Mary Lou Seymour is a long-time libertarian activist and author. She lives in South Carolina. CLICK HERE FOR RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST SUPPORT OUR
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of the Week As we approach spring, the war drums being beaten by the Bush Administration have mounted in intensity. Despite almost unanimous worldwide opposition, despite millions of individuals worldwide taking to the streets in opposition, Bush and his cohorts seem intent on a blitzkrieg against Iraq. As Bush wraps his war of aggression in the flag, as troops are shipped to the Mid East, anti-war activists are gearing up for a weeklong escalation of protest, culminating next Saturday, March 15, with another round of massive demonstrations.
It seems evident to me that this current war on Iraq is an aggressive, interventionist policy, as well as being illegal and unconstitutional. There are some who profess to believe in non-interventionism and non aggression but still claim to believe, despite evidence to the contrary, that Iraq was somehow responsible for the terrorist attack on the US a year and a half ago, and/or has some type of undisclosed weapons that can reach the US. I'm not even going to bother to address the "pax Americana" position of those who think the US should bcome the world police force and "liberate" the oppressed people in other countries, as that position is light years away from supporting the non agression principle and non-intervenionism and I'm assuming that those on this list support non-interventionism. I'm also not touching the pro-war arguments about "this is just a continuation of Daddy Bush's 1991 War, therefore doesn't have to be legally declared". But if there are any on this list who are undecided on whether Bush's War should be supported by liberty lovers who believe in non-interventionism, please see these two recent articles: Justin Raimondo's "This war is treason" and Tom Knapp's "The Party and war" for the libertarian anti-war perspective. GETTING IN CONTACT WITH OTHERS IN THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT Some in the freedom movement have been hesitant to support many of the anti-war organizations for being "too leftist." And there is no doubt that many of the anti-war organizations which have been at the forefront of organizing resistance, particularly "street resistance," are dominated by the left. The way to combat this, of course, is to join in and show that we libertarians also oppose interventionism and aggression and point out that in fact, it is one of the cornerstones of our philosophy and is clearly spelled out in our platform. A purely libertarian anti-war organizing effort, Libertarians for Peace, has buttons, an online petition, and contacts for libertarians doing peace organizing, as well as a list of suggestions for non-violent actions you can take for peace. And, of course, AntiWar.Com is the premier libertarian site for anti-war news, viewpoints and activities. Don't miss Raimondo's columns, breaking news and the calendar of events. For die hard conservatives, check out "Right Against the War" effort led by the new America First Party which has an anti-war petition for "patriotic Americans Against the War" (Which combats the conservative pro-war petition, the Federalist's "In our name" petition). The National Network to End the War against Iraq has a map of anti-war contacts by state, action alerts, and a calendar of events. United for Peace has an excellent listing of antiwar actions nationwide, Education for Peace in Iraq also has action alerts, contacts and calendars as well as latest news. Not in Our Name has a pledge of resistance which states "we believe that as people living in the United States it is our responsibility to resist the injustices done by our government, in our names ..." The Pledge was not intended to be signed, rather, it is a tool to be used by individuals, organizations and communities to inspire and strengthen individual and group resistance. STREET ACTION For those interested in "street action", The International A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition and other organizations are calling for an Emergency National Anti-War Convergence to TAKE IT TO THE WHITE HOUSE on Saturday, March 15 with parallel actions in San Francisco and Los Angeles and local actions throughout the country. The Iraq Pledge of Resistance is a campaign of nationally coordinated nonviolent civil disobedience to oppose war in Iraq, sponsored by over a dozen major U.S. peace groups. Certainly anti-war libertarians should attend such street actions if possible, to show our solidarity with the anti-war cause, if not the other agendas promoted by some of those groups. Many libertarians already have utilized the anti-war contacts they have made as a way of making friends and future allies on the left, who agree with us on many issues, and may just need educating on economics. VIRTUAL ACTION If "street action" is not your style, there are several "virtual actions" you can take. Move On has sponsored several virtual actions, such as a Feb.26 "Virtual March" by phone & FAX, and a March 10 petition appeal to the UN. Keep an eye on their page for more virtual action ideas. Greenpeace has a "click and send" letter to send a message of support to the countries currently opposing a war in Iraq (France, Germany, Russia, China, and Syria) The People's Anti War Referendum offers a way us to "vote no" on War, and Peace Pledge has an online form to publicly register your opposition to war on Iraq and downloadable petitions (pdf). WAR TAX RESISTANCE You can also resist the war solely on the basis of tax resistance. National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) is a coalition of groups from across the U.S., formed in 1982 whose goal is to maintain and build a national movement of conscientious objectors to military taxes "if you work for peace stop paying for war". OPPOSING THE WAR ON CONSTITUTIONAL GROUNDS For those who believe that the constitutional system still can be kick started to stop the war, Peace Action is sponsoring a Congressional Call-In Week March 10 - 14, 2003. Call your congresscritter and state your resistance to Bush's War. Vote to Impeach Bush is promoting impeachment as the means for preventing George W. Bush from engaging in a war of aggression against Iraq, and from advancing a first strike potentially nuclear preemptive war. and provides an online petition you can sign and downloadable petitions (pdf) to get signed in your community. In another "constitutional approach", on February 13th, 6 U.S. Representatives and 9 private citizens filed an injunction (pdf) against President George Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. In their complaint they stated that: "Defendant President George W. Bush does not intend to seek a Congressional declaration of war prior to launching a military invasion of Iraq." The case(henceforth Doe I, et al v.Bush) was dismissed ... On Tuesday March 4 plaintiffs appealed and the case was granted review by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, Massachusetts. Since then 6 more Representatives and many more citizens, private and otherwise, have filed amicus briefs (friend of the court) in other words, having a vested interest in the case in dispute. To add your name in support of the amicus brief, sign the Legal Action Against Bush War Powers Petition. PERSONAL ACTIONS For more personal actions you and your family can take, last week's Action of the Week had the Moment of Silence as an alternate action. "Now that war is rearing its ugly head again it is time to revive the Moment Of Silence campaign and associated web site to help further the cause of peace once again." Also, particularly appealing for families and children is the Rice for Peace action ... In the 1950s, tens of thousands of people sent small bags of grain to President Eisenhower to encourage him to send food to then-enemy China during a famine. The breadth of the campaign helped dissuade Eisenhower from attacking China during two international confrontations. Now a nationwide effort has been launched to send a similar message to President Bush about Iraq: If we are going to send something to Iraq it should be food, not bombs. We might also want to check out the Anti-War songs I list below, download the files, memorize the lyrics, and use music to spread the anti-war meme. We Don't Want Your War is an online video with a stirring anti-war anthem, which can also be doownloaded or ordered, and, the Restore Liberty Song Page has several anti-war songs from the past and present. And here's a great idea, sent in by a reader. In this week's Economist, there's a report from Ankara, "Turkey and the United States: The end of the dance." "Most polls show well over 90% of Turks opposed to a war with Saddam. Bulent Arinc, the fiery AK speaker of the parliament -- who, together with millions of other Turks, flicks his lights on and off every night at 8:00 by way of protest - has been threatening to sit on the bill (regarding the deployment of American troops from Turkish soil and a compensation package to cushion the effect of war on Turkey's economy) until a second UN resolution is passed." This is one small action we can all take part in, together. Every night, at 8 PM, from now until the war drums are silent, let's flick our lights on and off. It may be a small action, but if it grows ... can you imagine. IS IT TOO LATE? Although it does seem almost hopeless, when Bush has so far ignored the wordwide opposition abroad and mounting opposition to war at home, two personal events this past week showed me clearly that we can not give up. On my way to work each morning, I pass by my small town National Guard Armory. It's usually deserted at 8:00 AM. On Monday morning, there in the courtyard, were about 30 men, dressed in their cammies, in formation. The parking lot was full, and wives, sisters and children were standing on the sidewalk, some in tears. Some clutching small American flags. The young (and not so young) men were being shipped out to the Mid East. If Bush's Blitzkrieg provokes terrorist attacks, as the cooler heads in our government have repeatedly warned, our National Guard won't be here to defend us, they'll be in another country, furthering the ambitions of the unscrupulous imperialists in power. This is defending our country? Later on in the week, one of my co-workers, a single mom, told me that her son had joined the Marines, through a recruiter on his high school campus. My co-workers son is a troubled young man, with problems caused by the lack of a male role model to show him that manliness doesn't depend on "machismo". He says he "hopes it won't be over" before he gets there, because he's "not afraid to die". He was easy prey for the recruiter, as are many young men in similar situations. Sending our young men off to war is always painful, and should never be taken lightly. To send them off to war to further imperialistic ambitions or fantasies of "defense against terrorism" is unconscionable. Bush and Co. no doubt hope for a "quick end" to the war in Iraq. And possibly this will be a "quick war", with few US casualties. After all, Iraq is a desparately poor country, with no armed forces to speak of, and few defenses left. So perhaps the only casualties will be the "innocent Iraquis" Bush has told us he will "spare", without explaining how bombing will spare the innocent. But until we can change our society to one that values freedom without aggression, that teaches that non-aggression is not the same as being weak, that values non-intervention over imperialism, that doesn't view war as some kind of TV special or game, no matter how "quick" this war may be, there will be many other wars for my co-worker's son to be there "in time for." Give up? Not yet. Not ever. If I can take some action this week to stop Bush's War of Aggression, stop our young men from being shipped overseas, stop our nation's incomprehensible slide into imperialism, stop the slaughter of the "innocent Iraqis" and innocents in future wars, well then, I won't give up. Not yet. Not ever. Til next week! Mary Lou PS: If you have a web page and would like to link to LAotW, see http://www.libertymls.com/aotw/links.htm for a graphic and link code. If you do link to LAotW, let me know and I'll reciprocate! |
