posted February 08, 2003 10:05 PM              

The Choice Before Us
Starhawk

Somewhere tonight in Iraq, a small girl lies sleeping who in a few weeks may be a lump of scorched flesh buried under concrete.
On a basketball court somewhere in the United States a young man lands a jump shot, who in a few weeks may have no legs, or eyes, or have tumors already brooding in his brain from exposure to the depleted uranium of our own weapons.
A young boy who is healthy and vibrant today will be racked with cancer. A mother will hear her children crying for food and have nothing to give them but tainted water to quench their thirst. Land that is today rich and fertile will, a short time from now, be contaminated with radioactivity that lasts longer than all the years between ancient Sumer and Babylon and now.
And young men and women who in the innocence of their hearts volunteered to serve their country will be led to perpetrate unspeakable crimes that will haunt their nights and blight the rest of their lives. When they complain of strange ailments, the Veteran’s Administration will admit no connection. And for years afterwards, as has happened since the first Gulf War, they will take their own lives in a steady stream of suicides. They will not be the sons and daughters of the men and women who sit in Congress or the White House. A disparate number of them will come from communities in our own land who suffer poverty, dispossession, discrimination.
And all of this will be done at the command of men who have never themselves faced combat or fought a war, who rob our schools and hospitals to pay for their own weapons of mass destruction, who promote an empire-building agenda of their own that will not provide the security they claim. For the sheer injustice of our attack on a country that has not attacked us will provoke such fear and hatred against us that all our bombs and missiles and cops and spies will not be able to keep us safe.
The media and the politicians tell us this war is inevitable, that we can’t stop it, that our protests and petitions and pleas make no difference. They murmur a constant incantation of our powerlessness, lulling us into a nightmare sleep.
But we can still wake up. We can choose to walk out of the nightmare, and dream a different dream.
All it takes is for each one of us who cherishes the lives of children to refuse to be silent, to say no to war, to say yes to peace.
And to ask ourselves, how have we abandoned our country, our fate, into the hands of callous men who have no compunction about wasting lives? What spell has been cast that fogs our eyes and binds our hands? What lies have we believed? What power have we let slip away?
Replace the nightmare with this dream: that in the moment when one world power has amassed the unchallenged military might to make its bid for global empire, its own people rise up and say, "No. That is not what we want to be. We don’t want to rule the world over the broken bodies of children. We don’t want blood on our hands. We want children who are sick to have the best possible care, in Iraq and in our own country. We want schools and jobs and parks and hospitals and food for the hungry. We want to join hands with the people of the world, and strengthen the institutions that are slowly and painfully learning to solve conflicts without bloodshed, and teaching us to respect our differences. We know that peace must be built on justice, and we want peace."
Dream that we wake up, stand up, speak out, not in the thousands but the millions, joining with millions around the world. Dream that soldiers refuse their orders, dockworkers refuse to load ships, secretaries shut off their computers, workers close their factories, and even politicians find the courage to stand for what is right.
And make the dream real. If you have spoken out before, now is the time to speak again, to make another phone call, write another letter, stand in another vigil. If you have marched before, march again and this time bring more of your friends and neighbors. If you haven’t marched, if you have been immersed in the demands of your own life, if you feel that your small voice makes no difference, now is the time to speak anyway, to interrupt your ordinary pursuits, to become the one small drop that just might turn the tide.
If you can get to New York or San Francisco on the weekend of February 15-16 for the big marches and rallies, come—because the numbers are vitally important.
If you can’t, there will be marches and rallies and vigils to join all across the country. Find one, or call one of your own.
Be public. Be visible. Be the loud, uncomfortable conscience that has disappeared from the halls of power.
And believe that truth is stronger than lies, love trumps fear, and no cabal of power can contain the multitudes when we awaken and choose life.

Starhawk

The New York March and Rally is on February 15, in soldarity with marches in capitols all over the world, and is sponsored by United for Peace and Justice.

The San Francisco March and Rally is on February 16, and begins at Justin Hermann Plaza, at 11 AM, and marches to the Federal Building. To join with the Code Pink women’s cluster and the Pagan Cluster, meet us at 10 AM at Montgomery and Market St.

For details and a list of planned actions around the country, check www.unitedforpeace.org.

posted February 09, 2003 12:35 AM            

Just in case anyone is interested, A.N.S.W.E.R. is the front organization for the Workers World Party, a communist organization as are the organizations listed on the website you linked.

Hey weird, if you lay down with dogs, you're going to get fleas. Frankly, I'd rather lay down with dogs than with the communists.

Some of you think these protests orchestrated by the communists are about peace but you don't know the communist definition of peace. Peace to the communists is a one world government with a communist dictatorship.

So weird, the friend of my enemy is my enemy. Speaking just for myself, you can take your Marxist propaganda and stuff it where the Sun don't shine.

posted February 09, 2003 01:04 AM              

you are certainly entitled to your opinion about this, but please refrain from insulting me just because i happen to oppose war.

i do have compassion for the iraqis, and do want to see them set free from sadam (just becuase i oppose war does not mean i am pro-sadam). how do you suppose bombing tens of thousands of innocent people would be helping them?

i just happen to believe there are better (non-violent) solutions, as do many, many people. such an extreme decision as this should be reserved for a situation wherein there is NO doubt that it is the right thing to do.

and i don't personally buy into the argument that this war is an altruistic measure to help out the iraqis by ousting sadam.

and a war against, not just sadam, but many innocent people, will likely only further the hatred (and thus terrorist attacks) toward the US.

posted February 09, 2003 01:31 PM              

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weird, you and your communist buddies have not an ounce of compassion. You would stand idly by while Saddam builds his weapons systems, uses them against his citizens, his neighbors, Israel, or hands off some suitcases stuffed with vials of chemical or biological weapons to terrorists that could kill hundreds of thousands of Americans or Europeans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Then why not march in a special forces team to asassinate him instead of everyone in the damn country?

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You remind me of the "not so good Samaritan" who would walk by a woman being robbed, raped or murdered without lifting a finger to help her.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*scratches head* Isreal has the best equipped army in the world..hardly a helpless nation although its nice to see the US marching in and helping them out with the palestinians.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the bombs start to fall, they will fall on military installations and Iraqi troop concentrations. Or are you also opposed to bombing Saddam's troops who help keep him in power?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like last time when more allied casualties were sustained from bombing themselves?

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I perceive you have not one clue as to why radical Islam is urging on the terrorists to act against the civilized nations. First, under their twisted reading of the Koran, we are all infidels and all infidels can be killed for no other reason than they are infidels.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like any religious text it depends on how you interpret it, fine - its their bad but somehow I dont think killing them all is the answer?

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second we support the right of Israel to exist on their ancient homeland. It gets back to what I already said to you weird. The friend of my enemy is my enemy. For more than 50 years, they have attempted to wipe Israel off the face of the map and Israel is a friend of the US and other nations. Infidels one and all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yep...so long as they buy western products. The day we all wake up and its one global corporate-controlled superstate with every ounce of culture assimilated into a kind of western blandness will be a sad day indeed.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You're not a communist weird? Well, you're sure carrying their water for them weird by posting their bull sh*t propangda.
I've always wondered weird, how can people who are not communists themselves fall in with communists and promote their aims, which is the destruction of representative government everywhere?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yep, that right, i really want to kill representative govornment. Get this - 80% of the country or so doesnt want war? does that sounds representative to you? democracy is a stillborn child, this much is obvious.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's see weird, you don't see any fraud or irony in the communists being behind a peace and compassion movement? These are the people who put up walls to keep their citizens in, who have systematically killed 200 million of their own citizens in the Soviet Union, China, North Viet Nam and North Korea just for disagreeing with their government.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right and you think I condone that sort of behaviour? Thats not a communist govornment, thats a dictatorship.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

North Korea is in the process of starving their citizens to death, more than a million so far and China, improsions or executes their citizens who disagree or attempt to practice their religious beliefs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Refer to my reply above. Although its interesting people who surpress religion and also people who push their religion fall into the same category, are we being a little generalised here?

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have to say weird, from my perspective, you're either a communist or an idiot. Take your pick.
But you're right about one thing. I AM entitled to my opinion. This is a free country and it's going to stay that way. And if you feel insulted, good, that was my intention. Expect more of the same if you continue to post BS that insults logic and reason.

jwhop

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

well, you dont have to read it.....

IP: Logged

weird purple sparkles
Knowflake
Posts: 48
From: canada
Registered: Jan 2003
posted February 09, 2003 12:35 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i just thot i'd carry this reply over here too.
(WPS)I hope Im not taking liberties replying here as a newbie to this site but I felt so very strongly after allowing my eyes to gaze rapidly across this message getting the general jist of it and it's negativity. I didnt need to read each word, I think I would have been much more sickened as a sensitive as I didnt expect to come here and have to put up my gaurds. My reply is that this is YOUR reality. Many people here Ive read do not indulge in the Media NEWS,TV etc by choice. My mind is my playground, I choose what I fill it with. If you got informed on how you are creating your reality and how your reality is reflecting what's going on inside you, you would serve this world better by working on some serious wars going on inside yourself.
Just my thoughts on your post.
above was a quote from peganannie

wow. i really didn't mean to stir up such negativity, jwhop. peganannie, i notice you identify as pegan. the author of this piece is a woman named Starhawk who is a pegan and an activist. it is possible to balance spirituality with political action and concern.

IP: Logged

Alena
Knowflake
Posts: 304
From:
Registered: Oct 2002
posted February 09, 2003 12:45 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
oh boy.........
IP: Logged

proxieme
Knowflake
Posts: 934
From: Fairfax, VA, USA
Registered: Aug 2002
posted February 09, 2003 12:59 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yo - jwhop - not everyone's caught in 1958... if someone doesn't agree with you, they're not necessarily a "commie".
"You're a communist!"
Dear lawd.

Jwhop - I firmly believe that you're a good guy w/ firm beliefs, but it's a lot more becoming if you disagree w/ someone's statements rather than resort to a personal attack (and, looking at my commie statements above, I'm sortakinda being a hypocrit... ).
That is, if you say something to the effect of, "This statement is wrong, and this is why I think it is; here's my evidence, etc, etc," you tend to get people's hackles a lot less up than if you say something like, "Yooou're wrong and EVIL! You wish nothing for the world but death and destruction! You're heartless and only wish to see people die hideous deaths in bombs and napalm!" ... because, let's face it - if you say something like that, those who are anti-war will be inclined to shoot back w/ a comparable rant against you.

The fact is that those who are against this war think that think that an armed conflict in that area will result only in further unneccesary death and suffering (perhaps on all sides), and that there are better ways to go about resolving this dispute and working to restructure the politics of an area than through warfare. They hope and pray for peace, and will do all that they can to work for it.

AND

Those that are in favor of a war in that area generally think that Saddam's repressive and tyrannical regime is too far dug into the infrastructure for anything short of forceful removal and restructuring to be effective. Many have seen the suffering of the Iraqi people, and wish both to put an end to that suffering and ensure that no further harm comes to them, the people of the middle east, our allies, and ourselves.
They hope and pray for peace, and will do all that they can to work for it.

paganannie -
wps said that she didn't know where to post it; she's new, give her some leeway. And if you don't like something, don't read it - no one's forcing you to fill your head with anything. You could tell what this post was going to be 2 sentences in.

N_w -
The US cannot (legally) undertake specifically the assassination of a foriegn head of state. I mean, that hasn't stopped us before, we just can't go around advertising it. From what I understand, the alphabet soup of DC and surrounding evirons have been trying to bump Saddam off for some time, but it hasn't panned out.

posted March 15, 2003 12:07 AM              

then we were all at the protsest together.