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NORTH COAST TIMES E A G L E , JAN/FEBRUARY 2003
PEACE ACTIVISTS
MUST BROADEN
THEIR HORIZONS
BY DAVID A. HOROWITZ
There are numerous grounds for opposing U.S. military action in Iraq Yet it is doubtful
whether Portland’s resurgent peace movement can be effective in marshaling public opinion
against the prospects of a second Persian Gulf War.
Dramatic events like the city’s recent peace marches may convey the personal philoso
phies of participants But they do little to engage Portlanders on the life and death issues facing
the nation after September 11, 2001.
Portland’s antiwar demonstrators are operating in a bubble of their own making. The
November 17 protest seemed unaffected by the fact that only days earlier the United Nations
effectively discarded George Bush's talk of unilaterally imposing a regime change on Iraq with
a military invasion. Instead, the Security Council authorized a round of substantive inspections to
effect disarmament and required the United States to return for deliberations before initiating
further action.
Since Persian Gulf nations such as Kuwait and Bahrain will only authorize use of their
territory if there is explicit United Nations approval for a military campaign, this is no minor
matter.
Antiwar activists might have taken to the streets in support of a strong United Nations
role in monitoring Iraq’s weapons stockpiles. They could have claimed that the international
community had vindicated the peace camp’s preference for inspections and diplomacy. Yet
Portland marchers appeared more interested in expressing their opposition to all war, no matter
what the context, as long as it involved the United States.
Although pacifist sentiments may reflect the views of some in the Northwest's religious
and spiritual communities, they have little relevance for political dialogue. If pacifism merely
suggests personal preference, advocates wind up talking to themselves. If it is to be applied
to international relations, supporters often assume a cloak of moral superiority that puts off the
public they are trying to reach. In the years after Vietnam, activists learned that attempts to
change people they did not respect could have disastrous consequences for their causes.
Most Portlanders will reject a dogma that insists that there are no situations in which the
United States should resort to arms or that Washington can never do right.The governments of
nation-states rest on their ability to protect their populations from outside threat. In democracies,
judgments about going to war are inherently populist because they focus on whether the security
interests and values of the nation’s people are to be served or not. In a dangerous and complex
world, the moral preferences of a minority of activists are beside the point.
As Americans, Portlanders want to know whether this particular war is going to make
life in this country more or less safe and what the full costs and consequences of military
CRONIN
involvement might be. Rather than address the specific concerns and needs of citizens in a
mutually respective dialogue, Portland’s antiwar activists seem content with a recycled version
of “feel good" anti-militarism.
Demonstrators have a democratic right to express their existential views. But others
have an equal right to ignore the content of such protest if they deem it irrelevant to their lives.
Organizers claim that it is no longer possible to discount the existence of thousands of
antiwar marchers on Portland streets. But there is little point to such theatrics if the message
fails to engage the general public and lead to a critical and point assessment of the stark choices
before all of us.
David Horowitz is a professor of U.S. cultural and 20th century history at Portland State
University. He is the author of Beyond Left & Right: Insurgency & The Establishment. He lives in
Portland and Arch Cape with his wife Gloria Myers, who is also a writer and historian.
tniiiMiV*
PROTECT & DEFEND
It is perfectly apparent to most people that pro-war
advocates smugly invoke military force as a panacea wrapped
in Red, White & Blue.
Military services all swear to protect and defend the
Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
We have many foreign enemies to shake a big stick at,
and the military will attack anyone George W. Bush designates
in the new forever war.
The domestic enemies are the pirates who have raided
the presidential office, the national armory and the treasury.
When will the military defend the Constitution against
the terrorists in the executive branch?
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A GREAT FEMALE SIN
ASTORIA, OREGON
325-2362
HOPE L. HARRIS
For all our sakes in the pro-choice/anti-choice war the
focus finally must be shifted to where it ultimately belongs.
There could be no problem and no war if it were not for the
loose and irresponsible use of sperm.
This is not a joke. The placement of sperm must be
recognized as the potentially life-threatening act that it is.
Sperm-owners must take responsibility and be held strictly
accountable for placing sperm where it become activated if
there will be a threat to its continuing existence.
Again this is not a joke. Think it through. Sperm
placement initiates the whole process. Prime responsibility for
unsafe environment lies fair and square with sperm-owners and
it is high time for time to face up to this fact f life and death.
-VALERIE LINDHOUT
-LESLIE MILLER
Leslie Miller lives in Warrenton
Valerie Lindhout lives in Astoria.
Cannon Beach, Oregon
IF YOU WORK
CREA TE A DECLARA TION OF EQUALITY
IFOIR
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ASTORIA, OREGON
97103
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