Cindy Sheehan holds a microphone at a White House Rally on July 3, 2006. To her right is CODEPINK’s Media Benjamin. A banner, partially visible, appears to read Bring The Troops Home. (Wikimedia Commons / Elvert Barnes)
The U.S.A. has always been a colonial/Imperial power, but, especially since WWII (the big one) has staked its claim to be the “World Police.”
Now, to the Empire, does being the cops of the world mean that it moves gently around making sure everyone is safe, prosperous, and happy? No, just like the local police forces in the “Homeland,” the World Police Force is there to protect the interests and power of the global 1%. The rest of us, and I mean ALL of the rest of us are collateral damage, or potential collateral damage to the Empire.
I have been encouraged and inspired here in the “Homeland” by the unrest opposing the apparent impunity with which white cops get to murder unarmed black men. I support these protests and tactics 100%, but my question is, with the US War OF Terror raging against Arab/Muslims all over the Middle East and Africa, what will it take for the same kind of protests opposing the crimes of Empire to arise? (A Republican president, I am afraid).
Are we only to be distressed about police state crimes when they occur here in the Homeland?
When do we descend upon the symbolic seat of Empire (Washington DC) and shut that town down?
When do we go in force to the home of the Empire’s Top Cop Barack Obama and use the same kind of principled and militant actions to demand an end to the wars abroad?
The previous administration has still not been held accountable for the millions of deaths it caused and the torture it authorized and committed: This dearth of accountability for the murderers and torturers in the US government and military trickles down to our communities.
As people are being killed by the Empire every day, billions of dollars that could be used for education, housing, healthcare, and sustainable and clean forms of energy are being poured into these Imperial wars for the profit of a few and the heartache of many. And does anyone else find the fact that the president appointed a “commission” to investigate the militarization of police a little misleading when the federal government is actually the entity that has been delivering heavy military equipment to police forces for decades?
I have been ready to shut down the seat of Empire for years. It seems more imperative than ever with Congress almost unanimously giving Obama the right to wage war against Russia (Dr. Strangelove?) and with the killing ramping up again in the Middle East.
Forget about Democrats; forget about false nationalism; quit listening to the agitprop of Empire and join us for four days of radical action in Washington, DC … or plan actions in your own community.
Join Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox, the Soapbox People’s Network and others who will be converging on Washington DC from March 18th to the 21st in 2015 to (hopefully) raise some meaningful resistance to this evil Empire.
Shut it down!
Spring Rising: An Anti-War Intervention In DC. March 18-21 2015.
Spring Rising: An antiwar intervention in DC
Coming out of a meeting held in Washington, DC, on January 10, plans are coming together for an antiwar intervention in the U.S. capital.
A series of events will be held just as the ongoing U.S. war in Iraq — recently restarted in a new form — passes the 12-year mark since the March 2003 invasion.
Here’s the schedule so far:
Wednesday, March 18: Peace gathering and fellowship.
Thursday, March 19th: Lobbying on Capitol Hill, followed by a tour of the war machine: homes and offices of war criminals.
Friday, March 20th: Afternoon and evening teach-in: Ending Current Wars, Ending the Institution of War.
This event will examine ISIS and U.S. warmaking in Western Asia and elsewhere; the damage militarism does to the natural environment, economies, and civil rights; and how the war system can be replaced with a peace system.
Saturday, March 21st: Protest at the White House, followed by march.
Spring Rising will comprise a number of events including a large rally and march, a teach-in, and lobbying. Its goal is to increase opposition to wars and militarism, and in particular to U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, as well as all U.S. drone attacks and surveillance worldwide. Spring Rising advocates the closure of U.S. military bases overseas, and the dismantling of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. We urge the demilitarization of police forces and a halt to their targeting of minority communities. We seek to increase understanding of and resistance to U.S. military operations’ acceleration of climate chaos.
Crossposted from Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox.
Content posted to MyMPN open blogs is the opinion of the author alone, and should not be attributed to MintPress News.
