Panelists Discuss Antiwar Movement Then and Now

October 20, 2010 Writers and Books held a panel discussion Antiwar Activism Then and Now. The event was in conjunction with author Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. The panelists were Jack Bradigan-Spula, a 1969 graduate of Eastman Music School who served in the US Marine Corps after losing his student deferment. Since then he has been an activist and journalist in the peace, human rights and environmental movements. Spula currently is a professor at RIT. Steve Huff, the second panelist is also a professor at RIT as well as a poet and educational director at Writers and Books. Mara Ahmed, the third panelist is a documentary film maker originally from Lahore, Pakistan. Her film The Muslims I Know aired on public TV last year. Ahmed is now a US citizen and lives in Pittsford. The fourth panelist, Brian Lenzo, is one of the founding members of Rochester Against War. Lenzo also accompanied the July, 2009 Viva Palestina tour as a journalist. His writing can be found at the blog The Sitch (www.thesitch.com) and also in the International Socialist Organization's publication, Socialist Worker.

What were the differences in the antiwar movements then and now? In order to understand them we need to look at how the military and also the media operated then and now. Of course the biggest difference was back then there was a draft. It was always on the public's mind especially if they were young men or the families of young men. This led to a much easier ability to mobilize large numbers of people to a point to where an entire counterculture developed. The military operated differently then as well. A young enlisted or drafted man would serve one tour of duty and then be discharged, unless he chose to re-enlist. Today the military concentrates on a small number of people. These people must endure repeated deployments and are often “stop-lossed” (forced to stay in the military) when their terms of duty are up. The 1960's were good economic times for much of the country. We outproduced and out-exported the rest of the world. It was the time of the space program. People had time to reflect and organize. Today about the only things we produce are the weapons of war. Americans are too worried about how to pay the mortgage or health care to worry about a war halfway around the world. For many young Americans, often college graduates with high debt and no job prospects, the military has become the employer of last resort. After Vietnam the Army determined that its troops were too hesitant to pull the trigger, leading to low kill rates. So Army psychologists devised brainwashing techniques intended to produce more efficient killers. This leads to problems for those leaving the service, creating a sense of isolationism and often leading to alcohol and drug abuse, violence and suicide. Many who leave the service end up in Security or Law Enforcement, a contributing factor to the rise in police brutality. The necessary support mechanisms such as mental health care for these people don't exist because they are considered too expensive.

No comparison of today to the 1960's is complete without looking at the news media. Network news then was replete with images of coffins of dead soldiers being unloaded from military aircraft. The body count was announced daily. During the Bush years, it was illegal to photograph returning war dead and the Secretary of Defense quipped “we don't keep body counts.” The public is kept largely isolated from the wars and their costs by the media, because the owners of the media profit from the wars. NBC is owned by General Electric, one of the largest defense contractors. The lack of coverage is an intentional decision made by an incestuous network of a small number of wealthy owners. This has created what Lenzo referred to as a “severed generation” who are isolated from the mistakes of the past. The older generation was convinced by the media that the young don't care. The young were convinced that their elders don't matter. Huff added “After Vietnam, I thought we had learned a great lesson that we'd remember for a long, long time. I was wrong.”

The Panelists offered some answers to what we can do to change things.

Brian Lenzo replied that we need to establish support mechanisms and counter military disinformation. Today anyone who signs up is automatically a “hero.” Recruiters frequently lie to potential enlistees promising them a “stateside” or “non-combat” position, or telling them “by the time you complete your basic training they'll be bringing the troops home.” We need to provide a place to turn for those who choose to resist. “It is an honorable thing to desert from an unjust war; in fact some would call it a moral responsibility.” He used the strikes now taking place in France as an example of a tactic that is working. It cuts across generational lines. French workers, students and other members of civil society are shutting down airports, trains, and universities, these large scale demonstrations have the support of the general public- specifically the Unions. One of America's primary tasks must be to rebuild its unions.

Mara Ahmed explained how documentary film making has largely replaced investigative journalism. Today we have the Internet, You Tube, and social networks like Facebook, My Space and Twitter. It also makes available sites like Al Jazerra, the BBC, Democracy Now, and of course Indymedia. Often this is the only media coverage our protests get. It is therefore important to keep the Internet open and free. That means Net Neutrality. Ahmed then compared the US media to the media in Pakistan with some surprising revelations. In Pakistan there are many news sources. They are open and there is a lively discussion. She cited the movement by Pakistan's lawyers to re-instate the constitution after (US-backed) General Musharaf suspended it. The lawyers were successful. The media reported it. Everyone was watching. “The whole US system is set up to produce consumers, not citizens. We need to work against that system.”

Jack Bradigan-Spula suggested targets that the movement could focus on now. With all the concern about the deficit, we need to relate military spending to it. Over half of our tax dollars go to fighting wars or interest on money borrowed for wars. “By comparison to the percentage the US spends on wars the Romans were pikers.” “Even Great Britain, at the height of its empire, paled by comparison.” The effect of these wars on the environment must not be ignored either. The US is poisoning much of the land it invades with depleted uranium, which will remain toxic for thousands of years. The US military is the largest consumer of fossil fuels in the world and in the process is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The US still refuses to face the fact of climate change. We must not underestimate the potential to radicalize people. This happened in 1989 in New York's Southern Tier when thousands of people blocked off roads to prevent the dumping of nuclear waste in the area. Today that same area's most precious resource, its abundant fresh water, is threatened by hydrofracking. We must not lose these people to the tea party.

Wars are about exploitation. Exploitation of American taxpayers, American troops, of the people of the lands we invade and occupy, and of the Earth. By stopping the exploitation we can stop the wars.