March 19, 2007

Four years later, and George Bush’s Iraq War drags on.

Four years and 3,300 dead U.S. soldiers later, and George Bush’s Iraq War drags on.

Four years and 24,000 wounded U.S. soldiers later, and George Bush’s Iraq War drags on.

Four years and anywhere between 60,000 and more than 650,000 dead Iraqi civilians later, and George Bush’s Iraq War drags on.

Four years and $400 billion later, George Bush’s Iraq War drags on.

Four years and a badly tarnished U.S. reputation later, George Bush’s Iraq War drags on.

Four years and more acts of global terrorism later, George Bush’s Iraq War drags on.

How do we stop it?

How do we, in a supposed democracy, end this war?

More than 60 percent of the American people oppose it, and a majority wants Congress not to fund Bush’s surge.

The last time the country went to the polls, people rejected the war.

And still George Bush’s Iraq War drags on.

To end this war, first we need to do more to pressure Congress to do the right thing.

As John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton point out in a persuasive commentary, we need to push Democrats to defund the war and not settle for compromises that give Bush the ability to keep waging this war. (And, as Stauber and Rampton argue, we shouldn’t let MoveOn.org obscure this issue.)

And we need to get more creative in our protests.

Like citizens in a thousand places across this country, I took part in an anti-war rally over the weekend.

We had about 500 people in Madison, Wisconsin, but we needed more.

And we need more everywhere across the country if we are to bring this war to a halt.

To swell the crowds, we should take to heart the wisdom of Molly Ivins and Barbara Ehrenreich. Molly insisted that we always keep things fun, in whatever we do. And Barbara Ehrenreich, in her new book, “Dancing in the Streets,” emphasizes the ecstatic potential of collective action.

I didn’t find much ecstasy at the Madison protest. The closest to carnival that we came was when a huge George Bush puppet, with blood-dripped hands, would grab signs from people that said “Health Care” or “Civil Liberties” or “Rule of Law” and then throw them down a depicted toilet. Finally, the Bush puppet itself got flushed. That was enjoyable. But some of the speeches dragged on, and most of the chants were hoary. (There’s often more energy and creativity in the
student section at Badger basketball games. A few weeks ago, one opposing player, with shaved head, was taunted with chants of “Britney.”)

Going to a rally shouldn’t be like taking our medicine or eating rice cakes or attending an endless lecture.

Even if we perfected a carnival atmosphere and attracted ten times the numbers or protesters that came out, all over the country, this weekend, that might not be enough, either, to stop this war.

Frankly, it’s hard to know what would be enough, at this point, given the “we-don’t-give-a-shit” attitude of Bush and Cheney.

But rest assured, if we did nothing, Bush and Cheney would be delighted.

So we’re going to have increase our militancy, I’m afraid. We’re going to need to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience, as many of our colleagues are, at legislators’ offices and in the streets. And we’re going to have to devise creative, nonviolent ways to stop business as usual. Because today that business is war.

We can’t let another 3,300 soldiers die, and another 24,000 soldiers get wounded, and hundreds of thousands more Iraqi civilians die, and billions of dollars more be squandered.

We simply can’t let George Bush’s war drag on any longer.