October/November 2003
The
Yearly Round
Richard Moeschl
Making
Sense of North Korea
Eric Sirotkin
A
Loophole So Big
Tom Engelhardt
The
Joseph Strategy
David Ehrenfeld
Thieves
in High Places
Jim Hightower
Strangely
Like War
Derrick Jensen & George Draffan
Bush's
Inferno
Pepper Trail
Their
Arms Outstretched Into The Night
Martin Prechtel
On
Slowing Down
Pride S. Wright
Living
As A Free Human Being
Alan Clements
Achieving
Balance Through Passive Movement
Kayla M. Starr, MPH
Yoga
for the Young at Heart
Susan Winter Ward
Cosmic
Calendar
Salina Rain
Deborah
Mokma, Editor
“Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Hopelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. No health care is a weapon of mass destruction.” -Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)
The dangerously deepening quagmire in Iraq is becoming increasingly apparent. In its unilateral approach to “regime change” and (although Bush claims otherwise) nation building, the US finds itself quite alone as it attempts to control not just the oil in Iraq, but the people as well. With personal safety, food, water, energy and healthcare a daily concern for millions of people, the desperation of the Iraqis is growing. The weapons that the Bush administration claimed to be in Saddam Hussein’s possession have proven to be nonexistent, but the continuing sense of crisis in Iraq is building the kind of frustration and despair that inevitably produces very real weapons of mass destruction.
The ongoing violence now includes attacks on civilians, like at the al-Rashid Hotel, the residence of US military officers and civilian occupation officials. These attacks are being carried out not only by people who were in Saddam’s inner circle, but also by others who feel that the occupying military force is not serving their best interests as they see more innocent people being killed by nervous US soldiers. Two Knight-Rider journalists in the Faluji area wrote: “In dozens of interviews during the past five days, most residents across the area said there was no Baathist or Sunni conspiracy against US soldiers, there were only people ready to fight because their relatives had been hurt or killed, or they themselves had been humiliated by home searches and road stops … One woman said, after her husband was taken from their home because of empty wooden crates which they had bought for firewood, that the United States is guilty of terrorism.” According to the same reporters, “Residents in At Agilia, a village north of Baghdad, said two of their farmers and five others from another village were killed when US soldiers shot them while they were watering their fields of sunflowers, tomatoes, and cucumbers.”
The real mission of the US in Iraq is not one of fighting terrorism but one of fighting to control the resources (see Eric Sirotkin’s article on page 6). But all of this comes at a tremendous price. Historian Howard Zinn recently wrote in a ZNet commentary (www.zmag.org) “The so-called ‘war on terrorism’ is not only a war on innocent people in other countries, but is a war on the people of the United States. A war on our liberties, a war on our standard of living. The wealth of the country is being stolen from the people and handed over to the super-rich. The lives of our young are being stolen … What is our job? To point all this out … There is no act too small, no act too bold. The history of social change is the history of millions of actions, small and large, coming together at certain points in history and creating a power which governments cannot suppress.”
Jim Hightower (see page 12) writes “Don’t wait on ‘heroes’ or national leaders. Be your own hero—everyone can do something, everyone makes a contribution. Everyone who does any heavy lifting in the democratic cause is a hero. The important thing to know is that you are wanted. You are needed. You are important. You are not only what democracy counts on, you are what democracy is. Thomas Paine saw in America something breathtaking, which he expressed as the opportunity to ‘start the world over again.’ Paine and others got America off on the right foot, but our leaders have stumbled badly of late. That’s why we have to step in now. You and I have the chance to bring our great country back to the ideals that launched it, ideals that remain gently nestled in our hearts. Live your ideals.”
I agree. We must
all step up and do whatever we can. We are what democracy is. For me, living
my ideals means supporting a candidate who also lives his ideals, and has
a record which proves it. Dennis Kucinich, co-chair of the Con-gressional
Progressive Caucus, is the only candidate for President who voted against
the misnamed “Patriot Act,” and the only candidate who has introduced
legislation in Congress to repeal it. He is also the only candidate who:
• has declared that he will vote against Bush’s request for $87
billion in additional funds for Iraq;
• has submitted a bill to Congress that would establish genuinely universal
health coverage—nonprofit national health insurance for all;
• has promised to withdraw from corporate trade deals like NAFTA and
the WTO, and replace them with fair trade agreements that include labor and
environmental protections;
• has a plan to cut the bloated military budget by 15% ($60 billion annually)
and invest those funds in universal child care;
• led opposition in Congress to the War in Iraq;
• has a plan to repeal Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans
and invest that money in universal public education, age 3-college;
• has pledged to break up corporate monopolies in agriculture, energy,
media and other sectors that are strangling farmers, the environment and the
public;
• has pledged to sign the Kyoto Treaty on global warming and lead our
country to 20% renewable energy by the year 2010;
• has spoken out against the takeover of our water supply by large multinational
corporations;
• has sponsored legislation establishing a cabinet-level Department of
Peace to participate in policy discussions alongside representatives of the
Departments of State and Defense.
• has a 98% lifetime pro-union voting record—highest of all candidates
as ranked by the AFL-CIO.
• is calling for “living wages,” not just minimum wages.
• has a plan to put Americans back to work with major investment programs
to rebuild schools, roads, bridges, ports, sewage, water and environmental
systems.
• stands firmly against the privatization of Social Security and for
returning the Social Security retirement age to 65.
• has introduced legislation to repeal the Federal death penalty (www.kucinich.us).
These are the ideals which could put an end to policies which continue to cause environmental degradation, global warming, and needless suffering. Only by embracing such a far-reaching, truly progressive agenda, will the necessary changes be made. Sound like a long shot? Yes. Sound like what is needed? Yes. We have to start somewhere, and the time is now.
I never tire of quoting Margaret Mead, who so wisely stated “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Please join the
effort to make these changes a reality. Together, we can.
