"Captures such complexities and depths of human existence, even apart from the immediate message." —Noam Chomsky, author, 9-11, Failed States, and Hegemony or Survival
This symphony of voices—a loosely united network of war resisters, deserters, and peace activists in Afghanistan, Europe, Iraq, and North America—vividly recounts the actions they have personally taken to end war and create a peaceful society. Frustrated, angered, and even saddened by the juggernaut of aggression that creates more counter-violence at every turn, this assortment of contributors has moved beyond demonstrations and petitions into direct, often radical actions in defiance of the government’s laws to impede its capacity to wage war. Among the stories cited are those of a European peace group that assisted a soldier in escaping from military detention and then deserting; a U.S.-educated Iraqi who now works in Iran developing cheaper and smaller heat-seeking missiles to shoot down U.S. aircraft after U.S. soldiers brutalized his family; a granny for peace who found young allies in her struggle against military recruiting; a seminary student who, having been roughed up by U.S. military at a peace demonstration, became a military chaplain and subverts from within; and a man who expresses his resistance through the destruction of government property—most often by burning military vehicles.
William T. Hathaway is a political journalist and a former Special Forces soldier turned peace activist whose articles have appeared in more than 40 publications, including Humanist, the Los Angeles Times, Midstream Magazine, and Synthesis/Regeneration. He is an adjunct professor of American studies at the University of Oldenburg in Germany, and the author of A World of Hurt, CD-Ring, and Summer Snow.
From Amazon:
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2010
William Hathaway tells of his horrific experiences in the Vietnam War, and how he had to overcome some of his own nightmares as a Special Forces soldier there. He also presents first-person accounts of the horrors of war that our country, once beloved by millions across the world, has inflicted upon Iraqi's and others who have had the misfortune to oppose or sand in the way of US monetary and political goals.
When I read how soldiers kicked in the door of a literature professor's home, brutalizing the entire family and hauling off the professor and his son due to making a name mistake, with resultant torture that turned the son --educated in the US, and pro-American--into a terrorist, I wept.
I have personally met many refugees from Iraq in the political asylum system in the EU, who had similar fates. I have seen kids in wheelchairs and without legs because of US bombs that "liberated" their country. Much dirty work is done by hiring out mercenaries, so that "American boys" aren't being numbered among the killed. Money is the root of all wars in the 21st century, creating, in its wake, intense hatred for America and for "democracy" --something our quasi-fascist nation hasn't really enjoyed for decades. Neither Democrats nor Republicans can fix the broken system, for only two parties (basically) makes it ever-so-easy to control who makes it to the top. As one commentator said, "They've all been to the woodshed, and that includes Obama."
Meanwhile, many formerly peace-loving Muslims have become radicalized, polarized, and energized with hatred.
What to do?
Has anything really changed since the last Presidential election?
Since John F. Kennedy was eliminated by a shadow government and its unelected heirs, the only 'change' we've seen is the dying of the American Dream and American culture. We totter on the verge of becoming a third-world nation. Violence, drugs, illegal immigration, corruption a every level, and the highest rate of imprisonment in any 'advanced' country on earth now characterize our America. Land of the free? Be brave, and make it so! We need to clean our own house before taking on the world.
Hathaway presents some truly radical ideas to create more peace in the world. He delves into the mystical, one might say, yet balances it with practical, even stunning, ideas. radical ones.
For example, select a house slated for foreclosure, and rally around the family in trouble. We have a government willing to pay banks big bucks to keep them solvent, while the banks continue to throw people out of their homes. A revolution without action is a revolution doomed to failure, but it doesn't have to be violent. Both Gandhi and martin Luther King taught us that lesson.
Don't be afraid to consider new ways of thinking--and some that are very old--that might make a difference. Transcendental meditation has been 'dirtied up' by the media: have you ever gone past the hype and looked into it?
I'm tempted, after reading this book.
So--read the book. Use its ideas to help our country emerge from its present crisis, and help re-establish our moral compass.
Political Science
240 pages, Trade Paper, 5.5 x 8.5
10 B/W Photos
Distribution Rights: WOR
$14.95 (CAN $16.95)
9780979988691 (0979988691)
