Peace and War

Secession first he would put down
Wholly and forever,
And afterwards from Britain’s crown
He Canada would sever.
Yankee Doodle, keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy.
Mind the music and the step
and with the girls be handy!

I don’t speak for the United States or harbor any affection for nationalism.  I’d break this country into several manageable pieces if I could.  But I think someone owes you an apology, Canada — and, much as our political leaders are accused of making apologies read more

When I wrote When the World Outlawed War, I was struck by the significance of a forgotten day, a day matching the description in the 1950 folk song that begins “Last night I had the strangest dream . . . ”  On this day, August 27, 1928, the major nations of the world sent representatives to a room in Paris, France, in which they signed a treaty banning war and committing to the peaceful settlement of all disputes. 

The treaty they signed, which is still on the books, has been read more

Wars exist because lies are told about past wars.

When President Obama escalated the war on Afghanistan, he revived virtually every known lie about the war on Iraq, from the initial WMD BS to the “surge.”  While Americans remain unfathomably ignorant about the destruction of Iraq, a majority says the war shouldn’t have been fought.  A majority says the same about the war on Afghanistan.  read more

Jody Williams’ new book is called My Name Is Jody Williams: A Vermont Girl’s Winding Path to the Nobel Peace Prize, and it’s a remarkable story by a remarkable person.  It’s also a very well-told autobiography, including in the early childhood chapters in which there are few hints of the activism to come. 

One could read this book and come away thinking “Anyone really could win the Nobel Peace Prize,” if people in fact told their children they could read more

If the U.S. public began to raise a fuss about U.S. missile strikes that blow up large numbers of civilians at wedding parties abroad, it’s not beyond the realm of the imaginable that the U.S. government would begin blaming the explosions on faulty candles in the wedding cakes.  A similarly implausible excuse was used to explain the 1996 explosion of TWA flight 800 off Long Island, New York, and the U.S. public has thus far either swallowed the story whole or ignored the matter.

If you read more

Hammer in hand, one sees nails everywhere. Successful unpunished genocide at home in hand, the Pentagon sees Indian Country on six continents.  But don’t imagine the U.S. military is finished with the original Indian Country yet, including Native American reservations and territories, and including the places where the rest of us now live.

Compare and contrast:

Exhibit 1 from the New York Times:

“Mr. Obama embraced a disputed method for counting civilian casualties that did little read more

I’m on my way to Madison, Wisconsin, and I hope you are too, and not just for the beer and (veggie) bratwursts.  Here are seven other good reasons:

·      The Student Power Convergence, Aug. 1-5 (ending now, but folks sticking around).

·      The Democracy Convention, Aug. 7-11.

·      The Veterans For Peace Convention, Aug. 7-11.

·      Marking the bombings read more

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