The Furious Spinner

We've been having a discussion on our peace listserve about what we do next. Burnout is the prevalent feeling, along with a lack of creativity. What do we do which will work? Someone quoted someone else who wrote, "The only way the White House and Congress—of either party —will end this terrible war is if there is massive protest in the streets." I responded with the letter below. What do you think?

I don't believe the Bush administration would stop the war even if there were massive protests. The protests didn't help before the war. Something new and creative needs to happen. I like what Starhawk et al do—they create community and permaculture at the same time they decide what kind of action to do, so after the "action" is over, they leave behind groups of people who are beginning to understand how to fend for themselves.

A group of us went to see the movie The Corporation last night, about how corporations are legally persons and if someone analyzed most of the corporations (psychologically) as if they were people, they would determine these corporation persons are psychopaths. The CEO of Interface, Ray Anderson , realized that he and the others are plunderers of this Earth and what they were doing is not sustainable. (As someone who has been made sick by new carpeting, I was particularly moved by Mr. Anderson; I just sat there weeping.) During most of the movie, I wanted to stand up and scream . Scream and scream and scream. For one thing, I drove there in a car—the cause of more pollution, illness, and death than probably anything else on the planet. I am frustrated by my own lack of committment sometimes. Why can't I give up my car? For another thing, the list of environmental and social atrocities committed by these psychopaths was so depressing.

But what do we do? Corporations are made up of people.

This morning, I once again looked around at what is happening where I live and wonder how people tolerate it. In Hood River they want to put fluoride in the water. Are they nuts? Have they seen the scientific evidence of the harm of that crap? "The people" could stop this from happening. But will they?

In every county in the Gorge EVERY SINGLE FREAKING WEEK DAY pesticides are sprayed on our roadsides and in the air and in the orchards. (This is true for most counties in the United States by the way.) Nearly every single school in the Gorge uses pesticides inside and outside their schools. (This is true for most schools throughout the United States.) Many of these pesticides are neurotoxins. Do you know what those do to our precious children? Yet when I bring this up to my friends, most of them liberals, they say they don't want to be "one of those parents." What kind of parents: those who protect their children? Those who are lions for their children? "The people" could stop this war on the Earth—all the various wars. But they don't.

We could. We could stop it right here in our own communities if as a group we demanded it. So many of us are lone "warriors." When we are by ourselves, the establishment just sneers at us. I've gone to the schools where I live (I don't have children by the way) to try to get them to stop using pesticides, and I am the only voice (besides my husband). What if every single parents said, "Stop?" Or even a group of parents? They would stop in a heartbeat. This is true with so many local issues. Then it would become a way of life. No, we won't do this or that because it is harmful to the Earth and her creatures, to the air, the water, the people. No, all is sacred to us, so we will not tolerate war and profiteering.

I want to stop the war in Iraq. I want to stop the wars everywhere. But you know what? I want to live in a community where pillaging–where war—is not tolerated on any level: socially or environmentally. If we can't stop tolerating it HERE, how effective are we going to be telling our politicians to stop it THERE? They are just emulating what we tolerate in our own communities.
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