Peace – Act Now
If you want peace, you have to do something about it. After all, George Bush wanted war and successfully pursued his ambition. To get control of our government again and end its relentless march to war, we have to do something drastic. Unlike Bush, though, we should not engage in violence. As can be seen from the reaction of the US to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the events currently taking place in Iraq, violence only brings more violence. Instead of reacting against Bush's violence with more violence, we should just take a day off for peace. Basically, let's shut the country down in the name of peace. If you read this and are interested, please contact any organization you belong to and ask them to join in the effort. If you know of any similar effort, please contact me and I will join with them and encourage others to do the same.
The dismal record of the Bush administration has pushed the need to work for peace to the foreground. February 15, 2003 saw a massive demonstration of worldwide support for a peaceful resolution to the situation in Iraq. In spite of this spectacular protest, Bush declared that he would not change his policies and as we all know, invaded Iraq. In short, Bush is dictating what the United States will do regardless of the will of its citizens. We cannot tolerate his arrogance any longer.
While we who support peace talk to each other, demonstrate, and write letters, Bush is busy killing. The protests initially slowed him down, but they were not enough to make him realize that he stands against the entire civilized world. The problem is that we have been trying to work within the system and he is running the system.
All the letters, all the phone calls, all the demonstrations are just expressions of opinion; Bush knows that and repeatedly parrots, "That's what's great about democracy – people can express their opinions." Consequently, if we want to make an impression, we will have to take action.
Essentially, letters and phone calls are ways of asking Bush not to start more wars and to end the ones he has already started. There may be threats attached that he will not be re-elected, but that has little impact. The irony here is that this is a democracy and Bush is our servant but he has us believing that we've got it upside down. Instead of us asking him to not go to war, he should be asking us for permission to use our people and resources to wage war, and he should give us very good reasons. The reasons he gave to US allies (with the not too surprising exception of Britain) were inadequate to invade Iraq; he certainly was not able to convince the American public before the invasion started. His aggression will not end until we say, "Enough."
So this is a call to act – take a peace holiday; shut the country down in the name of peace. Stopping the economy for a day is one of the few actions that will grab Bush's attention. If we shut the country down for a day, it will be a clear demonstration of who actually runs the country - we the people, not George Bush.
I have tried organizing this on my own (in March 2003) with little success. So I am asking those who read this to contact any organization that they are affiliated with to get their organization to join with others in calling for a general strike as soon as possible.
Let us work together for peace and show that we are stronger in our determination to have peace than Bush is in his to have war.
Bob Matlin