Bennis: The Peace Movement & 10-2-10

The noted peace movement thinker, Phyllis Bennis explains why she's supporting the One Nation Working Together mobilization: "I think Oct 2nd is a great example of what it means for us as a peace movement to take on the dual challenges of both bringing our anti-war, anti-military budget messages to a much broader mobilization than our own, making the links about how the costs of war directly impact all the key issues around jobs, health care, the environment, housing, the economic crisis/recovery, etc., AND demonstrating our willingness/capacity to mobilize in support of the broad call around jobs etc. because it's important in its own right...

"We've known for a while now that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while not qualitatively different than under Bush (except worsening in Afghanistan....) are being waged in a very different political environment, one in which immediate concerns about jobs, loss of income, loss of homes, etc., all trump public concerns about the wars. the public is with us, when asked, in opposing the wars -- but are not largely engaged independently in challenging the wars. The wars are not the central point of opposition to US policies -- the economy is. So we've known there's a movement rising in response to that crisis, demanding more money for jobs & less to the banks, demanding an end to tax cuts for CEOs & the rest of the rich, etc. -- and here's our chance to be a stream in the river that is that rising movement...

"The peace movement did not convene the ONWT rally, and on October 2nd we will be one component part of a much broader coalition that as a whole probably won't put forward all of "our" demands in "our" language. But on October 2nd we will be part of that much broader and more powerful mobilization -- one in which we are being welcomed with a place at the table. So even if some coalition members might not be happy about challenging the military budget, or maybe even think the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are okay or even necessary, we'll still be there. We'll be a stream in a very broad river -- and we will have an extraordinary opportunity to move forward our understanding of the conflict between jobs and the military budget among an enormously broader sector of folks reflecting and representing the wide diversity of a much bigger "our" -- that is, "our" peace and justice progressive movement."