10/19/07: Peace Rally Is Chance For Us To Unite Against Iraq War - Janet Parker
Peace Rally Is Chance For Us To Unite Against Iraq War
The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: A9
Friday, October 19, 2007
Janet Parker
In less than two weeks, you will have a perfect opportunity to take a public stand against our war and occupation in Iraq.
The biggest national peace group, United for Peace and Justice, is sponsoring "Fall Out Against the War" - a day to demonstrate peacefully in Chicago - on Saturday, Oct. 27. Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice will send buses from Madison. Please join us for this day.
In 11 cities across the country, people will gather in an expression of the intensity and breadth of anti-war sentiment. Some people will participate that Saturday as their first step into the peace movement. Recent polls have consistently showed that a large majority of Americans believe that all U.S. troops should leave Iraq within six months. If even a tiny fraction of those people are willing to act on their beliefs, the regional anti-war demonstrations will be huge.
Many of us will be able to go to Chicago, even if we are not able to travel to large peace demonstrations in Washington, D.C. Let's get out of the supposed bubble that is Madison to participate together.
Oct. 27 will also be a chance to show our support for those who have been opposing the war with their words and deeds all over the United States. Last week the Boston Globe reported that African-American military enlistment rates are down 58 percent since 2000, a resounding withdrawal of consent for the war.
This weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, energy is building among student activists who are hosting a national event, Students Rising: The 5th Anniversary Summit of the Campus Anti-war Network. Their featured speaker will be a brave conscientious objector to war, Camilo Mejia. In 2004 Staff Sgt. Mejia applied for a discharge from the Army. He was the first known Iraq veteran to refuse to fight, citing moral concerns about the war and occupation. His public talk will be in the Humanities Building, Room 3650, at 8 p.m. Saturday.
The human costs of the Iraq war are staggering. Nearly 100 service people and countless Iraqis are dying each month, and far more are gravely wounded physically and emotionally.
The economic costs boggle the mind: $12 billion of our tax dollars a month. A friend of mine suggests a way to make these huge numbers real. A million seconds is about 11 days. A billion seconds is about 31 years. In September, Congress approved another $70 billion for the war.
These are times to speak up. People sometimes ask me whether I find working to end the war depressing. My answer: I find inaction much more depressing.
Bring a song, bring your friends and family who care, bring ideas for future steps to end the Iraq war and occupation. But please do come and spend this one Saturday in Chicago standing up for peace with many thousands of people from all over the Midwest. Call us at 250-9240, or sign up for the buses on our Web site, www.wnpj.org.
Janet Parker is co-chairwoman of the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.
The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: A9
Friday, October 19, 2007
Janet Parker
In less than two weeks, you will have a perfect opportunity to take a public stand against our war and occupation in Iraq.
The biggest national peace group, United for Peace and Justice, is sponsoring "Fall Out Against the War" - a day to demonstrate peacefully in Chicago - on Saturday, Oct. 27. Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice will send buses from Madison. Please join us for this day.
In 11 cities across the country, people will gather in an expression of the intensity and breadth of anti-war sentiment. Some people will participate that Saturday as their first step into the peace movement. Recent polls have consistently showed that a large majority of Americans believe that all U.S. troops should leave Iraq within six months. If even a tiny fraction of those people are willing to act on their beliefs, the regional anti-war demonstrations will be huge.
Many of us will be able to go to Chicago, even if we are not able to travel to large peace demonstrations in Washington, D.C. Let's get out of the supposed bubble that is Madison to participate together.
Oct. 27 will also be a chance to show our support for those who have been opposing the war with their words and deeds all over the United States. Last week the Boston Globe reported that African-American military enlistment rates are down 58 percent since 2000, a resounding withdrawal of consent for the war.
This weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, energy is building among student activists who are hosting a national event, Students Rising: The 5th Anniversary Summit of the Campus Anti-war Network. Their featured speaker will be a brave conscientious objector to war, Camilo Mejia. In 2004 Staff Sgt. Mejia applied for a discharge from the Army. He was the first known Iraq veteran to refuse to fight, citing moral concerns about the war and occupation. His public talk will be in the Humanities Building, Room 3650, at 8 p.m. Saturday.
The human costs of the Iraq war are staggering. Nearly 100 service people and countless Iraqis are dying each month, and far more are gravely wounded physically and emotionally.
The economic costs boggle the mind: $12 billion of our tax dollars a month. A friend of mine suggests a way to make these huge numbers real. A million seconds is about 11 days. A billion seconds is about 31 years. In September, Congress approved another $70 billion for the war.
These are times to speak up. People sometimes ask me whether I find working to end the war depressing. My answer: I find inaction much more depressing.
Bring a song, bring your friends and family who care, bring ideas for future steps to end the Iraq war and occupation. But please do come and spend this one Saturday in Chicago standing up for peace with many thousands of people from all over the Midwest. Call us at 250-9240, or sign up for the buses on our Web site, www.wnpj.org.
Janet Parker is co-chairwoman of the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.
Submitted by wnpj on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 1:08pm.