We're Looking for YOUR Input!
Peaceworks
has, for several years now, been working to promote the conversion of our
Permanent War Economy into a sustainable and just Peace Economy. We are now seeking
your ideas, input, vision and participation.
For
more than seven decades our economy has been on a permanent war footing. We’ve
been spending far more each year on the military than is required to defend our
nation. This has cost us many, many trillions. And then there’s the opportunity
cost; that is the things we could have invested in instead. This includes
investments in people and infrastructure that would have made our nation
healthier, more prosperous and more sustainable.
While
politicians talk incessantly about “national security” as they argue for
directing our tax dollars to the bloated Pentagon budget, they ignore some of
the most important threats to our security, most notably climate change. Prioritizing
Real Security we’d make major changes to the U.S. military posture and budget.
We
need to do more than simply oppose illegal and counterproductive wars, like
those in Iraq or Afghanistan, when they crop up. We need to get to the root of
things and challenge the very concept of the United States as a dominating
global power—maintaining a military presence on every ocean, on every continent
and in the skies everywhere—insisting on Full Spectrum Dominance in all realms.
Our government needs to work with others to develop a framework for global
security based upon cooperation and mutual, verifiable steps to disarmament,
rather than attempting to impose a Pax Americana upon the planet.
We
urge our fellow citizens to recognize that throwing billions daily at the
Military Industrial Complex not only enriches the owners of these massive,
for-profit companies while impoverishing us collectively, it also leads to an
interventionist foreign policy that makes enemies and leaves us less secure.
As
Dr. King observed, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the
presence of justice.” Thus, we’re aiming to do more than simply cut military
spending while investing in people and infrastructure. Creating a Peace Economy
also involves economic justice, domestically and internationally. This includes
full employment, fair wages, progressive taxation, financial regulation, fair
trade relations as well as meaningful economic democracy.
Your Opportunity for Input—Make Your Voice Heard
How
do we get from here to there? Peaceworks invites you to share your ideas on how
we can build a Peace Economy and attain Real Security.
We’re
asking you to think about what you’d like to propose for concrete actions that
could be taken on our behalf by our elected officials at all levels of
government, from the President and members of Congress right down to city
councils or school boards.
We’d
appreciate it if you could send your ideas our way via e-mail. Please keep each
proposal brief (400 words max). It’s fine to submit more than one. We suggest
you write these in the form of letters to a specific elected official(s). We’ll
also accept proposals directed to NGOs and others. We will, at our discretion,
post your thoughts on our website and our Facebook page. We will include your
name, unless you request anonymity, and your picture, if you’d like, and if you
send us one.
Send
to mail@midmopeaceworks.org ASAP
and by 3/15/14 at the latest. Peace Nook gift certificates will be awarded to
those we judge best. And we’ll consider all proposals for future campaigns as
part of our work for Real Security and a Peace Economy.
