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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span
class=apple-style-span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;background:#EDF1F7'>Research
Project for Peacemakers<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-style-span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;background:
#EDF1F7'>“Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia,
nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after
all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a
simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist
dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice,
the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.
All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the
pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works
the same in any country.”</span></span><span class=apple-style-span><span
style='color:black;background:#EDF1F7'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Hermann</span><span
style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'> Goering</span><span
class=apple-style-span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black;background:#EDF1F7'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=body><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Mankind must put an end to war before
war puts an end to mankind.</span></span><span class=apple-converted-space><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>John F.
Kennedy<br>
<br>
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:3.75pt;margin-right:84.85pt;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>“Of
course people don’t want war. Why should a poor slob on a farm want to
risk his life in a war when the best thing he can get out of it is to come
back to his farm in one piece?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p align=right style='margin-right:92.35pt;text-align:right'><span
style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Hermann Goering<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin-right:83.35pt'><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:black'>"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I
believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people.
Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the
benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align=right style='margin-right:83.35pt;text-align:right'><span
style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Major General Smedley
Butler, USMC.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p style='mso-margin-top-alt:.25in;margin-right:.25in;margin-bottom:.25in;
margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>"In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity
is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral
ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='mso-margin-top-alt:.25in;margin-right:.25in;margin-bottom:.25in;
margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:#333333'><br>
>From Wangari Maathai's Nobel Lecture, delivered in Oslo, 10 December 2004.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>There have been many
excellent studies showing how companies induce people to buy products or services
that they could easily get along without. Vance Packard started with his 1957
classic, <u>The Hidden Persuaders</u>. More recently, Martin Lindstrom’s
Brandwashed: <u>Tricks Companies Use to</u> <u>Manipulate Our Minds and
Persuade Us to Buy</u> show that the companies are far more sophisticated than
they were in 1957.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>The surprise
is that there has been zero detailed research showing how the military
industrial complex pulls the big con in history: telling us that war is
glorious and necessary. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Progressives must recognize the awesome sales job made
by government propaganda that war is necessary and glorious, like a football
game. The war sport is like mountain climbing or deep sea diving, far more
dangerous than everyday life. As in a football game, we root for our side to
win because a defeat would bring catastrophic consequences. In World War Two,
a victory by the Axis Powers would have brought slavery for all and
extermination for many.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>As a teenager (born in 1944), I saw war as a great adventure.
Of course, a fellow could get killed. In the comic books, movies and
documentaries, I did not see burn victims nor injured soldiers who lost limbs.
Dead soldiers looked like they were asleep.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The best war propaganda ever made was the 1952 NBC series
Victory at Sea. The editors reviewed 11,000 miles of film, prepared a stirring
musical score and narrative making 26 episodes lasting about 26 minutes each.
Television reviewers wondered who would want to watch war documentaries on a
Sunday afternoon. By the second week, they got their answer: just about
everybody.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>On YouTube see the finale for the episode, Beneath the
Southern Cross, which described the successful efforts by the American and
Brazilian navies to protect convoys in the South Atlantic. This is the ending
narrative:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>And the convoys come through,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Bearing the wealth of the Southern Hemisphere, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Refusing to pay one cent for tribute but willing to
spend millions for defense,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The American republics have swept from the ocean
highways of the South Atlantic their common foe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Spread wide across the sea<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Guarded by the might of nations that can fight side by
side because they have learned to live side by side.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The ships stream toward their goal Allied victory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'><a
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku-uLV7Qups&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku-uLV7Qups&feature=related</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Progressives must offer a peace vision through songs,
poems, short stories, movies and plays. Offer contests with some prize money
and much recognition. My favorite peace vision comes from the 1967 hit, Crystal
Blue Persuasion by Tommy James and the Shondells:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXz4gZQSfYQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXz4gZQSfYQ</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Peacemakers must offer specifics. Otherwise, war criminals
like George W. Bush and Barack Obama will talk about peace until the cows come
home. Here are some specifics:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>1) reduce the bloated US military budget by 90%, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>2) tax international arms sales,<br>
3) begin a moratorium on weapons research,<br>
4) start a world-wide anti-poverty program,<br>
5) train our armed forces for disaster relief,<br>
6) establishing a cabinet level Department of Peace,<br>
7) reduce nuclear weapons to zero, and,<br>
8) negotiate to take all the world’s nuclear weapons off hair trigger
alert. <br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Note that each proposal can become a bumper sticker. I
invite progressives to copy the excellent communication skills demonstrated our
right-winger friends, who have done well with simple slogans. People can
instantly understand what right-wingers want. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Make no mistake. Humans must end war or war will end us
and all life on our planet. This is not just an idea from hippies and
Quakers. See this plea from General Douglas MacArthur when he spoke to the US
Congress on April 19, 1951:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>“I know war as few other men now living know it,
and nothing to me is more revolting. I have long advocated its complete
abolition, as its very destructiveness on both friend and foe has rendered it
useless as a means of settling international disputes... <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of
nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible
of war. The utter destructiveness of war now blocks out this alternative. We
have had our last chance. If we will not devise some greater and more equitable
system, our Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is
theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence, an improvement of human
character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science,
art, literature, and all material and cultural developments of the past two
thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh." <br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Environmentalists may be the first major group to
accept war abolition although, up to now, they have been indifferent to
military spending. I hope they wake up for two reasons: 1) a nuclear war will
end our civilization in an afternoon and 2) the resources devoted to the
military means crumbs off the table for everything else. We all want cleaner
energy and to reverse global warming but all these efforts achieve little as
long as the military goes full speed ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Since Lloyd George remarked at the Paris Peace
Conference in 1919 that making peace was more complicated than making war,
seeing this charade will not be easy. However, it must be done. With courage
and vision, humans can follow Isaiah by turning swords into plowshares saving
ourselves and all life on our planet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Useful research material:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Kurlansky, Mark (with a forward by His Holiness the
Dalai Lama. <u>Nonviolence: Twenty-Five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous
Idea</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Regan, Geoffrey. Picking <u>the Past: Reclaiming the
Past from Politicians</u>. The Spanish language title is better: <u>Guerras,
Politicos y Mentiras: Como nos</u> <u>enganan manipulando el pasado y el
presente</u> (Wars, Politicians and Lies: How They Deceive by Manipulating the
Past and the Present).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Ed O’Rourke is a retired certified public
accountant living in Medellin, Colombia. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>eorourke@pdq.net<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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