Peace Foundation

If you were to ask anybody from Tanzania to Toronto how to get something done in the United States, what would they tell you?  Say I wanted a tax on wind chimes, how do I accomplish that?  They would tell you to hire fund-raisers, lobbyists, advertising agencies, pay for results, flip congressmen, finance a political action committee and generally participate in the adult discourse of politics.  No one would mention singing songs in a church, taking long walks, or fighting with police. 

We have an NRA, ACLU, NAACP, think tanks, PAC’s, organizations supporting every possible cause.  Why isn’t there an organization that opposes military aid, military bases and military force in a sensible modern way? There are hundreds of member organizations in the war lobby.  Where is the peace lobby? 

Being a pacifist doesn’t mean you have lost all sense of perspective and judgment. The lack of any such organization proves that the peace movement is thoroughly infiltrated and controlled by the Federal Government. The tactics used provoke repressive force.  These are the tactics of provocateurs, justifying their budgets to their police/intelligence handlers. Provocateurs would not be able to justify their participation by reporting on board meetings or advertising buys.

When events are staged and reported, their message is at the mercy of the reporters.  Outrage at police brutality can cross the political spectrum with no impact on policy. 

Without control of their message, the peace movement lacks legitimacy and voting power.  Correctly packaged, the peace movement message could be extremely powerful.  Imagine what an advertising firm could do with the message that we gave billions in military aid to Pakistan who then created the Taliban; if we had cut off the aid, Bin Laden would have been picked up at the airport.  Or follow around a local war lord, beating his wife, molesting young boys, stealing from neighboring villages and then killed by a million dollar missile. 

I’m not sure what would work and what wouldn’t, but that is the point.  I’m not so arrogant as to believe that the sing-along mob tactics of 1930 will work in 2012. If anything, they cement the opposition.  It isn’t that professionals know what is going to work, but that they try things, test the results, and try again. Peace is too important to be left to dilettantes cruising for dates.