A Moratorium Wired to Stop the War

[babylonsister]

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/23763

A Moratorium Wired to Stop the War
Submitted by davidswanson on Tue, 2007-06-19 12:19. Activism

By JEREMY BRECHER & BRENDAN SMITH, The Nation

Though Americans disapprove of President Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq by more than two to one, they don't seem to be expressing that disapproval to anyone but pollsters. A plan to establish a monthly Iraq Moratorium Day may provide a way for them to do so.

Refitting an idea from the Vietnam era to the age of the Internet, organizers of the Iraq Moratorium Day are inviting ordinary Americans to demand an end to the war in targeted activities in their local communities and viral activities online. The goal is a "monthly expression of determination to end the war."

The initiators, a handful of individuals from different corners of the antiwar movement, are asking people to make a simple pledge:

"I hereby make a commitment that on Friday, September 21, 2007, and the third Friday of every subsequent month I will break my daily routine and take some action, by myself or with others, to end the War in Iraq."

US Labor Against the War and Progressive Democrats of America have already signed on to the Moratorium effort. Individual supporters include some of the usual suspects in the antiwar movement--Susan Sarandon, Howard Zinn, Anne Wright, Tom Hayden and Eve Ensler, as well as Edwidge Danticat, Danny Glover and Gold Star dad Fernando Suarez de Solar. But the movement is also tapping unusual suspects like Adam Neiman, CEO of the fair-trade fashion house No Sweat, actress Mercedes Ruehl and the antiwar Freeway Blogger.

"We felt that it was critical to move beyond the periodic national demonstrations in Washington, DC, New York and/or San Francisco, and instead develop and advance an approach that encourages increasingly massive local actions that suggests, more than anything else, no more business-as-usual," said Bill Fletcher Jr., a Moratorium organizer who is former president of TransAfrica Forum. "The Iraq Moratorium will allow local actions integrally connected at a national level such that each effort is understood and felt to be part of a national movement without at the same time creating a new organization or coalition."

more...

[Breeze54]

1. Great idea but why wait until September?

:shrug:

People should be in the streets and in DC and in their cities NOW!!!

:kick: & R'd

[LauritzTheAgitator]

3. Good Organizing takes a bit of time

Those of us working with the Iraq Moratorium COmmittee are just starting to get the word out about this--the website just went live yesterday. With thee months and the internet, we can reach millions and millions of people that ahve never taken action against the war before.

[babylonsister]

4. Welcome to DU, LauritzTheAgitator, and I hope you'll keep us all

posted on what we can do! :hi:

[LauritzTheAgitator]

5. I'll do my best!

I'm signing up all over cyberspace these days to spread the word. The only danger is that I'll get totally distracted by all the interesting discussions I'm finding! :-)

[LauritzTheAgitator]

6. And Thank you babylonsister

for taking the intitiative and getting this Moratorium Day topic up here at DU! The key to the success of the whole project will be exactly the kind of individual initiative you took. The main thing we are urging now is for people to spread the word on blogs, forums, listserves, through your email groups and personal contacts, everyone you know that muight be interested, and tell them to do the same. And encourage everyone to sign the pledge at the Moratorium Day website http://www.iraqmoratorium.org/

[Breeze54]

7. United for Peace, Move On and many others

already have organization in place.

[LauritzTheAgitator]

2. Take the Pledge!

Here's the Iraq Moratorium Day official website where people can sign up to keep informed and join with a growing list of well-known endorsers (from Howard Zinn and Cindy Sheehan to Eve Ensler and Danny Glover) to commit to taking action on Friday, September 21:

http://www.iraqmoratorium.org/