Obama, PDA and the war "mindset"

Obama, PDA and the war "mindset"

After working with millions of other activists to elect Barack Obama, members of PDA across the country are in a celebratory mood. We eagerly await the inauguration of President Obama!

Meanwhile, PDA remains as committed as ever to our core principles, including steadfast opposition to what Martin Luther King Jr. called "the madness of militarism."

Giving voice to that aspect of our ongoing work, PDA national board member Norman Solomon appeared on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" last Sunday. You can watch the video of the 40-minute live program here.

That program included powerful excerpts from the film "War Made Easy," based on Norman's book of the same name. In fact, the C-SPAN segment began with stunning footage of the historic statement on the House floor by Rep. Barbara Lee three days after 9/11, just before she became the only member of Congress to vote against President Bush's open-ended "war on terror" resolution. I'm very proud that Congresswoman Lee is on PDA's national board.

Now, according to the New York Times, President-elect Obama plans to send more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan within 18 months, raising the total number of American soldiers in that country to 58,000. The option of acquiescence is not on PDA's agenda. As Norman said on C-SPAN, it's not enough to cite Martin Luther King's invocation of "the fierce urgency of now" without coming to terms with its context--Dr. King's call for peacemaking instead of continuing warfare.

Let's hold Barack Obama to the profound wisdom of a statement that he made on the campaign trail last February while speaking about the Iraq war: "I don't want to just end the war; I want to end the mindset that got us into war."

I hope that after you watch the "Washington Journal" program online, you'll decide to boost your support for PDA. To launch our efforts for 2009, we need your help now.

Contribute at least $100, and we'll send you the DVD of the full-length "War Made Easy" documentary, narrated by Sean Penn, ideal for screening at house parties, public events and a wide range of activist gatherings.

And, if you're not already a Change Makes Change partner, you're invited to join up!

Peace and Justice,

Tim Carpenter
PDA National Director

P.S. If you have problems viewing the video on the C-SPAN site, please click here for help.

_{Progressive Democrats of America is a grassroots PAC that works both inside the Democratic Party and outside in movements for peace and justice. Our goal: Elect a permanent, progressive majority in 2008. PDA's advisory board includes seven members of Congress and activist leaders such as Tom Hayden, Medea Benjamin, Thom Hartmann and Rev. Lennox Yearwood.}

_{More info | Find Chapters | Find Local Events}