It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

November 9, 2016, Protest outside Trump Tower New York. Author: Anthony Albright. In the public domain.

Admittedly, the recent election left millions of Americans fearful and in mourning, and millions of others celebrating the apparent ascendancy of White Power, Man Power, American supremacy, the right to carry weapons any damn place you want, and success in telling the power establishment to go to hell in a hand basket.

But democracy is not dead yet, and there’s work to be done.  I’ve been heartened by messages from many hard-working, citizen-based organizations gearing up to continue the good fight.  We need optimism.  Optimism is associated with good mental health.  You know when you feel best—not when you are overwhelmed with hate and the urge to hurt and punish but when you have optimism, hope, joy in sharing a worthy task with others.

Here are just a few of the messages that can carry you forward:

“We are an organization that has its roots in fighting J. Edgar Hoover and McCarthyism (DDF), and one that was born to fight the Patriot Act (BORDC). We are used to facing strong adversaries and fighting back with courage and integrity. We won’t quit. I know you won’t either. Stay Loud, Stay Strong.” (Bill of Rights Defense Committee)

“The hardest thing to do right now is to hold on to hope, but it’s what we must do. We should feel our anger, mourn, pray, and then do everything we can to fight hate…. When times get tough, it’s crucial to remember: we are in this together, and when we mobilize, we are capable of the unimaginable. No one man — no matter how cruel or powerful — can take that away.” (The 350.org global climate movement team)

“Whatever your faith or belief, there is a healing power within each of us that must be devotedly applied to this divided nation. We will not resolve our differences by demonization.” (Interfaith Alliance)

Remembering Nagasaki, 1945

World War I was not the war to end all wars; neither did the dropping of a second U.S. atom bomb at Nagasaki, Japan bring lasting peace to the world.

origami peace cranes
Origami peace cranes

Since August 9, 1945, and the end of World War II, the U. S. has committed troops to more than 100 armed conflicts around the world—in widely dispersed areas such as China, Korea, Palestine, Lebanon, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, the Congo (Zaire), El Salvador, Libya, Grenada, Honduras, Chad, the Persian Gulf, Panama, Colombia, the Philippines, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Many of these armed interventions provoked controversy and protest among American citizens; others barely reached public awareness. The goals were always lofty; the results frequently horrendous; the true motives often highly suspect.

Although the U.S. has used armed force with increasing frequency to achieve a wide range of goals across the globe since World War II, the actual number of armed conflicts occurring each year has declined rather steadily in recent decades—from around 164 in 1982 to 40 in 2000 and only 28 in 2008.

The consistent decline in armed conflicts is one basis for optimism concerning the possibility of world peace. Despite the involvement of the United States in ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is good evidence that increasing numbers of people around the world can see alternatives to violence as a means of resolving conflicts.

Public support for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is declining even as funding continues. What will it take to get the country’s leadership to listen to the voice of the people who oppose these wars?

Future blogs will discuss the kinds of thinking people bring to their judgments concerning the legitimacy—and illegitimacy–of a government’s use of armed aggression and alternatives to that aggression.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Remembering Hiroshima, 1945

atomic cloud over Hiroshima
Photo from the National Archives via Wikimedia Commons

Today, August 6, 2010, is the 65th anniversary of the dropping of the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. This U.S. military action instantly killed over 70,000 Hiroshima residents, almost entirely civilians.

“I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” Thus spoke J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the principal architects of the bomb.

Despite that condemnation, many Americans still believe that bombing Hiroshima and then Nagasaki was morally justifiable and that maintaining a nuclear arsenal is a sensible policy.

During the Second World War, the Japanese people were demonized and dehumanized by the media. Many Americans, already racist, believed the Japanese all deserved to die. Yet today–and indeed for several decades–Japan is and has been a major ally of the U.S., viewed as an essential partner in maintaining stability in Asia.

In a world with rampant armed conflict and many apparent threats to individual and family security, it is important to search for pathways away from death and destruction. We have chosen today to launch our new blog, dedicated to the promotion of world peace.

The blog has several specific purposes:

1. Promote optimism concerning the possibility of peace.

2. Explore how people in power and the mainstream media persuade citizens that various forms of government-sponsored aggression, such as war and torture, are justifiable.

3. Present examples of serious conflicts that have been resolved without warfare.

4. Demonstrate that a major pathway to peace is through responsible activism.

5. Translate into user-friendly language the best of relevant scientific and academic work contributing to the understanding of war and peace. In particular, we will periodically mention some of the major findings from the work of our own international research team.

6. Help readers find useful tools and important resources to support their own efforts to seek and promote peace.

7. Encourage readers to share their opinions and contribute their own stories and examples of “engaging peace.”

Please join the dialogue about Engaging Peace. We welcome your comments.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology