Tag: Cold War

Whoa! Take notice! It’s back again!

Posted on by kathiemm

by Kathie MM

It’s 9-11.

A day that changed everything. A day that changed nothing.

A day when a terrifying new threat thrust itself into the consciousness of millions of people who, perhaps, had not been paying enough attention.  Sort of like when the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the first atomic bombs. Think about what that event triggered—the “Cold War,” bomb shelters, and lessons to school kids about hiding under desks if the United States was bombed by those dirty Commies.

Or consider the fallout from that ominous non-event, that unconscionable non-attack on the U.S. in the Gulf of Tonkin that led to the Vietnam war and the loss of thousands of American and millions of Indochinese lives–plus the gains of millions of dollars to the arms industry and other war profiteers.

The beat goes on.  New enemies, old enemies, new losses, new profits.

Remember the lyrics, “When will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn”? Ask yourself, have you learned yet that violence only breeds violence (and profits for the rich and powerful)? Have you studied war no more, preferring to put your time and energy  into studying politicians’ records and promises kept and forgotten?  Have you educated yourself about the new threats–e.g., drones— to innocent lives being carried out on innocent men, women, and children elsewhere by the U.S. military and CIA ? Have you heard that those who live by the sword often die by the sword?  Have you enlightened yourself concerning the resurgent threat of nuclear arms that rest in the shaky hands of unscrupulous power-holders in the United States and other rogue states? Have you looked ways to resist war–e.g., here at engaging peace and other sites?  ?

Which side are you on, babe, which side are you on?  Life?

Or death?

Find a way to act now.

 

 

 

Recovering from the Violence Done

Posted on by kathiemm
323 Kennington Rd, London. Afrikan Emancipation Day Reparations March. Annually on the 1st August, which marks emancipation for the abolishment of slavery in the Caribbean, The Afrikan Heritage Community come together to stand in solidarity and March to Parliament, where laws of slavery were made. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Jordiferrer.

By Kathie MM

Violence is oozing its way steadily into our daily lives — into our theaters, churches, homes, and schools. It’s happening right here in the US, but also around the world with a little help from Uncle Sam. If anyone wants to make America great, they should start by reifying nonviolence.

A tremendous effort was made to promote and preserve peace after the two vicious 20th-century World Wars. Countries in Africa and elsewhere were released from the bondage of colonization, a universal convention on human rights was adopted, and international peacekeeping groups were created.And two superpowers emerged — the USSR and the US — and the Cold War began, played out in lots of deadly proxy wars, comfortably away from the nations trying to rebuild their lands and their budgets.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union shrank, and the United States extended its greedy military fingers into all corners of the globe. People primarily of different hues and faiths than the US power elite suffered in untold ways, and the nation’s defense budget expanded, effectively robbing the poor (and increasingly the middle class) to make the rich richer.It’s time for a change.

On one level, the change must be a major political and social rebellion against the military-industrial complex that profits so highly from the death and destruction they impose most obviously on civilians elsewhere, but also on the people at home who bear the burden of the war machine’s costs.

But it’s not enough to resist evil; we must also devote ourselves to particular reactions — to redressing the harm that the nation’s violence has caused civilians in countless (mostly poor) countries around the world, reconciling with the people in countries we have identified as enemies or have raped of resources, repairing the damage our pursuit of profit has inflicted on the environment, and making reparations for the harm our country has done.

In the next two posts, guest author Ross Caputi focuses on reparations.

 

Can they call YOU a terrorist?

Posted on by kathiemm

During the Cold War, people–particularly those who called themselves conservatives–often accused individuals they didn’t like of being “dirty Commies.”

The Senator Joe McCarthy era was a scary time for socialists, liberals, artists, writers—anyone who intimidated the right wing, or made conservatives feel inferior. (A chilling treatment of this era can be found in Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Lacuna.)

The Cold War is over, but the U.S. government, with the help of the right wing, has given us new epithets for people distrusted by the right wing. You know the label—“terrorist.”

Consider the wording of the Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act (the Ag-gag laws), passed in Missouri, Iowa, and Utah, designed to stop animal rights and environmental activists from reporting abuses on factory farms:

“Special interest extremists continue to conduct acts of politically motivated violence to force segments of society, including the general public, to change attitudes about issues considered important to their causes. These groups occupy the extreme fringes of animal rights, pro-life, environmental, anti-nuclear, and other movements. Some special interest extremists — most notably within the animal rights and environmental movements — have turned increasingly toward vandalism and terrorist activity…to further their causes.” (quote from pdf document from corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council)

How about YOU?

  • Are you concerned about the treatment of animals in factory farms?
  • Are you concerned about the environment?
  • Do you oppose nuclear weapons?
  • Do you consider yourself a feminist? Beware: that’s all it takes for some people to call you a terrorist.

Don’t let the name-callers intimidate you. Joe McCarthy left Congress in disgrace. Follow the lead of the Montreal Raging Grannies  and support nonviolence, humane behavior, and social justice. Better yet, tell us what you are already doing to make a positive difference in this country and in this world, both now during the season of non-violence and throughout the year.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

More than graduations and weddings

Posted on by kathiemm

June is Torture Awareness Month.

It is a good month to put yourself in the shoes of another, particularly someone who is being tortured. Right now, as you read, in all likelihood someone is being tortured at the behest of the U.S. government.

Have you ever struggled to catch your breath, choked on food or drink “going down the wrong way,” panicked, feared you would die?

How much worse would it be if someone were deliberately drowning you, pouring streams of water over your face as you lay strapped to a board with your hands and feet bound, punching you in the stomach to make you open your mouth and gasp for air?

What would you do in this situation if you were told to name names, any names, or prepare to undergo the procedure again and again and again, each time nearly drowning?

Since 9/11, hundreds if not thousands of people have been arrested and tortured but then released because there was no evidence of any guilt, not even by association.

Remember the McCarthy era and its Cold War paranoia about Communist infiltration? Americans “gave up” names of friends and family members who were no threat to anyone, just to keep their own jobs and to feed Senator Joe McCarthy’s thirst for power.

That was a shameful era in this country, when ordinary people tolerated years of threats to democracy and human rights, personally betraying perfectly innocent others.

Consider how much worse it is today to ignore government-sanctioned torture of other human beings — and to justify that so-called enhanced interrogation in the name of democracy. Is behavior that defies international law and all human rights principles truly a pathway to democracy?

Please check out these resources:

Consciences need exercising. June is a good month to exercise yours.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology