Recently, President Bush made a statement to the effect that if Iran pursued nuclear weapons build-up, it would lead to World War III. No, I don't want Iran to have nuclear weapons. But I have to wonder, how on earth did we go from the end of the Cold War to America fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, and gearing to go to war with Iran as well. Recent comments by President Bush and Dick Cheney speak to the need to make sure that Iran doesn't get nuclear power, adn to ensure that, we may have to go in and do something about that.
This scares me. The other morning, I sat with my roommate Emily and we talked about potential war with Iran and the likelihood of World War III, and it suddenly became incredibly real to me. The current administration went into Afghanistan to get al Queda. Instead of finishing the work there and helping to establish peace, resources were taken to fight an illegal war in Iraq-- and yes, I firmly believe it to be illegal, and I am angry that the administration lied and continues to lie about the Iraq war. For the record, when the US went into Iraq, I was actually supportive because I thought that we went in to help end the human rights abuses. Not to send the world into a spiral of terror and hate and cause complete chaos in Iraq and the death of thousands of US soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and to line the pockets of certain politicians. I thought that there was a plan. The fact that where we are now is the outcome and that the President can't admit that mistakes were made really upsets me, and it should upset all of us. Especially when we now are hearing rhetoric of going into Iran, for our security. Excuse me? This administration has plunged us into a new nuclear age. It has shunned diplomacy, and has shrouded its actions in lies and secrecy. It has thumbed its nose at all international cooperation, pulled out of treaties (such as the Koyoto Protocol and the nuclear arms proliferation treaty), created havens for actual terrorists, and caused a huge schism in the political life of the U.S. It has drained U.S. resources from things that would make the world a better place like education and public radio and civil service work to buy more tanks, to pay private defense firms like Blackwater, to run secret torture centers in other countries. And now they want to go get us into more debt, create more animosity towards the U.S., and potentially cause World War III with devasting effects for the next generation or two.
No. I am not going to allow this to happen. I don't know how yet, but so many people that I talk to agree with this sentiment, and we all seem at a loss of what to do. But we HAVE to do SOMETHING. It is our responsibility. I was reading an article today about the protest at the Pentagon forty years ago, protesting the Vietnam war and the effect that had on Robert McNamara, and I wish that we could do that. But I look at the anti-war protests and I see how they've lost their voice, even to those who agree with their message. I don't know what I can do personally, except talk about it, speak out at every opportunity, and get my citizenship so that I can at least make my voice heard by voting for someone who would be a better world leader.
How can we bring peace? Seriously friends, any ideas? We can't just sit back and watch another war start.
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12 comments:
I TOTALLY agree with your post. Jason and just finished watching "War Made Easy" and I really really recommend it! I'm going to post about it tonight. So insightful and making me feel the same as you--"what can I do personally?" and I guess discussions are a good start.
I also appreciate the insights from the first comment. The line between big biz and government are so fuzzy and so due for the cleaning out. How do we have a President with out care for representing the voice of the people? I kind of feel like the ENRON has already happened in the governement to some degree (with the expose of lies) and nothing is being done.
So glad for this discussion--thanks Suvi!
and thanks rosecovered glasses!
I remember in one of my political science classes when the professor showed how increase in weapons from one country leads to others doing the same. Kind of like the "law of increasing disorder" --is there a way to find a proper balance with protection? The US is out of control.
This is a great discussion topic, Suvi. I read an article about two weeks ago about a Republican group that had Dick Cheney speak at one of their dinners. They claimed to be trying to raise $200 million to run ads in the media designed to turn Americans against Iran and support invasion. It is very serious topic. It is frustrating to see the actions that have been taken by our elected officials to support a corrupt system and commit some of the worst human rights abuses in the modern world. Our own tax dollars have been used to overthrow democratically elected leaders who have not allowed US corporations to exploit their labor and resources, to install and support violent dictators who have literally killed hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of civilians with US weapons and training, and to murder thousands of other innocent civilians through our own military agression (we just saw a documentary that pointed out that 90% of all deaths in Iraq are civilians).
The Iraq war has very clearly laid bare the lies that our own government has promoted in order to proceed with their own imperial agenda. But, I think more important than this is that it has shown how our own media has become a propoaganda machine for the government. I think that most Americans had already grown to distrust their government to some degree, but it wasn't until recently that so many people realized that we cannot even trust the media- which is supposed to be the people's watchdog to point out government lies. It is extremely frustrating because the information that the average American gets is already distorted to prove the case for the government. Military advisers appear regularly on national news programs to explain why war is inevitable and the most rational and even "peaceful" response, while ant-war and peace activists are silenced and even fired from the networks. Pro-war is portrayed as objective and rational, while anti-war is radical, irrational, and unpatriotic.
There are some clear and trustworthy voices out there though, like Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! who tirelessly asserts that war is simply not a valid strategy for the modern world. She has what I think is a genuine faith in our democracy- that if the American had accurate information about what is happening, they would make the right and peaceful choice.
But, I think Noam Chomsky gives the most accurate and reasonable perspective on our international strategy- that we do not support human rights or democracy in the world like we claim, but instead promote a might equals right philosophy. I mention Chomsky because he makes an important point about the problem (similar to rosecovered glasses). The government is only a shadow of the problem. The real substance casting the shadow is corporations. The system we have in place is inherently corrupt and uses the government to aggressively promote their agenda throughout the world. Changing the elected officials is not likely to make any significant difference because the problem is systemic. To some degree politicians have to already buy into the system in order to get financing and support to be elected. There are a lot of excellent books on this subject, but most of them do not get any media attention and are usually marginalized even though they are written by highly educated people who often have personal experience with what they write about (such as John Perkins with the World Bank).
I really get frustrated with US politics, and have considered staying away from the US permanently simply because I feel like the taxes I pay as a citizen are used for corruption and evil throughout the world. Perhaps it is so frustrating because I do strongly believe in the American ideal of spreading democracy and human rights throughout the world. I would love for our country to the force for good that it has the potential to be. Sadly, this has only been rhetoric in my lifetime. We seem to instead choose comfort at any cost. I really do hope that this feeling that many of us have of disatisfaction and disgust with our government will lead to a grassroots movement to overthrow the faulty system and return to a truly democratic American system that cares for its own people and for the rest of the world than it does for its corporations. What sense does it make that we give tax benefits as well as subsidies to corporations that are lowering our quality of life? For example, how many billions of dollars do the oil company executives make, and yet we still give them government subsidies and let them dictate our foreign policy in the middle east? How is it that we can publicly denouce the military junta in Burma and continue giving these incentives to the US oil company Unocal who is financing the military junta by buying their oil (the main source of financing for the junta)? I loved seeing in Sicko how much money is given to our politicians (on both sides of the aisle) to promote the agenda for health insurance and pharmaceutical companies because it shows exactly how these corporations can pull the strings on any of the issues that they choose.
It would really take a lot to make it happen though because we are taught the propaganda from our childhood- that we have a free market (we don't), that everyone benefits by removing all restricitions from corporations (it's really only the extreemly wealthy who do), and that the rest of the world hates our freedoms and democracy because they are inherently corrupt (which may possibly be true only among a handful of people in the world. Most who hate us hate us for screwing up their economies and democracies). Not a single one of those statements is true, but they prevail in our American psyche.
As far as making a change goes. I have joined moveon.org, truemajority.org, Amnesty International, and One.org for information about how to be involved in online campaigns to stop many of the problems. I would like to find other ways to be involved, and hope that more will become available and popular. I do feel like I am being heard in signing petitions and making phone calls to stop torture, other human rights abuses, environmental degradation, and world poverty. It will have to lead to something a lot bigger, though, if it is going to really make a substantial change. If anyone else knows of campaigns to join, please let me know.
Sorry for writing so much, Suvi, but this gets me fired up probably more than any other topic.
Wow, that was even more than it looked like when I was typing it.
I hope it's alright commenting on your post- cammie pointed me in your direction, both my husband and I have such a hard time with so many things that are going on in our country and especially that people aren't reacting to it. Jason is right about American propaganda and it's effects on our society. I loved the first comment it reminded me a lot of what was said in the WHY WE FIGHT documentary. It's a crazy thing to think that our government has positioned it self for many years to be an imperialistic empire, and has done it in such a way that most Americans can't recognize it as such. Good for you for speaking out! Information is power and discussions are even more powerful. Thanks!
ya, I don't know why I said "I guess discussions are a good start" --they are probably the best way to start and I love them. I just need to know what the next step is for me as well.
I love the comments that are being made! thanks so much for discussing this!
As I was reading some of the comments, I was reminded of the "Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss. Remember that? It was about the arms race that took place between the two communities and while they have many differences, the main point of contention was that one group ate their break butter-side up and the others ate it butter-side down. It made the point that in an arms race, no one wins.
What I feel is happening now, is that the military industrial complex (thanks rosecovered glasses) is perpetuating this arms race, but without there really being someone to fight with. We have to have an enemy, but the enemy that really exists int he world today is poverty and disease, lack of education and human rights abuses. This is an enemy that crosses national boundaries, yes, even into our own country. Businesses and military and government won't get rich quick off of combating those problems, and so, if enough fear can be created and an enemy chosen (in this case, Iran) then perhaps no one will notice the man behind the curtain.
Cammie and Michelle, I agree, it feels like the government already has been exposed, but people just aren't reacting. Why is that?
Jason, I think your suggestions about joining campaigns and organizations doing something is great. I'm on a few lists myself and find myself sending letters to my Senators (well, the Utah senators at the moment, I feel that they might need a little bit more prodding than the New York ones), making calls every so often when an issue comes up. But is that enough? And how can we help others see that they are responsible to do something as well?
Ah Suvi dearest. I love how passionate you are about these things. I don't know fully how I feel about all the issues, what I believe and what I don't. It's a hard hard hard road. I don't envy the position of our political leaders nor do I condone many of their decisions in respect .
But the idea that change starts with us individually I love. You are a great example of such efforts. Constantly searching for ways to effect change and involving yourself in meaningful causes to help on the grass roots level. I wish I had more to say, but for now I am inspired to follow your example. I constantly feel undereducated on such matters, and education does a lot. A place to start.
Dr. Seuss is really great. Soren has watched the "Butter Battle Book" too. He has many good messages and themes that I really like.
Hi Suvi,
Do you remember me? I'm Lumina. I knew you a little in Provo. I'd love to know you better. I found your blog through KaRyn's, we work together here in Korea.
Your post is so important to me. I've been in Korea for almost 3 years now, I left America right after Bush was reelected and I have been experiencing his second term as an expat in Asia. It is sooooo embarrassing. It is so hard to be an American abroad, and to teach American culture. I found myself so desperate for heroes, and truly weeping over the death of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, how could they have been asas******, and other disrespectable leaders not be? (i'm trying to disguise that sentence carefully so as not to draw unwanted attention from anywhere, but I hope you understand my meaning). So I'm pondering returning to America in April, and I'm having such a hard time getting excited. Oh this post embodies why. Oh... it's a sad day in America. It is, it is. BUT,
maybe this is the best time to return and really try to do something. I agree, that's the first thing I'm doing. Speaking up and saying that I am yet another American who is appalled and ready for change, actively looking and inventing the possibility of change, dare I say...revolution? It's exciting really, to be in a time of true need, to be needed in America. That might be one big reason to go back. Otherwise, it would be nice to relax here in Asia where things are damn easy and sweet. But life wasn't meant to be easy was it?
p.S. Jason, thank you for the mini-course on American politics. I'm really grateful for people who spend more time reading and processing information reiterating it in a discernable way for me. Thank you for taking the time to write it all, I'll refer a lot of people to what you wrote. That goes for you too Suvi. Thank you. I feel so much better knowing you two are out there!
one more thing... jason I don't know if you are Mormon, and suvi, actually i don't know if you still are either, (not that i have any reason to suspect you are not, but i don't want to assume anything) but I am mormon, and if you guys are I want to discuss Mormons and the war sometime because it complicates it on another level don't you think? but suvi it's your blog so you can choose if it gets discussed here or not.
Just one thought my old friend...I have a problem with ANTI anything- Protests and fighting negativity with negativity- Mother Theresa once said that she had never attended an anti-esque rally, but if you were going to have a peace rally- she'd be there. The point is, negative attracts negative. Whether or not you agree, the more attention and anger you direct towards something the more energy flows there as well. Direct the attention elsewhere, re-direct the energy towards something positive so that it's more in line with what you want- peace. Humanity helping humanity. Did you know that the presidential candidate who wins is the one who gets the most attention and energy from those that oppose him? Interesting littlet tid bit to learn more about...focus on what you want- not what you want to avoid.
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