Medea Benjamin and Bob Wing talk in depth about Israel, Code Pink, the US Military and how there is a large movement of people organizing, mobilizing and inspiring others and that part of the job of activists is to raise people's spirits.
Sue Supriano's Steppin' Out of Babylon is a radio interview series covering a broad range of important issues in today's world: peace and war, human and civil rights, communication, the media, the environment, food security, racism, globalization, immigration and matters of the spirit. Over 250 shows are available at this site:
http://www.suesupriano.com/
Many people in other countries ask Benjamin why more US citizens don't speak out against the war in Iraq and the fact that their government doesn't spend enough money on domestic needs such as basic infrastructure, schools and health. Medea assures them there is a large movement of people organizing, mobilizing and inspiring others and that part of the job of activists is to raise people's spirits since so many feel overwhelmed, disempowered and depressed.
Medea explains how "Code Pink" has developed into a movement sending out weekly alerts to its mailing list of 180,000 subscribers. 250 Code Pink groups around the world are working to expose the link between money spent on war and lack of resources for healthcare, education and welfare. Asked how she continues so steadily in her long term activism, she talks of her most recent trip to Pakistan where even though afraid she urged herself to look through the fear to the bigger message. She relates a frightening incident in which she and an associate had their car hijacked and friends beaten and deported while government agents held them up. But what she remembers most is a vigil held in front of the house of a man held under house arrest. All night long people brought them good wishes, hot tea, and the jailer even brought her a cot, literally tucking her into bed. Later, a group of men they feared were the Taliban coming to get them, in fact brought them necklaces of flowers. She cried, saying that that exchange of love is what keeps her going. She's also inspired by the growing democracies in South America. She believes liberation from external empire empowers people, humanizes the struggles we all face and paves the way for the rise of a true democracy here at home and abroad.
Bob Wing says that the US and Israel were founded by taking land from indigenous people, dehumanizing them and making war against them. The history of humanity is a history of migrations and struggle, but in today's world the need to migrate is being accelerated by the forces of capitalism, communication and globalization, which are forcing people off of their lands in order to survive. To label them illegal and "racialize" the issue is irrational and unjust. Add to this the astounding fact that the US military is active in over 100 countries and has over 800 bases around the world. Would we in the US allow foreign bases on our soil? A primary result is that rather than making the US safer we've become a primary target of attack. Bob thinks that the 21st century will see the end of empire. The US is currently the strongest country in the world but has few friends and little support; therefore as activists we must continue working to peacefully reintegrate the US into the global family of nations.
Interviewed at a peace conference in Eugene, Oregon in March 2008.
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