Huge Task Lies Ahead for Peace Movement
by Greg Field, PAM director
The peace movement has a full agenda here in the United States because we
have not been able to derail the military adventurism of our current
administration. Bush II and his supporters in Congress have used the tragedy
of September 11 as a pretext to increase spending for a range of weapons
programs, including the development of new nuclear weapons. He has promoted
a vision for a nightmarish New World Order -- in which war is the way to peace;
dissent and diversity are stifled in the name of patriotism; America acts
alone and neglects international cooperation in the name of world security.
Indeed, we have much to do if we are to build a truly democratic foreign
policy and a just social order.
How do we make the necessary changes happen? Quite often, our discussions
come back to an old problem: are we too busy "preaching to the converted,"
and not mobilizing new faces and new voices? Is our network broad enough to
sustain the kind of change we believe is needed? There is no yes-no answer.
Small groups of active citizens have always had a central role in fostering
change and influencing policy, and that small core can become the center of
a much bigger movement. Preaching to the converted can be a very good thing
as long as we are not satisfied with that alone, but rather see it as a
first step toward broader change. Getting our social base mobilized is
important; we can enjoy seeing each other at events, or getting together for
letter writing or phone call campaigns to Congress.
We need to tell Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe that if they really want to
be viewed as "Republican moderates" then they have to moderate their stance
on defense issues. We have to get out to candidate nights and ask tough
questions of all the candidates. We need to turn out, each and every one of
us, for the Stop the War Rally on October 26 in Augusta.
We also need to build the movement. Bring a friend to an event or ask
him/her to make a phone call. More importantly, when people appear at an
event for the first time, listen to what they say -- why they came; what they
value. Reach out to new people and bring ideas to PAM about how we can
broaden our movement. Peace Action Maine has been doing this very thing with
its efforts at diversity networking but we cannot rest on prior efforts.
Back to Peace Talk Index, Autumn, 2002