Are we ruled by fear? When will the “war on terror” end? What would happen if the U.S. experienced another spectacular mass casualty terrorist attack like September 11? That question is in the back of the minds of all politicians. For over a decade we’ve been at war, but many may not notice it because few have been involved in combat. The public certainly doesn’t want another disaster like Bush’s invasion of Iraq. But there isn’t much public anti-war sentiment. The military is the most respected institution in the country.
Republican concern about Islamic fundamentalism is approaching post-September 11 levels, according to a survey this month by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Sixty-six percent of GOP voters think it is “a critical threat,” up from 48 percent one year ago. This shift in attitudes might be due to the wild and crazy blather of the Republican candidates as well as those blood-curdling ISIS videos. Forty-eight percent of Democratic voters are similarly alarmed — which is up from 35 percent last year.
Tom Hayden argues that the lack of a “powerful Peace Lobby, on the scale of the civil rights, women’s and labor lobbies in Washington, leaves a vacuum” in mainstream politics. Militaristic solutions can dominate public discussion.
Nevertheless, those of us who prefer peace and diplomacy just had a remarkable victory with the Iran nuclear deal.
American Israel Public Affairs Committee fought it with a $20 million campaign. Former Republican Senator Norm Coleman led a $10 million attack. Neoconservative hawks like Joe Lieberman and Dick Cheney got all hot and bothered.
Ben Wikler, Washington director of MoveOn.org, notes there was “a masterfully executed vote-whipping operation driven by the White House” and the congressional Democratic leadership to stop the GOP-led sabotage bill. The peace advocates were vastly outspent but had more grassroots clout. Wikler says the 37-group coalition of deal supporters made 141,631 phone calls to Congress, sent 288,990 emails to congressional offices and collected 1,181,307 signatures supporting the deal. They organized 207 public events. They showed up at August recess public appearances by members of Congress. They visited hundreds of congressional offices in their home districts and in Washington, D.C.
This might be a unique victory. Progressives have been fighting the White House over the Trans Pacific Partnership but this time Obama was on their side. Quite a few in the national security elite of the U.S. and Israel spoke up for the deal.
Hopefully this is a turning point. Meanwhile, the peace groups chug along. Since 1983, Boulder’s Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center has been a modest local mover and shaker. Not so well known is the Boulder branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which has been around since 1968. It was the first non-student Boulder group to oppose the Vietnam war.
In 1970, University of Colorado sociology professor and WILPF activist Elise Boulding donated the International WILPF archives to CU’s Norlin Library. This year is the organization’s 100th anniversary.
In 1915, over 1,000 female peace activists from around the planet gathered at The Hague in the Netherlands to call for an end to war while World War I raged. Two future Nobel Peace Prize winners took part in the U.S. delegation: Jane Addams, the co-founder of Hull House, and the sociologist Emily Greene Balch.
WILPF was one of the first NGOs to receive consultative status at the United Nations and has constantly monitored, informed and lobbied government representatives at the UN. A WILPF pamphlet states: “Until all people everywhere enjoy the basic rights of health care, housing, education, job equality and a safe clean environment, there can be no justice anywhere.” As a result, WILPF connects peace, environmental, racial and social justice issues in its work.
On Thursday, Sept. 24, Boulder WILPF and Norlin Library will present “Talking with My Grandmother: World War I and the Women’s Peace Movement.” This is a performance piece created by and featuring longtime WILPF activist Robin Lloyd, whose grandmother was a founding member of the organization. The event will be held from 4-7 p.m. in the Center for British and Irish Studies at Norlin. On Friday, she will repeat her performance at 7:30 p.m. at the Frasier Meadows Retirement Community, 350 Ponca Place, in the Assembly Room on the fourth floor.
Norlin has a WILPF 100th Anniversary Exhibit near the library’s east entrance. It contains material from the International WILPF archives.
It’s inspiring that WILPF not only survives after a century but makes a difference. For more information, contact Anne Marie Pois at pois@colorado.edu.
This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.
