Democracy Now! has In Rare Joint Interview, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn on Iraq, Vietnam, Activism and History. Read, watch or or listen to it. There will be a Part II later in the week.
Add comment April 16th, 2007
Recently, on a psychological email list, someone criticized the stridency of some of us trying to change American Psychological association policy on psychologist involvement in abusive interrogations. The sender of that message emphasized, partially ciorrectly, that we should attempt to listen to each other. But I also perceived him as criticizing those of us who insisted upon the right to express our strong positions, even when these were contrary to the received wisdom. I tried to explain my “stridency” in the following message:
I think there’s a point here in that listening to each other is good. We should try and unite. But I think the issue of “polarizing” is more complicated.
Think of the major social movements that lead to increased social justice:
the unions, the antislavery movement, the civil rights movement, the Indian independence movement of Gandi, the feminist and gay liberation movements. All of them involved “polarizing”, refusing to compromise for long periods, and, above all, unpleasant confrontations. To only have civility in one’s toolbox is extremely limiting. It generally leads to quiescence and, ultimately, to acceptance of the status quo. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi both abandoned civility quite often. Civility is a value, but it is far from the only value.
At the same time, there is this need to not become the evils we fight against. Yes, there is a danger that “Protesting war, one gets into a new war.” Being able to perceive the complexity in each of us, the evil in ourselves and the good in our adversaies, is essential. MLK and Gandi appealed to the good in others, but they certainly did a lot more than listen. And they never stepped back from unmasking the unsavory, the unpleasant, simply in order to be civil.
How we view these issues in APA depends upon what we view these issues as being. For some, they are an unfortunate policy, that needs to be modified through reason and dialog. For some of us, or at least myself, we are dealing with an organization that is knowlingly “abetting Bush’s torture policy,” as Art Levine described it in the Washington Monthly. Somehow, abetting torture doesn’t bring out the side of me that wants friendly dialog, and believe me, I have such a side. Rather, it makes me want to do everything I can to stop that torture and to change the policies, in the APA and in the wider society, that facilitate or allow that torture to continue.
Several nights a week I wake up thinking of what’s going on in those torture cells at Guantanamo and elsewhere and feel haunted. Believing, as I do, that many in the APA leadership are knowingly abetting this torture in exchange for access for psychology to the powerful in the military and the White House, does not really induce a warm fuzzy feeling. It certainly doesn’t help me get back to sleep. And knowing that dialog has been going on for the five years in which this current torture regime has been in effect doesn’t make me feel like engaging in another five years of civil dialog.
So I may, at times be strident or uncivil. For me, at least, that’s a lesser risk than, when my son grows up and asks “Daddy, what did you do in those dark times when America renounced human rights and put the torturers in power?” that my only answer is: “I listened to them and had dialog with them.”
So, yes, we should try and be civil and listen to each other here. Democratic dialog is a wonderful thing. But democracy requires those who have strong, forceful opinions having a place and being heard. Perhaps those who value listening can hear the pain and the passion that drives some of us beyond the civil range at times.
1 comment April 2nd, 2007
I have received this communication from the Editors of Axis of Logic regarding and anti-war encampment on the National Mall puts pressure on the Democrats.
Dear Editor,
I am writing to you to let you know that beginning today, March 12, the anti-war movement in the United States is turning a corner – the first since September 11, 2001. Today, we will be occupying the Washington Mall in this nation’s captal by moving in and setting up tents from March 12 to ??. We have planned and prepared for this – not as a “protest” – but as an act of resistance. We have obtained limited permits and have developed an infrastructure for transportation, emergency medical services, a sound stage and internal security, At this juncture, we cannot know just what to expect in terms of the numbers of people who will actually show up – or the reaction of the police state. We can tell you that thousands of people have been writing in, saying that they plan to come – with their tents.
Our purpose? To confront the “Democrats” and demand that they stop the war – Now. We plan to challenge them to stop the war in Iraq now, first by defunding the war – an act which we believe would have a demoralizing effect for the Bush regime. We will be encamped directly in front of the congress. We be putting up banners to voice our demand, conducting direct actions throughout the week and confronting congress men and women inside the Halls of Congress.
We expect that the corporate media will either ignore this action completely or diminish It’s importance by give a passing reference. We are asking you as an editor of alternative news and information, to disseminate news of these events using the resources available to you. During this period of confrontation and resistance we will be publishing daily (or every other day, depending on our communication resources) updates and reports – including photographs and links to videos on the events of the day. We will be sending these reports to you via e-mail. We are asking if you would kindly consider giving prominence to The Encampment to Stop the War on your website and/or list serve by publishing these reports as we send them to you?
Thank you very much,
Les Blough and Paul Harris, Editors Axis of Logic
Boston, MA
www.axisoflogic.com
les@axisoflogic.com
paul@axisoflogic.com
Telephone on site in Washington: +617-201-3890
Add comment March 12th, 2007
Chris Hedges, one of today’s moral beacons, contemplates supporting Ralph Nader, should he make another run for the Presidency:
These corporations, and their enraged and manipulated followers in the Christian right, tens of millions of them, if left unchecked will propel us into despotism. The corporate state has rigged our system, hollowed out our political process and steadily stripped citizens of constitutional rights, federal and state protection and assistance. This may be the twilight of American democracy. And it is better to stand up and fight, even in vain, than not to fight at all.
Add comment February 26th, 2007
In a new article, Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj , director general of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, discusses The Psychosocial causes for the Palestinian Factional War. I has glad to see his acknowledgment that the suicidal power struggle ripping apart Palestinian society is pathological. Dr. El-Sarraj is not afraid to confront the dangerous effects of the Palestinian myth of the purgative effects of violence.
Many questions even after Mecca meeting remain … what has become of us? Our people have suffered for 59 years from displacement, homelessness, discrimination, impoverishment and expatriation, but they withstood that suffering and never killed each other; so what happened to us? The late Arafat rejected a plan to kill Abu Nidal, who had already killed a number of Palestinian leaders, and said, “If we start this series of killings, we will never stop.” So what happened? I have heard stories about new forms of cold-blooded and callous murder, and about Palestinians denigrating and holding as infidel other Palestinians or accusing them of heresy and bigotry as a prelude to ostracizing or murdering them. I have also heard numerous stories about children who have been horrified and traumatized and have fallen victims to nightmares, loss of appetite, insomnia and fear of street-walking. What is happening to us? How could things amount to assaulting homes, mosques and universities?
Politics and political difference alone do not provide the answer. There are several additional social and psychological factors for what is befalling this society. A safe and stable environment is one that produces normal children, while the environment we have been living in since the occupation is one in which violence proliferates and becomes rampant.
He discusses the after-effects of torture of Palestinian prisoners by Israelis, the effects of violence in the Intifadas on children, the abysmal performance of the Palestinian National Authority, and the absence of a common enemy as contributing factors.
His:
Conclusion
The systematized repression and torture that the Palestinian people was subjected to under the Israeli occupation, the poor performance of the PNA as embodied in the absence of law and justice and maladministration all led the youth to seek and cling to a new identity which is different from that of their helpless parents and which holds that naked force is the only means to avenge themselves over the suppression they have long been subjected to.
The formation of those political, partisan and religious identities and the view that ultimate force is the model of heroism are the major cause of the status quo of Palestinian armed conflict which finds its fuel in many causes such as division, hatred, and vindictiveness of a generation that rebels against the declining family system and the chaotic PNA.
[Thanks to Gilbert Achcar for sending this.]
1 comment February 20th, 2007
One of my favorite bands, the Dixie Chicks, swept the Grammys, winning in every category they were nominated: Best Album, Best Country Album, Record of the Year, Best Country Group Performance, and, most important to me, Song of the Year for Not Ready To Make Nice!
“I think people are using their freedom of speech here tonight with all these awards. We get the message… I’m very humbled,” said singer Natalie Maines, accepting the coveted best album award late Sunday.
It was Maines who infamously said during a London gig in 2003: “We’re ashamed the president is from Texas.”
The comment resulted in their music being banned by country music stations and even sparked death threats.
Singer Emily Robison said after receiving the best country album award: “We wouldn’t have done this album without everything we went through, so we have no regrets.”
Here’s the winners:
I consider this an honor, both for the Chicks, and for all us rabble-rouses. Here are the lyrics to Not Ready to Make Nice:
Not Ready To Make Nice
Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waitingI’m through with doubt
There’s nothing left for me to figure out
I’ve paid a price
And I’ll keep payingI’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I shouldI know you said
Can’t you just get over it
It turned my whole world around
And I kind of like itI made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be overI’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I shouldI’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I shouldForgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting
Also, go see Shut Up and Sing, a truly marvelous movie about the Chicks.
Add comment February 12th, 2007
“PoliticsTV filmed the Iraq War protest and march in Washington, DC on Saturday, January 27, 2007. Comments from Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Rep. Conyers, Rep. Nadler, Rep. Waters and Tom Andrews from Win Without War”:
Add comment January 30th, 2007
Courtesy AmericaBlog:
I’m sure there’ll be much more in the days to come.
Add comment January 27th, 2007
For readers in Massachusetts, I will be speaking at 7:00 PM at the Brookline Public Library in Coolidge Corner (31 Pleasant Street) on Thursday January 25th on Guantanamo and Torture: Considering Our National Nightmare. Speaking with me will be Jeff Gleason:
Jeff Gleason is a litigator in the Boston office of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (“WilmerHale”). For more than two years, Jeff and several of his colleagues at WilmerHale have represented six men imprisoned at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in the suit filed on their clients behalf, Boumediene v. Bush, et al. In the course of the WilmerHale team’s representation, Jeff has participated in briefing and preparation for oral argument at both the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C. and the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He has also assisted with diplomatic efforts to secure justice for his clients. In August, Jeff had the opportunity to visit his clients at Guantanamo.
This spring, Jeff will teach an undergraduate class, Understanding Guantanamo, at Tufts University’s Ex College.
My talk will focus on the role of psychologists in the Guantanamo interrogation process and our attempts to force the American Psychological Association to come out against this participation.
The meeting is sponsored by Brookline PeaceWorks [peace@texnology.com] and will include a Discussion led by Joan Ecklein of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and a UMass Professor emeritus.
For further information email peace@texnology.com or call: 617 738-8029.
UPDATE:
The talk will be preceded by a Fundraising Dinner for the Center for Constitutional Righrs at Fugakyu Restaurant 1280 Beacon St., Brookline. You can meet the speakers there. [RSVP required so they can make reservations.]
Add comment January 19th, 2007
Today is the day that 50 active Officers will hand in the Appeal for Redress from the War in Iraq.
Meanwhile, in Virginia:
Several dozen service members joined peace activists today to call for an end to the war in Iraq, part of a nationwide effort that links a growing group of active-duty protesters to the peace movement…
“We served in combat and we’ve seen the futility of this war,” said Sgt. Jabbar Magruder of Los Angeles, a member of the National Guard who served 11 months in Tikrit, a town northwest of Baghdad. “The soldiers want to resist. The soldiers want to come home now. We need the citizens to back us.”
Add comment January 16th, 2007
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