A celebrity, but first a citizen
Opinion I am not the president; instead, I hold an even higher office, that of citizen of the United States.
War and anti-war in rural Pennsylvania
Opinion Carrying on anti-war activity in this very white, very conservative enclave in rural Penn’s Valley, Penn., is remarkably different from what I have experienced before – more than a decade of activism in Chicago, and two decades in Mississippi.
Casualties of war first truth, then conscience
Opinion The national media echo chamber is not receptive to conscience. On television, the voices are usually loud and facile. People often seem to be shouting. In contrast, the human conscience is close to a whisper. Easily unheard.
Bush brings U.S. into illegal war
With layer upon layer of misrepresentation, exaggeration, and outright lies, George W. Bush and his war cabinet have recklessly flung our nation into an illegitimate, illegal, and unnecessary war.
Pop world takes stand against war
A music video by Madonna soon to be released on MTV has ultra-thin models, dressed in haute-couture army fatigues, strolling down a catwalk, hurling grenades to the applause of the audience. Speaking about the video, Madonna, no stranger to controversy, told the press: “I am not anti-Bush, I am not pro-Iraq. I am pro-peace. I hope this provokes thought and dialogue.” Madonna is an example of the growing number of high-profile performing artists, both in the U.S. and abroad, who are openly questioning the Bush administration’s intentions to attack Iraq.
Department of Peace needed
Opinion Currently it appears that the United States has a “Department of Offense” rather than a Department of Defense, as the rhetoric for preemptively attacking Iraq continues. For those who are not against government altogether, there may be some hope.
A turning point in human history
Commentary We are at a rare moment in human history. Politics has become the overriding passion of hundreds of millions and the halls of political power have been transformed into sites where vast political and social forces collide in a battle over the future. As an activist in the trade union movement said to me only a few days ago, “The world has become politicized.”
