Posted by CODEPINK Staff
Many of us have been disturbed by the celebrations occurring in response to the killing of Osama bin Laden. We understand the motivation behind the revelry. As Allan Nairn said on Democracy Now, "People cheer because they thought they saw justice." With bin Laden's death, let us reignite the call to end the wars.
We follow in great footsteps. As Emily Greene Balch wrote, "To really cut war out of our system is a major revolution. We are so used to it. It is woven into our history and into our ideal of human heroism, our religious imagery, as we thrill to "Onward Christian Soldiers Marching as to War." ...War cannot be reformed, it can only be abolished and replaced by more modern and more effective ways of rendering ourselves safe."
As Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, "leaders are needed...in every community all over this nation...Not leaders in love with money, but in love with justice. Not leaders in love with publicity, but in love with humanity."
So in love, CODEPINK calls for local actions across the country on Wednesday to demand an end to the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Libya. Now is the time to re-energize the movements for change. Now is the time to announce to the world, We will not raise our children to kill another mother's child.
Join us on the streets of the United States to demand the removal of all US troops and contractors from Afghanistan and Iraq. Let the world know you condemn the depleted uranium bombings in Pakistan, which create terrorists, destroy the environment, and kill innocent civilians. And let's amplify our voices by getting our mayors to cosponsor the War Dollars Home Resolution.
Let us stand firm with the people of the world to say ENOUGH! Let the Peace Begin.
Further Reading:
Osama Bin Laden is Dead; Let the Peace Begin by Medea Benjamin in HuffPo
One Twitter User Reports Live From Osama Bin Laden Raid by Jolie O'Dell in Mashable
Mission Accomplished: Is it Finally Time to Leave Afghanistan? by Amanda Terkel in HuffPo
The War is Over. Kiss a Nurse and Start Packing. by Robert Naiman, Just Foreign Policy, in HuffPo
Why I'm a Pacifist: The dangerous myth of The Good War by Nicholson Baker in Harper's Magazine
Jeremy Scahill discusses the killing of Osama bin Laden on Democracy Now!
Killing of bin Laden: What are the consequences? by Glenn Greenwald in Salon
Celebrating a Death by Paul Brandeis Raushenbush in HuffPo
The Post-Bin Laden World by Roger Cohen in NYT
The Death of Osama bin Laden: Why I Can't Celebrate by Jonathan Evans, FCNL
Author's note: This post originally contained a quote by Jessica Dovey falsely attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr. I apologize for not thoroughly researching the origin of the quote. The sentiment still stands. The above Balch quote is from an undated script probably written during the Korean War and published in Beyond Nationalism: Social Thought of Emily Greene Balch. The Martin Luther King, Jr. quote appears in James H. Cone's book, Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare.
