From Eisenhower to Chopra: Time to remove war from the menu options.

[understandinglife]

On January 17, 1961, President Eisenhower addressed the American People from the Oval Office, via radio.

He stated "Together we must learn how to compose difference, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose."

More than 44 years later, it is obvious America has chosen arms rather than "intellect and decent purpose" in willful pursuit of the property and resources of others.

It is time to reflect on President Eisenhower's warnings and on the fact that they have gone unheeded.

It is time to reflect on the devastation America has caused, and reject the use of our citizens, of our capital for propagating war and the incitement of others to choose war.

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence - economic, political, even spiritual - is felt in every city, every state house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

<clip>

Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we - you and I, and our government - must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.

Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.

Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield.

Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. Together we must learn how to compose difference, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. Because this need is so sharp and apparent I confess that I lay down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment. As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war - as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years - I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight. ...

But, so much remains to be done.

From Farewell Radio and Television Address to the American People by President Dwight D Eisenhower on January 17, 1961

Link:

http://wikisource.org/wiki/Military-Industrial_Complex_Speech

It is time for all Americans to realize that we have an alternative to war. And we have every reason to select the alternative.

As Iraq's constitutional process breaks down, the blame for whatever follows will fall on America's head. This "test of democracy" in the Middle East no doubt is bound to fail, given that Iraq-watchers long before the U.S. invasion warned that the Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish factions were not a nation-state but a confederation held together by terror and armed might under Saddam. I imagine we will see a flood of posts condemning the Bush administration for its folly, manipulation, self-deception, and ideological blindness, as it well deserves.

I'd only like to raise a deeper question. When is America going to take peace seriously? I aim this question not at the war-mongering baddies but at the good people who never wanted this war and feel more justified every day.

<clip>

Iraq was in reality a test of war, and it passed. More war is in the offing, and by passively allowing this conflict to happen, the good people helped pave the way for our next invasion or intervention. Passivity, not blood-thirstiness, is going to lead us into a hugely militarized future. America's addiction to war has just received another fix. The Bush administration and its cohorts don't care if this war is won or lost. Either outcome will reinforce the ethos of war and cut off any alternative.

Kerry and the Democratic National Committee knew that his only strategic option was to vote for the Iraqi war originally, because no anti-war candidate has a chance in a general election. That act of self-contradiction didn't win Kerry the Presidency, however, even against one of the weakest opponents imaginable. I think we should realize that liberals and moderates are in a lose-lose situation. Stop passively assenting to the U.S. as a war power and stand up for your belief in peace. You might be surprised, as I have been for the past five years how many people will stand up with you. To those who believe we can create a critical mass of peace consciousness, I recommend they visit www.www.anhglobal.org (Alliance for the New Humanity).

From Iraq Wasn't a Test of Democracy. It Was a Test of War by Deepak Chopra on August 26, 2005

Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/iraq-wasnt-a-test-of-dem_b_6283.html

We have 44 years of compelling evidence that it is time for America to choose a different option than war.

In fact, the only way a 'lasting peace' will happen is if "We The People" make peace our priority and demote war to the bottom of the list of options.

'Defensive military action' should be found well below options like thought, thinking harder, diplomacy, leverage, sanctions, not supporting dictators, not supporting theocracies, not supporting royal kingdoms, .... .

We can readily defend America with a fraction of the scale of military we currently have, if our purpose is defense, and not preemptive wars of aggression and imperialism.

Our strongest defense resides in our ability to nurture, over decades, the realization that America means ethics, it means respect for the law, and it leads as a result of being an innovative, trusted, strategic partner and problem solver.

We need to heed President Eisenhower's sage advice"Together we must learn how to compose difference, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose."

We can do this, my fellow Americans.

We just need to make the decision that peace is our objective, and behave accordingly.


Peace.

[acmejack]

1. Eisenhower rose in my estimation every time I reread that speech

But did anybody seriously listen and comprehend? Apparently not! Ike gave the people more credit than we merit.

on edit: Superior post! I agree whole heartedly!

[FtWayneBlue]

2. It saddens me that we have arrived in the 21st century

and still make war with each other just like back in the dark ages, only with more horrible weapons.

[fooj]

3. A forgotten truth...

The government is merely a servant -- merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.- Mark Twain


They cannot define who and what we are. We cannot let them.

peace.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

4. Thank you for sharing this. I have read and listened to this

cautionary speech by Eisenhower, and his warnings were so very clear.

As to Chopra. I have admired him for years and after reading his full post admire this man even more.

How come we humans aren't more evolved than we are? One would think at this point we would be. So very sad.

[understandinglife]

5. Have a concrete plan that addresses the corporatist's bottome-line ...

... and can be summarized in a single sentence.

Would you, or others, like me to post it in this thread?

We could discuss and perhaps develop a precis that can be spread to all our fellow citizens.

We can move from an economy of war to an economy of peace.


Peace.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

6. Please understanding life, post it. Thank you and Peace.

[fooj]

9. Yes, UL. Walk us through the darkness.

Peace.

[understandinglife]

11. Let us hope in comment # 10 I'm not just leading everyone into a wall!

Or, boring folk to tears!


Peace, my friend.

[understandinglife]

10. Terse statement and outline of an example provided:

Adjust market sector focus; change some products and some services while preserving profit margins.

I can provide examples for several 'war industry' participants, like the aerospace and petroleum industries.

I'll start with petroleum. And, I'll only cover a few aspects of the way we can adjust the market sector focus, maintain product development, manage supply, conserve resources, and preserve margins.

Take the total Defense department expenditure for petroleum products. Purchase, using the tax dollars appropriated for "defense" the same amount of petroleum but adjust, based on market sector analysis, the relative percent refined for aircraft fuel, diesel and gasoline.

Reduce use in military vehicles by at least 50 % over the next five years (accompanied by withdrawal from Iraq and certain other 'draw down' of activities), and by and additional 50 % in the subsequent five years.

Distribute a portion of the resultant surplus fuel to commercial rail, air, trucking enterprises and public transportation at reduced cost and provide discounted auto fuel and home heating fuel to individuals with a gross annual income below (for example) 20,000 or a combined family income below (for example) 30,000 per year.

And, store the remainder for contingencies like weather, earthquake and other sudden disturbances to production and delivery.

This is intentionally terse for two reasons:

1. I am merely trying to 'seed' ideas that many, many creative and expert individuals can begin to refine, adjust, ...;

2. Simply not be so overwhelming as to cause folk not to read and consider.

Aerospace, electronics, communications, security, ...., industries can all be evaluated from the perspective I am advocating in the initial sentence of this comment.

Issues regarding impact on costs of goods shipped, for instance, are obvious.

Issues regarding jobs that contribute to our tax base and are not likely to be 'out-sourced' factor into the nature of the plan I am advocating -- again, details will unfold in extended discussion.

As President of the United States, the ability to elicit input from the finest thinkers, from experienced operations and logistics experts, from capital managers, ....., is virtually unbounded.

What is constrained, what is 'bounded' is not the opportunity to leverage expertise for the 'defense' and 'advancement' of America, it is the total lack of ethical, creative, productive and humanitarian use of that expertise.

In other words, if all you want is to spend tax dollars paying big margins to keep the population frightened so you can kill people and steal their resources then you get what America now confronts.

Alternatives are both more long-term sustainable and likely to be less a threat to the stability of the Nation and the planet.

I look forward to extending and expanding the framework and details as we shape a strategy for a peace economy and a significant reduction in avarice and fear and suppression of each person's right to pursue happiness during the only life they are ever going to have.

I am a bioscientist focused on quantitative systems biology. I am not an economist or a politician. I have some knowledge of project management and operations. I am just trying to be a citizen who thinks about what confronts us and offers concrete suggestions how we might form partnerships to adjust our corporate focus from war to peace and not only help stabilize markets but maybe avoid destroying humanity while we spend a few more generations attempting to demonstrate that less avarice, less lies and less hatred might actually make for a much more pleasant life.


Peace.

[autorank]

15. "Natural Capitalism" " The Next Industrial Revolution"

Bob, what a great idea. Do see it and lets get a buzz on er...I mean a buzz going.

First, there is huge profit in cleaning up the "noosphere" as Tiellard de Chardin called it. In an interesting and perhaps revolutionary book, NATURAL CAPITALISM by Paul Hawken et al, propose a revolutionary idea, capitalism that works for people, all people, through smart products and services. He starts with "Imagine for a moment a world where cities have become peaceful and serene because cars and busses are whisperer quite...OPEC has ceased to function because the price of oil has fallen to five dollars a barrel...Living standards for all people have dramatically improved, particularly for the poor and those in developing countries."

This is a manifesto for human productivity and innovation tied to necessary and rewarding goals.

That's what you're proposing although I think you have a broader scope.

This is something we should be doing here.

Of course, because the idea is absolutely necessary and fundamental to our survival (in the same way voting rights is fundamental) plan to take some hits. It doesn't matter. Necessity is the mother of invention and we're all going down the drain with out the innovation required by this type of approach.

Cheers!

[understandinglife]

19. "we're all going down the drain with out the innovation ..."

Yes.

And, I am more than willing to expand this theme here. I have not read Hawken's "Natural Capitalism," but will try to at some point.

For now, let me offer another example.

Let's take all of the folk involved in the industry of creating 'smart bombs' and let's combine them with the folk in the aerospace industry working on pilot-less 'drones.'

Bring them together into an expanded effort to create, implement, test and deliver large, pilot-less cargo aircraft.

For starters, without pilots you do not need to pressurize the aircraft -- what that does for the overall weight and complexity of the aircraft is considerable and that translates into a significant reduction in fuel requirements to move cargo.

During the time that you are ramping such a program, those individuals involved in the assembly of smart bombs could be involved in their dis-assembly so both they and their companies are enabled to have a relatively smooth, margins-protected transition period to other purposes.

And, yes, I have plans for Halliburton, Bechtel and others that assure management and shareholders reasonable margins and have those companies engaged in activities that will reduce social strife rather than help perpetrate it.


Peace.

[glitch]

22. Always happy to provide a Natual Capitalism link

http://www.natcap.org/sitepages/pid20.php
They used to offer the complete book online, it looks like they aren't doing that anymore. Amory Lovins was the co-author.

[understandinglife]

23. Thank you. This is something I need to study.

Peace.

[understandinglife]

32. Sheehan: Since I began my vigil in Crawford, an average of 2.69 per day

... of our nation's brave and noble troops died in Iraq for George's cowardly and ignoble war. 2.69 families per day have been devastated for no reason except that: we have to continue killing American soldiers because so many have been killed already. My heart and soul go out to these families who had a loved one killed so needlessly and avoidably.

How many more are we as Americans going to tolerate before we force the reckless commander in chief to bring our kids home? How much more blood are we going to allow congress to wash their hands in before we force them to force George to bring our children home?

We are doing everything at Camp Casey to build awareness of this illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq. Now we need your help. We are taking Camp Casey to Congress. We plan to hold rallies and meetings in key Congressional districts (Democrats and Republican alike), where the incumbent is weak on the war. Here is the letter I am sending to all of our Congressional representatives:

<clip>

From In My Life I Loved You More by Cindy Sheehan on August 29, 2005

Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cindy-sheehan/in-my-life-i-loved-you-mo_b_6421.html

Read the letter, please.

Please read it in the context of this thread and whay I am suggesting is a way we can leverage the corporatists to protect their bottom-line while saving lives -- American and Iraqi.


Peace.

[Jade Fox]

7. Something most people don't know about war....

War has not always been a condition of the human race. It is in fact only
about 6000 years old.

I learned that reading a book called "Lullabies and Battle Cries" which is
a study of women and war.

[omega minimo]

8. Brilliant! Kicked and nominated. Converges nicely with other OPs tonight

calling for Dem leaders to speak clearly, simply and directly about our values and our vision for the future.

[Nothing Without Hope]

12. This is a very important post. And don't miss the replies - like #10.

Recommended.

We need a way for important posts like this to be more visible for a longer time and also easier to find in a scan or search. I've made four suggestions about how that might be done here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2038611&mesg_id=2039067
As it is, important posts are often not seen at all, and even when they do get a lot of readers' votes, they reach their peak of usefulness only to disappear from the Greatest page into real oblivion with even their high number of votes wiped out. These factors all need to be addressed to greatly increase DU's usefulness. Posts like this one need more attention than they will get under the current system.

[Nothing Without Hope]

13. UL, this is the first thread under a my new bookmark folder: Plans for a

better future. What a pleasure it is to start this step away from the gray damaged past to a future we can hope and work for.

Again, I see that image of a Kokopelli-like piper leading people over a bridge or through a tunnel away from the gray, sad place to a fresh, brilliant land. The people pause and look up, and wondering smiles break over their tired faces. The children understand immediately and begin to play and laugh.

Peace.

Here's a lovely photograph that captures a piece of the sense of the image I'm imagining. It's from this page - the photographer has others - and may take a few extra seconds to load:
http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3229444

http://gallery.photo.net.nyud.net:8090/photo/3229444-md.jpg

[understandinglife]

14. Hope, that is a stunning photo. And, thank you for the support ...

... of our effort to begin advancing specific alternatives to the avarice, killing, torture and devastation that are the inevitable consequences of a war economy and the obvious consequences of five years of imperialistic endeavors by Bush and his fellow war criminal neoconsters.

For me, Cindy Sheehan is a real-life "Kokopelli." She has already opened many 'eyes'; including those that do not want to ever see who they actually are. She is leading many to vistas either not seen or long forgotten; to views of the possible and the necessary.

Each of us has the capacity to contribute to averting any further atrocities and disaster, and, more importantly, for creating a peace economy infrastructure that is far more sustainable and far less likely to result in intended and unintended catastrophes than anything the war industrialists have perpetrated since the early days of the 20th century.

I also agree that it would be useful to have mechanisms by which more sustained and broadly public discussion of certain threads could be supported at DU. But, I am also forever grateful to Skinner, as I know you and many are, for having this forum.


Peace and thank you

[Ouabache]

16. bad link in your post due to typo

visit www.www.anhglobal.org
should be visit www.anhglobal.org


Too much 'W' always screws up the peace link, I guess. :shrug:

[understandinglife]

21. Thank you for catching that!! And, you are correct, too many "W" always ..

... "screws up the peace link"!!! :evilgrin:


Peace.

[Nothing Without Hope]

17. UL, how about expanding the Mission Not Accomplished site with a BLOG?

Adding these great posts there would be a good thing, I believe. It would be a good place to collect them and would give people a reason to keep visiting the site. The great common themes in your posts would be more apparent if they were collected together. And you could also bring in selected excerpts from important related articles or other people's blogs or DU posts.

...and kick! GD moves so fast, keeping this visible and getting it onto the Greatest page is going to have to be a community effort.

[Karenina]

18. #5.

:kick:

[understandinglife]

20. I realize the tenuous nature of posts remaining 'visible' in GD but, ...

... in a way, that 'natural selection' can have its advantages and the audience here is vastly larger than the few who post comments.

I like your idea of having posts collected and indexed for folk to reference and what I may do is build and keep up-to-date an annotated index of posts at DU and maintain that list at the MNA site.

I am reluctant to start a blog. Many of you know who I am, but the anonymity of 'understandinglife' provides me a way of stating that what I write and post is not about 'me' -- I'm not advancing a political career, I'm not advancing a consulting career, I'm not placing anything under copyright protection. In other words, by placing all of the ideas and information here I'm able to keep it as the public service I want it to be.

The other problem is time. As you know, this is not my 'day job' and I have hardly enough time to post here, meet all my professional responsibilities and, rarely, sleep ;)

I appreciate your support and that of several other DUers and will try to keep earning it.


Peace.

[Nothing Without Hope]

25. No problem with earning and keeping my support, UL

:pals:

...and KICK!

[Peace Patriot]

24. Yup, peace is patriotic! The guy who won WW II was our greatest

believer in PEACE!

[dogday]

26. Clinton said we would build a bridge to the 21st Century

And then Bush came along and blew it up!

[SlowDownFast]

27. This post is worthy of kicking.

Heavy duty.

[burrowowl]

28. Indeed it is!

KICK!

[understandinglife]

29. Thank you, both!

Am distributing the OP and comments and seeking further input. Will keep this topic active here at DU as I think quite specific DU Activist group initiatives could be developed to spread the word that we can achieve the transformation of the war economy in ways that preserve bottom-line while serving markets other than the 'fear-mongering, torture, death and destruction' sectors.


Peace.

[burrowowl]

30. I kick and nominate!

[understandinglife]

31. Chopra: "I rely not on the current political parties but solely on people

... waking up, which isn't an ephemeral or trivial or imaginary phenomenon. Right now more than half the American public has lost faith in the Iraq war. This opening can be widened. Instead of despairing over the chances for peace in the Middle East, consider aligning your own awareness with peace a bit more each day.

You might begin in the following way: If you have been dragged emotionally into the issue of Islam versus America, pause for a moment and ask a really fundamental question:

"Do I want to be part of the problem or part of the solution?"

From If You Despair of Peace by Deepak Chopra on August 29, 2005

Link to more:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/if-you-despair-of-peace_b_6403.html

Every word of this essay by Chopra is worthy of careful reading and reflection.

Beyond that, a creepy little snark artist wrote a lame, hateful humorless ditty at HuffPo in response to Chopra. The elegance of Chopra's response demonstrates the difference between the hate-filled neoconster spew-meisters and those seeking to advance humanity. To wit:

P.S. I noticed the comments by another blogger about The Alliance for the New Humanity. Not withstanding his criticism, I urge you to visit (www.anhglobal.org). The Alliance is made up of well respected people, economists, sociologists, conflict resolution, social justice, ecology and those who are looking at economic disparities of the world. Former Vice President Al Gore gave a keynote speech at the first conference and a number of Nobel Peace Laureates have joined the Alliance.

Peace

[Nothing Without Hope]

33. So now, the National Guard units and other resources that should be

helping in the hurricane areas are in Iraq, serving as unarmored, disposable cannon fodder. What must those thousands of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana national Guards so far away from their homes, so worried about their families, be feeling now about their "mission" in Iraq?

[understandinglife]

34. I cannot even imagine the anguish and disgust they must be ...

... experiencing knowing their families, friends, neighbors are suffering while they are on an illegal mission with someone trying to kill them every minute of every day.

Bush's crimes are so numerous and vile as to be beyond comprehension.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

35. Kucinich to re-introduce Dept. of Peace legislation

Kucinich to re-introduce Dept. of Peace legislation

August 30, 2005

Landmark measure addresses all forms of conflict and violence,
nationally and internationally

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and 55 co-sponsors will re-introduce legislation to create a cabinet-level Department of Peace during the first week the House is back in session, September 12, 2005.

“Every day in our country, millions of people are touched by various aspects of violence. And yet, every day people are still reaching for hope, looking for some opportunity to be delivered from this violence,” says Rep. Kucinich. “The Department of Peace would create a cabinet-level position that would promote peace and address violence both nationally and globally. In addition to initiatives that would help avoid war and conflicts internationally, the Department would also deal with domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, violence in the schools, racial violence, violence against gays, police-community relations challenges, and other forms of conflict.”

The legislation will be re-introduced on the heels of the annual Department of Peace Conference being held in Washington, D.C. from September 10th – 12th. Organized by The Peace Alliance (www.thepeacealliance.org), hundreds of people will be in the nation’s capital to meet with members of Congress to encourage their support of this legislation. Speakers during the various scheduled events will include such prominent public figures as the legendary broadcast anchor Walter Cronkite, author Marianne Williamson, Patch Adams, Jonathan Schell, and others.

In addition to the legislation being re-introduced, on Tuesday, September 13th, from 10-7 on the US Capitol lawn, the Children's Cloth of Many Colors, (www.communitiesofpeace.org) a peace quilt now 1/3 mile long will be shown, with a program at noon. This historic quilt was started by an 8-year old child in a formal peace ceremony at the Pentagon on September 22, 2000. Children from across the country are making sections to add to the quilt, which currently has sections from thousands of children in 21 countries and 23 states.

The legislation proposed by Rep. Kucinich is designed to: develop field-tested educational programs promoting conflict-resolution and peer mediation among school-age children; provide violence-prevention programs addressing domestic violence, gang violence, drug and alcohol-related violence; effectively treat and dismantle gang psychology; provide assistance for city, county, and state governments in coordinating existing programs and reduce domestic and international violence.

The purpose of the Department would be to research, facilitate and implement on a broad scale new and currently existing nonviolent solutions to domestic and international conflicts. The Department would provide the American president with a much-needed complement to a problem-solving approach dealing primarily with symptomatic rather than causal, underlying issues.

To interview conference participants, please contact Nate Wilkes at (see this link for her contact info):

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/2403

Kucinch, Feingold, Conyers, Slaughter, Lee, .... the list needs to grow.


Peace.

[Nothing Without Hope]

36. Kucinich has been so consistently RIGHT, I hope he will become more

nationally prominent in the futre. He'd make a great President. But oh, my real dream is Conyers in the WH. With his fearless, relentless, insight and energy, with his honesty and compassion and toughness, and yes, with his charisma, he would be one of the geatest presidents.