War without End? Not in Our Name
I’ve been amazed lately at how many people are opposed to an Iraq War who didn’t think anyone else was. Well, there are lots of us. Maybe even a majority. What I’ve found that is deeply disturbing though is the number of people who are afraid to speak out, afraid the government might be watching or something like that. Which, when you think about it, is even more reason to speak out, and speak out now.
On Sunday, October 6, there will be nationwide anti-war demonstrations, organized by Not In Our Name (NION). Locations include New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, and Atlanta and more. All will have music, spoken word, poetry, as well as speakers and, in the case of L.A., a march.
Central to all of these demonstrations is the NION pledge
The Pledge of Resistance
We believe that as people living
in the United States it is our
responsibility to resist the injustices
done by our government,
in our names
Not in our name
will you wage endless war
there can be no more deaths
no more transfusions
of blood for oil
Not in our name
will you invade countries
bomb civilians, kill more children
letting history take its course
over the graves of the nameless
Not in our name
will you erode the very freedoms
you have claimed to fight for
Not by our hands
will we supply weapons and funding
for the annihilation of families
on foreign soil
Not by our mouths
will we let fear silence us
Not by our hearts
will we allow whole peoples
or countries to be deemed evil
Not by our will
and Not in our name
We pledge resistance
We pledge alliance with those
who have come under attack
for voicing opposition to the war
or for their religion or ethnicity
We pledge to make common cause
with the people of the world
to bring about justice,
freedom and peace
Another world is possible
and we pledge to make it real.
The primary demonstration will be in Central Park in NYC. From the NYC page on the NION website.
We will hear comments from those who have felt the effects of U.S. military actions in other countries and domestic repression in the U.S. We will hear from artists, writers, religious figures, activists and others about why they are taking the Pledge.
At about 3PM. we will assemble in a circle to form a gigantic image of the world. Then, as one, we will take the Not in Our Name Pledge of Resistance.
This message of solidarity with the people of the world needs to be heard especially loud from NYC where the deaths of thousands of innocent people on September 11, 2001 have been invoked as justification for the government’s actions.
On Sept 19, NION ran a full page ad in the New York Times (check the impressive list of signers). Their website has been getting 10,000 hits a day since! Something is happening here. A LOT of people are opposed to a war.
Email your friends about NION. Post it on your blog. Talk to people about it. Get involved. If not now, when? Do it now. Seriously.