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Stop the War Against Sudan
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War and growth
The politicians are arguing what to do about Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s not because 650,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the US invasion. More than that died in the blockade during the Clinton years. It’s not because Bush lied about the reasons for the invasion. Congress knew from day one that it was really about oil.
It’s not even because so many thousands of US troops have been killed or wounded.
The problem is that the war has become very unpopular.
So our Senator John Kerry, who ran for president as a war supporter, cries “There's nothing—nothing—in my life in public service I regret more, nothing even close. We should all be willing to say: I was wrong, I should not have voted for the Iraq War Resolution.”
After he said this, Kerry and the entire US Senate voted $70 billion more to fund the war and occupation of Iraq. This year they also voted 100-0 for national ID cards. They just now gave the President the power to arrest and hold US citizens indefinitely without trial.
This summer Kerry joined other bigwigs in the Mass. Democrat Party—including Deval Patrick—in the “We stand with Israel” statement, supporting the invasion of Lebanon. Republican Kerry Healy and independent Christy Mihos signed it too.
The only candidate for governor who opposed the invasion of Lebanon was Grace Ross. The Green-Rainbow Party has opposed all these wars from day one.
So you can vote against these wars on November 7, by voting for the Green-Rainbow candidates on the ballot, and, in some districts, by voting Yes on the IraqWar advisory question.
Of course, wars don’t stop just because they are unpopular. Instead, there may be more of them. Right now, Democrat and Republican leaders alike are beating the war drums against Sudan and Iran, giving the same reasons that turned out to be lies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And again, there is the oil.—lifeblood of the growth economy and military power. Democrat and Republican, liberal or conservative, all call for economic growth.
And their candidates embody that idea—capitalist Healy, corporate lawyer Patrick, and entrepreneur Mihos.
“Economic growth” means ruthless competition, ever-increasing population, production and consumption of goods, using more and more land and water for roads and buildings, and investing our hopes and our resources in the fastest possible development of technology, without regard for its ultimate use.
The candidates blame one another for the problems of the Big Dig. They don’t ask, why was it built in the first place? Why build new highways, when we can’t seem to maintain those we already have?
The days of plentiful oil and the automobile age are numbered. We should be using our energy wisely to build a sustainable public transportation for the future. The energy base of the future should be diverse and decentralized.
Massachusetts should begin to dismantle and disconnect from nuclear energy sources and actively prepare for a more modest use of oil and gas for heating, industry and transportation. The State should require all new construction to use insulation, the sun, and the wind to minimize the flows of energy needed for heat, cooling and power.
If we want peace, let’s envision and build an ecological society, with an economy that does not depend on war.