“Has the peace movement hit the wall?” was the title of a recent newspaper story by Rochester, NY reporter Tim Louis Macaluso, and the picture Mr. Macaluso painted wasn’t encouraging. Everyone from Rochester peace activist Doug Noble - who asked, "Where are the protests? Where is the outrage?" - to national figures such as Paul Kawika Martin, national political director Peace Action, agreed that the peace movement is at a low ebb.
What’s the situation in Wisconsin? We shared Mr. Macaluso's article with participants at an anti-war/anti-militarism workshop at WNPJ’s annual assembly on October 3, and asked them for their responses to this question. Very quickly, WNPJ’s “intelligence network” kicked into action, providing a quick statewide survey of the state of Wisconsin’s peace movement, from Superior to Racine, from LaCrosse to Eagle River. The ideas and impressions flowed freely, and some themes emerged:
The “Obama effect”
Most agreed that it’s more difficult to get people to engage in antiwar activities today, and some cited the Obama presidency as a major factor. “I think many are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to Obama,” said one, while another said, “I gave Obama the benefit of the doubt, now I'm questioning that.”
“The time of the rally is over”
Another common sentiment was dissatisfaction with the traditional methods of protest offered by the peace movement, including rallies and vigils. From Milwaukee: “The time of the rally is over,” and from Eagle River, “We need more activity than just standing on the corner.”
Too much on our plates?
One participant from Richland Center noted that “Obama has a lot on his plate, with economic crisis and health care,” and the same could be said of peace and justice activists. The economic crisis and the debate over issues ranging from health care to climate change have drawn public attention away from war. How can the peace movement shift attention back to our issues? Or should that be our goal? Are there ways in which we can ally with activists in other movements? From Iowa County: “I see a waning in energy, but also new creativity in connecting issues, for example, by looking at the ‘carbon footprint’ of war.”
Thinking long term
These days, we may not be used to seeing the words “success” and “peace movement” in the same sentence, but one participant from LaCrosse asked, “How do we measure the successes of the peace movement? We may not see our successes until we’re many years down the road.” Others encouraged a long view, for example, from Mt. Horeb: “The peace movement shouldn't be on an election cycle. We need a steady effort, in all years.” From Madison: “I’ve seen 50 years of ups and downs in the peace movement, but peace has never enjoyed such broad public support as it does today.”
Breaking free of the Democrats
Even though Obama may still get the “benefit of the doubt” from some, dissatisfaction with Congressional Democrats – and the Democratic Party in general – was strongly felt. From Madison: “Democrats used the antiwar movement to get elected,” and from Duluth: “The more serious wing of the peace movement is regrouping around a call for a movement that is independent of the Democrats,” citing the National Assembly and the March 20 protests in D.C. and San Francisco organized by ANSWER as examples of “independent” actions and organizations.
Be the change you want to see
Several participants drew a distinction between the protest-oriented activities we usually encourage people to take part in, and making deeper changes to ones own life and community. From Onalaska: “There's an important difference between peace protest and living peaceably.” And, from Mosinee: “In the Oneida nation, peace has a different meaning, it’s not about rallies.” And, from Madison: “Peace is not just the absence of war, but the peace movement focuses all of its activities on opposition to war. We need activities to create good citizens, by working with kids.”
Signs of hope
A recent poll showing 57% of Americans opposed to the war in Afghanistan was cited as a positive sign, and from La Crosse: “I've never had such a good time as we're having now, and I’ve never seen such public support for peace message. Recently, a contingent of uniformed soldiers came up us at the Vets for Peace vigil to thank us for what we were doing.”
Next steps
So how do we translate that public opposition to the war into a change in policy? How do we move the majority of Americans who now oppose the war to take action, either against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars specifically or against militarism generally? Four specific suggestions for action came forward:
- October 17 nationwide actions against the Afghanistan war and March 20 protests in D.C. and San Francisco against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
- The “Bring the Guard Home – It’s the Law!” campaign to challenge federal use of the Wisconsin Guard in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- The “Options” counter-recruitment program to help Wisconsin high school counselors inform their students of peaceful alternatives to military service.
- A campaign by Tom Hayden and Progressive Democrats of America to oppose war funding.
2 comments:
F**K. ANSWER.
They're a Stalinist or Maoist front group. They don't care about ending the war; they're revolutionary authoritarian-Communists stuck in the 1930s. All they want is to take power. They're not allies, we should never do anything in solidarity with them, we should subvert their every activity, compete with their events, provide the same things as them in the same places at the same time, and take over every group they start or control. Communists, more than anyone else, sucked the life out of the social justice movement of the late 90's by expending all our energy on stupid, pointless mega-marches. F'em!
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