http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/21-2
by Medea Benjamin
Published on Thursday, July 21, 2011 by CommonDreams.org
In an article in Salon.com, Todd Gitlin writes a convincing obituary
for an antiwar movement killed by a thousand blows: crushed by Bush's
pigheadedness, dumped in the media's black hole, rendered invisible
by a volunteer army and drones, overshadowed by more urgent financial
crises, chastened by the "unpleasantness" of adversaries from Taliban
to al-Qaida to Gadhafi. He leaves out some other daggers to the heart
of the movement: grass-roots election campaigns that lured away
millions of activists; betrayals by the president and groups like
MoveOn who used and abused the antiwar sentiment; craven
congressional reps who violate the will of their constituents by
continuing to fund war; powerful lobbyists for the war industry who
wield enormous power in Washington; and the utter exhaustion that
sets in after 10 years of standing up to the largest military complex
the world has ever seen.
Despite all these challenges, however, the reports of the death of
the antiwar movement are greatly exaggerated. Sure, there are no
longer millions marching in the streets -- but there aren't millions
marching in American streets for any cause these days. Lacking the
staying power of Tahrir Square, our weekend rallies failed to effect
policy and left people disillusioned -- and bored. That's why
creative and media-savvy activism 2.0 tactics -- like flash mobs,
Twitter culture jams and YouTube videos -- have emerged that engage
with the younger generation.
And that's why the movement has transformed as well. Rather than
marching in circles and chanting slogans to ourselves, we're reaching
deep into our communities to make connections between the economic
crises our neighborhoods face and the wars that rob us of scarce resources.
Take a look at the recent Bring Our War Dollars Home campaign spurred
by CODEPINK, a campaign that gave a new burst of energy to the
movement. We encouraged activists around the country to build local
coalitions to push the passage of a resolution to stop funding wars
and invest those monies into rebuilding America. From big cities like
Los Angeles and Baltimore to towns like Ithaca, N.Y., and Worcester,
Mass., coalitions of peace, labor, environmental, feminist and
religious groups wrote letters, made calls, visited and otherwise
cajoled their city officials. After dozens of victories, in June we
took the resolution to the national U.S. Conference of Mayors,
representing 1,200 American cities. Despite some hackneyed efforts to
brand the resolution as being "against the troops," it passed
overwhelmingly and has become a useful tool against congressional
members who continue to vote more money for war.
While many exasperated activists have given up on lobbying Congress,
some antiwar groups like PeaceAction and Progressive Democrats of
America continue to plug away, with a degree of success. In May, for
example, they pushed for the McGovern-Jones amendment to accelerate
the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. While the amendment failed
215-204, the 178 Democrats and 26 Republicans voting yes made this
the closest that any vote has come to repudiating our nation's
Afghanistan strategy in 10 years.
Another sign of life in the peace movement is the massive outcry it
generated over the inhumane treatment of alleged WikiLeaks
whistle-blower Bradley Manning. The uproar forced the U.S. military
to improve Manning's pre-trial conditions, moving him from the harsh
military brig in Quantico, Va., to more humane facilities in
Leavenworth, Kan. Activists also raised funds, in record time, for
Manning's legal fees and orchestrated creative visibility campaigns,
from Bradley contingents in increasingly commercialized, "apolitical"
gay pride parades to a skit performed at a high-dollar San Francisco
fundraiser with President Obama.
Interfaith, anti-nuke, antiwar activists across the country are
working together to oppose the use of the unmanned drones responsible
for the civilian deaths in Pakistan, Yemen, Libya, Somalia,
Afghanistan and Iraq. On Oct. 9, several hundred Catholic Workers,
CODEPINK members and friends are expected to protest at Creech Air
Force Base, home of the deadly Reaper drones.
After witnessing Israel's brutal assault of Gaza in 2008, many peace
activists also joined the movement for human right and justice in
Israel and Palestine, engaging in campaigns to boycott and divest
from the occupation, organizing boats and caravans to break through
the crippling blockade of Gaza, providing support to non-violent
actions against home demolitions and the "apartheid wall" in the West
Bank, and challenging the stranglehold that pro-Israel lobbies have
on U.S. policy.
Finally, we have been busy trying to insert the anti-war message in
the broader movements for social and economic justice. While our
message is sometimes rebuffed or marginalized in activities closely
linked to the Democratic Party, at every major rally for jobs, civil
rights or corporate responsibility, you'll find anti-war activists.
As Todd Gitlin knows well, movements ebb and flow. We are certainly
not at our zenith, but we are still breathing. The Arab Spring has
given us new inspiration, and as the 10th anniversary of the
senseless war in Afghanistan approaches in October, you can expect to
see the antiwar movement not just breathing, but kicking into high
gear with an open-ended mobilization in D.C. starting on Oct. 7 and
artistic actions throughout the country under the banner of 10 Years
and Counting. We invite Todd and others who have been writing about
our demise to come join us.
Medea Benjamin (medea@globalexchange.org) is cofounder of Global
Exchange (www.globalexchange.org) and CODEPINK: Women for Peace
(www.codepinkalert.org). She is author of Don't Be Afraid Gringo: A
Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart.
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