Commentary
Propaganda war hides a social battle among rulers
Guest commentary
Every day, the media and the
spokespeople for the Bush admin
istration bombard us with warn
ings and threats, new claims about
the supposed lies and deceptions
of the Iraqi regime or of potential
attacks by al-Qaida, or by other
nameless and shadowy terrorist
bands. It is a propaganda war that
resembles nothing so much as a
mass media version of the tale of
the boy who cried wolf. And the
target of this war is not so much
Iraq or the shadowy bands of ter
rorists — as it is ourselves.
This propaganda war itself hides
another war, one that has been go
ing on for a long, long time. I am
talking about the social war of the
rulers of this social order against
all of us, a war that does not kill
quickly, but slowly and gradually,
draining the life from us to feed
their wealth and power.
It is ironic that the reason the
United States gave for attacking Iraq
is their alleged programs for produc
ing weapons of mass destruction —
chemical, biological and nuclear
weapons. The irony lies not only in
the facts that U.S. policies in the
1980s were what permitted Iraq to
begin such programs, nor merely in
the fact that the United States itself
has its share of such weapons.
The real irony is that while the
U.S. government and the media
feed us their tales of terror, we are
daily under attack from the chemi
cal, biological and nuclear wastes of
military, industrial and “post-indus
trial” enterprises that are slowly
poisoning us and our environment.
The needs of the rulers of this order
to constantly expand their wealth
and power are the source of these
attacks, and it is nothing less than
an ongoing social war.
With the war on terror, the
rulers of this world expanded their
war against us, the exploited of
this world. They created new laws
and institutions that serve no oth
er purpose than to stifle dissent.
They have carried out a psycho
logical war of terror to frighten us
into accepting this extension of
police powers against us, this
criminalization of all revolt.
They have done their best to
make us feel helpless in the face of
a terrifying world, and willing to
accept their “protection” that is
really suppression.
The attack against Iraq is simply
an intensification of this ongoing
war. It is necessary to oppose this
intensification. A people who have
been suffering horribly for over a
decade because of sanctions will
have further suffering poured upon
them, not just from bombs and
guns, but also from the environ
mental devastation caused by mili
tary action.
But it is not enough to oppose
this particular war in favor of a
“peaceful resolution,” because a
“peaceful resolution” offered by
those who rule us will simply be a
continuation of existence as usual,
of the social order that impover
ishes our lives and poisons us.
Thus, we need to reject both their
war and their peace, and instead
create an insurrection aimed at
the destruction of the state, capital
and the poisonous technological
apparatus through which they im
pose their rule.
Anything less will mean an ongo
ing cycle of war, repression and po
lice action.
Steven Gider is a Eugene resident who
works with the Break The Chains
Collective.
Protesters must face reality in war times
Guest commentary
I wish it could be better, under
stood that people do not “want” to
go to war. In a perfect world there
would be no such concept as war.
Surprise! We do not live in a per
fect world, and thinking that we
can achieve that perfection is
about as real as an Oscar nomina
tion for Steve Gutenberg.
I cannot begin to explain how
angered I was to return to my
home in San Francisco for spring
break to witness the destruction
and chaos caused by protesters in
response to our nation’s decision
to eradicate a frightening leader
and regime of an extremely
volatile country.
First off, the only aspect that is
more idiotic than disgruntled
protesting in the first place is
protesting something that is al
ready in effect, especially a de
clared war. Though I may have
not agreed with the numerous
protests that preceded the war, at
least the individuals involved
with those demonstrations were
trying to prevent something from
happening. Though there are
more productive, effective and ef
ficient ways that should have
been explored more vigorously, at
least the pre-war protesters had
somewhat of a glimpse of reality
in their actions. However, when I
saw the number of extremists
protesting days and days after the
coalition forces entered Iraq, I
was disgusted and disappointed
to see how many unrealistic and
ignorant people there are in this
country.
Because of the crazed protests in
San Francisco, police were work
ing an unbudgeted $1 million in
overtime daily, retailers were los
ing thousands of dollars due to hes
itant shoppers, and traffic conges
tion was causing millions of hard
working Americans to lose pre
cious time with families and per
sonal interests as well as wasting
high-priced petroleum. And all of
this in San Francisco alone! Pro
testers, what the hell are you try
ing to accomplish?
Gall me conservative, but I do
not believe that the “Yoga for
Peace” demonstration — clouded
with tie-dyed shirts, dreadlocks
and pot smoke — that closed off
downtown San Francisco’s eco
nomically important Market Street
is going to convince our country’s
administration to withdraw our
troops from Iraq. All that these
overzealous protesters are achiev
ing is instability and economic dis
aster for a country already in an
unfortunate recession.
I praise protesters for the moti
vation that they exhibit. I believe
it is important to be passionate in
life and that people should work
and fight diligently for what they
believe in; however, there is ide
alism, and there is realism. If you
want to evoke change or make a
difference, try doing something
productive, not destructive. Raise
money to aid in relief and support
for the Iraqi people, start a letter
campaign, create a petition, or
throw on a suit and tie and set up
a meeting with your local politi
cian! Try working with the sys
tem — you might be surprised.
We are at war whether we like
it or not, so we may as well deal
with it in an appropriate, produc
tive and dignified fashion. No one
wants to go to war, but sometimes
there is no other choice — and this
is one of those times. Love your
country, and be proud and thankful
that you live here.
Patrick J. Gilligan is a junior English
major.
reace movement gives
value to human life
Guest commentary
Regarding Salena De La Cruz’s col
umn on March 31 (“Majority support,”
ODE), it is difficult to imagine that the
issue of supporting the troops is as sim
ple as she explains. Like many people,
De La Cruz seems to think that the
peace movement is opposed to the
troops as individuals. Do people really
believe that we have no compassion
for our military personnel as mothers,
fathers and fellow human beings?
The peace movement is focused
on a value for human life, and it is the
destruction of war that we oppose.
Our president has led the troops into
battle where the “sacrifice” of lives is
inevitable and unnecessary. We sup
port our troops by calling for their
prompt return.
A government that supports and
cares for the lives of its troops would
have sought every peaceful solution
possible before it declared war. This
did not happen. As a nation, we were
rushed into violent action, and now we
have been labeled violent and aggres
sive bullies by much of the global com
munity. Despite our own history of
mass destruction, we have pointed the
finger of immorality at a leader of an
already war-tom and suffering people.
I am saddened by the loss of lives and
the growing anti-American sentiment.
This war has supplied us with more en
emies than we Americans care to ad
mit, and my concern is for violent re
sponses to our “American aggression.”
It’s funny how they say the troops
are fighting for my freedom and se
curity, but as the war goes on, I feel
less secure with how the world views
us as a nation.
As the fighting continues, I hope the
Emerald enlarges its scope of stories
concerning the war. It would be even
more informative to see stories about
the state of a world that grows to dis
trust and disrespect our nation each
day that the war continues.
If you document flag-waving patri
otism, please also document the peace
movement’s patriotism. We too, love
our country, and its peace is worth
protesting for.
Maureen Paige is a senior humanities
major.
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