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Things
you can do to stop war
“You
create the world you live in.”— Crass
Here
are just a few of the many things people can do to stop war.
Protest
Participate in a local or national protest (Code
Pink and United
for Peace are two groups with information about protests). People
can also create their own protests or vigils. All it takes is courage
and a sign. Organizing a protest is made easier using the materials
available at Global
Exchange.
Write
a poem and show it to people. See what other people have written
at the Poets
Against the War web site.
Talk
with friends and neighbors about how you feel.
Write
letters to elected officials. Write letters to the editor.
Become
informed.
Wear
a button with a message.
Boycott
movies or TV shows that glorify war and violence.
Help
victims of war. Many groups accept donations to help their humanitarian
efforts, Oxfam,
Amnesty International
and American Friends
Service Committee are just a few examples. Remember that a large
number of homeless men are veterans.
Resist
Preparing
and fighting wars costs money, a lot of money. Tax resistance is
possible. Lower your income enough so you don’t pay federal
taxes (you’ll still be paying social security taxes). See the
War
Resisters League about tax resistance. An easy tax to resist
is the federal excise tax on your phone bill which was created to
help pay for the Vietnam War.
Boycott
the economy that makes war possible — don’t shop, save
instead. Put your money in an IRA (which can offer extra tax advantages
if you are low income) or a savings account. Reconsider that big
purchase such as upgrading the computer, a new car or trip. Do you
really need it? Especially boycott companies that are involved in
the war effort. Let people know why you are not shopping.
Participate
in civil disobedience at a protest. Not
in Our Name is a good start for investigating this option.
Become
informed. Examine your news sources. Try to find information from
news sources outside of the United States (the web is great for
this — one site we like is that run by the Guardian
newspaper in England) and compare how stories are presented.
Are you being told things objectively or being presented with stories
you should believe? We’ve written how we use the web
as a resource.
Imagine
a world without war. Start living in that world right now.
Learn
to be peaceful within yourself. Molly recommends Thich Nhat Hanh’s
works which are available in many libraries.
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