyists planning his nominations that Hillary
Clinton had lined up for hers. Can we resist that trend? Can we insist that the
wars be ended? Can those moments of off-the-cuff honesty about dinosaurs like
NATO be turned into actual action? Donald Trump took a lot of heat for
proposing to be fair to Palestinians as well as Israelis, and he backed off
fast. Can we encourage him to stand behind that initial inclination?
the same tribe of DC corporate lobbyists planning his nominations that Hillary
Clinton had lined up for hers. Can we resist that trend? Can we insist that the
wars be ended? Can those moments of off-the-cuff honesty about dinosaurs like
NATO be turned into actual action? Donald Trump took a lot of heat for
proposing to be fair to Palestinians as well as Israelis, and he backed off
fast. Can we encourage him to stand behind that initial inclination?
Can we stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership and end
NAFTA as well? We heard a million speeches about how bad NAFTA is. How about
actually ending it? Can we stop the looming war supplemental spending bill? Can
we put a swift halt to efforts in Congress to repeal the right to sue Saudi
Arabia and other nations for their wars and lesser acts of terrorism?
NAFTA as well? We heard a million speeches about how bad NAFTA is. How about
actually ending it? Can we stop the looming war supplemental spending bill? Can
we put a swift halt to efforts in Congress to repeal the right to sue Saudi
Arabia and other nations for their wars and lesser acts of terrorism?
How about all that well deserved disgust with the
corporate media? Can we actually break up that cartel and allow opportunities
for media entrepreneurs?
corporate media? Can we actually break up that cartel and allow opportunities
for media entrepreneurs?
Dear United States,
Donald Trump admitted we had a broken election
system and for a while pretended that he would operate outside of it by funding
his own campaign. It’s time to actually fix it. It’s time to end the system of
legalized bribery, fund elections, make registration automatic, make election
day a holiday, end gerrymandering, eliminate the electoral college, create the
right to vote, create the public hand-counting of paper ballots at every
polling place, and create ranked choice voting as Maine just did.
system and for a while pretended that he would operate outside of it by funding
his own campaign. It’s time to actually fix it. It’s time to end the system of
legalized bribery, fund elections, make registration automatic, make election
day a holiday, end gerrymandering, eliminate the electoral college, create the
right to vote, create the public hand-counting of paper ballots at every
polling place, and create ranked choice voting as Maine just did.
Voter suppression efforts in this year’s elections
should be prosecuted in each state. And any indications of fraud in vote
counting by machines should be investigated. We should take the opportunity
created by all the McCarthyist nonsense allegations of Russian interference to
get rid of unverifiable voting.
should be prosecuted in each state. And any indications of fraud in vote
counting by machines should be investigated. We should take the opportunity
created by all the McCarthyist nonsense allegations of Russian interference to
get rid of unverifiable voting.
There are also areas in which localities and
states, as well as international organizations and alliances, must now step up
to take the lead. First and foremost is investing in a serious effort to avoid
climate catastrophe. Second is addressing inequality that has surpassed the
Middle Ages: both taxing the overclass and upholding the underclass must be
pursued creatively. Mass incarceration and militarized police are problems that
states can solve.
states, as well as international organizations and alliances, must now step up
to take the lead. First and foremost is investing in a serious effort to avoid
climate catastrophe. Second is addressing inequality that has surpassed the
Middle Ages: both taxing the overclass and upholding the underclass must be
pursued creatively. Mass incarceration and militarized police are problems that
states can solve.
But we can advance a positive agenda across the
board by understanding this election in the way that much of the world will
understand it: as a vote against endless war. Let’s end the wars, end the
weapons dealing, close the bases, and cut the $1 trillion a year going into the
military. Hell, why not demand that a businessman president for the first time
ever audit the Pentagon and find out what it’s spending money on?
board by understanding this election in the way that much of the world will
understand it: as a vote against endless war. Let’s end the wars, end the
weapons dealing, close the bases, and cut the $1 trillion a year going into the
military. Hell, why not demand that a businessman president for the first time
ever audit the Pentagon and find out what it’s spending money on?
Dear World,
We apologize for having elected President Trump as
well as for nearly electing President Clinton. Many of you believe we defeated
the representative of the enlightenment in favor of the sexist racist buffoon.
This may be a good thing. Or at least it may be preferable to your
eight-year-long delusion that President Obama was a man of peace and justice.
well as for nearly electing President Clinton. Many of you believe we defeated
the representative of the enlightenment in favor of the sexist racist buffoon.
This may be a good thing. Or at least it may be preferable to your
eight-year-long delusion that President Obama was a man of peace and justice.
I hate to break it to you, but the United States
government has been intent on dominating the rest of you since the day it was
formed. If electing an obnoxious president helps you understand that, so much
the better. Stop joining in U.S. “humanitarian wars” please. They never were
humanitarian, and if you can recognize that now, so much the better. The new
guy openly wants to “steal their oil.” So did the last several presidents,
although none of them said so. Are we awake now?
government has been intent on dominating the rest of you since the day it was
formed. If electing an obnoxious president helps you understand that, so much
the better. Stop joining in U.S. “humanitarian wars” please. They never were
humanitarian, and if you can recognize that now, so much the better. The new
guy openly wants to “steal their oil.” So did the last several presidents,
although none of them said so. Are we awake now?
Shut down the U.S. bases in your country. They
represent your subservience to Donald Trump. Close them.
represent your subservience to Donald Trump. Close them.
Want to save the earth’s climate? Build a
nonviolent movement that resists destructive agendas coming out of the United
States.
nonviolent movement that resists destructive agendas coming out of the United
States.
Want to uphold the rule of law, diplomacy, aid,
decency, and humanitarianism? Stop making exceptions for U.S. crimes. Tell the
International Criminal Court to indict a non-African. Prosecute the crime and
crimes of war in your own courts. Stop cooperating in the surrounding and
threatening of Russia, China, and Iran. Clinton wanted to send weapons to
Ukraine and bomb Syria. Make sure Trump doesn’t. Make peace in Ukraine and
Syria before January.
decency, and humanitarianism? Stop making exceptions for U.S. crimes. Tell the
International Criminal Court to indict a non-African. Prosecute the crime and
crimes of war in your own courts. Stop cooperating in the surrounding and
threatening of Russia, China, and Iran. Clinton wanted to send weapons to
Ukraine and bomb Syria. Make sure Trump doesn’t. Make peace in Ukraine and
Syria before January.
It’s time that we all began treating the
institution of war as the unacceptable vestige of barbarism that it can appear
when given an openly racist, sexist, bigoted face. We have the ability to use
nonviolent tools to direct the world where we want it to go. We have to stop
believing the two big lies: that we are generally powerless, and that our only
power lies in elections. Let’s finally get active. Let’s start by ending war making.
institution of war as the unacceptable vestige of barbarism that it can appear
when given an openly racist, sexist, bigoted face. We have the ability to use
nonviolent tools to direct the world where we want it to go. We have to stop
believing the two big lies: that we are generally powerless, and that our only
power lies in elections. Let’s finally get active. Let’s start by ending war making.
Our interview with David Swanson:
