WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul
By Josh Brollier
August 2, 2008
Today we traversed a 16 mile trek from Baraboo to Reedsburg. Much of the time I was thinking of Hiroshi, the organizer for last night’s event at the Garden Party Cafe, and his description of just how difficult it can be to get large crowds of people to come out for peace events in Baraboo. The event was not a failure by any means. There were probably twenty to thirty folks there, and I was very excited by the enthusiasm and the response of the crowd. However, many activists and concerned citizens share Hiroshi’s concerns, questions, and confusion as to why there is not a more organized and visible peace movement at present in the United States.
I do not think the answer lies in lack of ideological support for peaceful and non-violent solutions in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere. The response to our “witness” has been overwhelmingly positive in both the cities and the towns of Illinois and Wisconsin. This also rings consistent with a recent referendum that found that 72% of the citizens Milwaukee are in favor of ending the Iraq war.
There is a combination of spiritual, moral, and/or political depression that comes along with feeling helpless to alleviate the suffering we inflicted on our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is a cynicism that easily creeps in when we do not see immediate changes. But my reflection is this: How should we respond to this depression?
Last night Dan Pearson and Helene Hedberg described to us just a glimpse of the very bleak situation that some 4 millions refugees are facing as a result of the conflict in Iraq. We have an enormous responsibility to these families to do more than to sink into depression.
One of the most important things that Voices has been advocating for during the walk is to build genuine relationships between Americans and the people of Iraq. The Direct Aid Initiative and The Iraqi Student Project are two avenues that we could take advantage of to become actively engaged in building justice in Iraq while bypassing the corporate looting and unaccountability that have become so prevalent.
And just what is our responsibility to pressure our elected officials to bring home our troops from these wars of aggression? It seems to me that it is time to take some risks. Neither presidential candidate is making concrete plans to shift the foreign policy in a more compassionate direction. Continuing to pursue our present course will be detrimental to world security and suicidal to our own economy and environment.
Presently, the risk levels in our country are relatively low for exercising our rights to free speech and even civil disobedience. We must take advantage of these opportunities now while there is still an open window to reach out to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan and to re-shape the dreadful direction in which our nation is heading. How will future generations remember us if we fail to effectively organize and tackle the challenges that face us today?
I do not make any claims to being an experienced organizer or a great leader. Maybe we do not need to wait on iconic figures or saints. Maybe it is time that ordinary people everywhere stood up and resisted this current incarnation of oppression. Previous generations resisted slavery and succeeded. Will we walk in their footsteps?
