Peace Speaker
Between the time I began this and the time I finished it, I received a joyous phone call that a new child is born to my family. I pray for the world she will inherit. Prayers may take a physical form as well, and so it is that every chance I have now, I speak up for peace. In conversations, I listen, I am kind and respectful; and I speak up with all the courage I can find. I'm busy writing letters to local papers, "dialoging" with a large, loose Internet group I'm part of. Perhaps, if I can get over my shyness, a conservative radio talk show may be next. My aim is to interrupt the dominant dialogue, the blood lust righteously cloaked in red, white, and blue. Admittedly it seems futile already. There is so much anger, so much misinformation, so little sense of history. The world changed in the space of a few hours, and we are all in shock. But I hold to my center, determined that I will not politely "hold my peace." I will speak it out. There are those who equate the peace speaker with an apologist for terrorists. Not so. There can be no excuse, no justification for the sickening slaughter in New York and Washington. But there is a context. Beyond my own horror, sorrow, and fear, I am trying to understand the full picture. Peace must include all the pieces. I speak up: This terrible attack does not happen in a vacuum. American leaders have a history of playing chess on a global scale with results that ultimately have brought misery to millions. A few pertinent examples: The infamous Osama bin Laden started his career as an America operative in the Afghanistan/USSR war, directly trained, armed and supported by the U.S. Our government was eager to play the "noble rebels of Afghan" (remember them?) against the Russians in the Cold War. In the same way, the Taliban regime could not have come to power without explicit U.S. support for its first two years of existence, bolstered by our government because they opposed Iran. The Taliban have gone on to impose terrible atrocities and repression on their people. I've heard it said that it's the Muslim people's own fault, why haven't they overthrown their dictators? Few know, for instance, that at the end of the Gulf War, there *was* a popular uprising against Saddam Hussein, led by dissidents in the Iraqi military who took action because they were promised support by the US. At the last minute, the U.S. abandoned these rebels, and they were slaughtered by Hussein, who made brutally sure there were none left to try it again. And if memory serves, didn't Hussein himself start his original power base with CIA support? We create these monsters on the sly, then are surprised when they turn and bite us. There have been many deaths of innocents in the Arab world because of the actions of our government, for example: the estimated half million Iraqi children under 5 years old who've died because of contaminated drinking water. Water treatment plants were a deliberate civilian target of US military actions. And sanctions have kept out the basic medicines and food that might have saved those children. No, we didn't aim our rifles at the kids heads. But we aimed our bombs on facilities vital to civilians' survival. Is there a difference? There are more examples, unfortunately -- a nearly endless supply, in fact. The American government has trod blindly on many, used proxies and pawns for their chess games, considered the suffering of others an acceptable cost. Is it a wonder then that many people in the world are angry as hell, and have nothing to lose? The incredible tragedy on Tuesday is one result. We have lost thousands of innocent civilians -- for the first time, ours. I speak up: Just who is The Enemy? The populations of Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Iraq? Should we bomb the crap out of simple civilians who have already endured incredible loss at the hands of repressive dictators, first put in power through American interference? Let us instead concentrate on those who really did the crime. When Timothy McVeigh bombed Oklahoma City, did we go after all Irish-Americans? All white males? His sister or father? When Ted Kaczynski was first suspected, did we then bomb all Polish-American neighborhoods? Of course not. Yet now I hear cries for the equivalent. "Let's kill 'em all, it's the only thing 'those people' understand." Yes, I want criminals brought to justice, no question. But I cannot acquiesce in the deaths of more civilian innocents. Blanket retaliation leads only to further violence. When have reprisals *ever* settled an issue once and for all? A war like the one Bush Jr. now proclaims will cycle on endlessly -- and meanwhile many, many people suffer, resources are squandered, the planet is further degraded, and we could lose our civil liberties, which define us as free Americans. Blind retaliation will be very expensive to us all in the long run. I speak up: Would we accept more dead? Our sons and daughters , nieces and nephews, students, the children of our friends? Are they to be plucked from their lives and tossed into the machines of war? And what of our lives then? What will we gain, and what will we lose? What of the lives of the dim, distant, pathetic "enemy," the Iraqi mother whose young children have died; the elderly Afghani who has lost all his family and now his home. What kind of future will we create for the world this week? I speak up: What of our civil liberties? Will the progressives of America be the next target, the internal "enemy"? Will the international anti-WTO movement be considered "terrorists" when the streets again fill with (99%) non-violent protests? Already I've heard some politicians call loudly for broad wiretapping and surveillance of citizens, all in the name of security. Will the nation finally feel "secure" when all dissent is squashed? The other name for that is totalitarianism. I speak up: I work in sustainability issues, and to put it succinctly, the planet is already on a collision course with human exploitation. This war will only make it much worse. Just think if that fat 40 billion Bush Jr. wants were instead spent on alternative energy, pollution-free industry, the global warming crisis, toxic rehab, and so on. Or education. Or health care. Or aid to the world's poorest. Or ... I speak up: In defense of Muslim-Americans harassed and threatened on our own streets. Like everyone else, they too are shocked. Reports of beatings and shooting are as frightening as anything else going on now. Racism has no place in this tragedy. I speak up, and the single most important thing I can say is: Adopt a questioning attitude. The situation is complex -- it is *not* all good versus evil. Read more widely, check the history yourself. Put a human face to "those people." I urge everyone to speak up -- speak for peace. Insist on justice and hope for all the children. In the changing world of the 21st century, it's the only way we will ever have true national security again. Ms. DeDanan is a regular contributor to West By Northwest.org. She is a poet, photographer and writer of fiction and nonfiction and lives in rural Northern California. She is "off the grid" and writes and sends this piece by wind and solar power installed by her own hand. (Her) most popular article in the history of our 'zine is Living the Labyrinth |