What can one person do?

Louisville Peace Pages: 

Getting Involved

CHECK THE LOCAL CALENDAR, THE COMMUNITY CALENDAR 

& OUR PEACE BULLETIN!

1.  Speak up strongly and often. Dare to disagree in public with those who support war as a tool of national policy.  Talk to friends and family who are unsure about the war to tell them what you know and why we should be concerned. Wonder about the reasons for war (like the lack of found WMDs and the connection with Al-Qaida) and demand that we follow up our promises of liberation with infrastructure that can promote it. There will be terrorist attacks in retaliation for US violence against the people of Iraq: the use of this violence to justify more aggression by the US must be countered at every turn: criminal acts require investigation,  civil deterrence and prosecution not military action.  Require that our foreign policy be one that promotes freedom and equality not just security for us and availability to us of foreign markets and natural resources.  Contact tools: Email and letter campaigns endorsed by national progressive organizations; government and media contacts. 
 

2. Educate yourself about as many of the issues surrounding this war as you can. See our general education, post-war information & information at home pages. And see as well C-SAW's NEW BLOGS---Iraq, Foreign Policy, Palestine/Israel, Latin America & the Caribbean & Civil liberties/Home front---timely news articles posted by members of our peace community who want to make sure to get the word out.  Some subject suggestions include: U.S. history of intervention in foreign affairs; the influence of corporations on the presidency, all elected officials and governmental bodies; the 2000 national election scandal; and the politics of oil. Also consider going to Nonviolence Training, which is highly recommended before engaging in antiwar actions.

3. Research and donate money to relief agencies who will help Iraqis, Afghanis and others recover after the war is over (World Food Organization, UNICEF (children), UNHCR (refugees), Working Assets Iraqi Relief Fund or Oxfam.

4. Add alternative sources of information and entertainment: switch off corporate TV and radio. A list of alternate radio programs to listen to while writing the media is here.  And a list of print and internet alternate news sources is found here. (But...first protest Fox News, read about Clear Channel---protest the FCC ruling with legislators (Email campaign, Children NOW)---also check out local stations for Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Neal Boortz and Rush Limbaugh---four radio talk show hosts whose messages inflame some to acts of vandalism and harassment and  include concepts like anti-war protest threatens national security, is unpatriotic and unAmerican and/or that dissent endangers our troops. Terry Meiners' low ball humor at the expense of people deeply committed to local issues and his cheerleading visceral negative response to the peace movement is a local example (To contact him or his station; his website.))  How to challenge hate radio: a check list by FAIR.  These folks numb minds and increase fear according to the desires of the corporations which own them. Get to know your friends and family, and read instead. Read and support www.indymedia.org, www.alternet.org, www.zmag.org, www.democracynow.org, www.commondreams.org, www.thenation.com, middleeastnews.  Consider listening to Pacifica Radio, or if you get dish service, look for Free Speech TV out of Boulder, or LINK, which presents international news. Also consider magazine subscriptions to The Nation, New Internationalist, Mother Jones, The Progressive, World Press Review, Yes, Z Magazine, The Progressive Populist or The American Free Press (many of these are also online). 

Bring alternative radio to town.  First, listen on line when you can, finding programs and sources that you like.  Then

• Contact our local Public Radio Partnership  and encourage them to broadcast your favorite program(s).   Remind them that many programs, Alternative Radio for example, are available free of charge. You can research the information and provide it for them.
• Contact your local library about a subscription.  Take the audio to the masses!
• Simply order tapes from your favorite.
• Purchase a radio station and broadcast the best programs yourself! Louisville needs it.

6. Use your body. Consider fasting for peace, or participating in nonviolent civil disobedience or direct action.

7. Join us, we'd love to work with you.  Louisville Peace Action Committee (LPAC), Students United for Peace and Justice [SUPJ], Kentucky Interfaith Taskforce for Latin America and the Caribbean (KITLAC), and the Greater Louisville Progressive Organizations.