Imagine if, in 2006:
- Every citizen against the war decides to attend a peace vigil.
- Every mother shows up at a recruiters' office and says, "NOT MY CHILD!"
- Every father is brave enough to tell his son "Killing is NOT manly."
- Every teacher teaches conflict resolution to her students.
- Every Christian demands that our government practice the Commandment: THOU SHALL NOT KILL.
- Every anti-war voter refuses to give money, support or votes to pro-war candidates.
- Every student who considers joining the military to pay rising college costs instead joins with other students to demand affordable education.
- Every soldier who has doubts about the mission in Iraq refuses to fight.
- Every congressperson walks, cycles or takes public transportation to work.
- Every American buying a new car chooses a hybrid or biodiesel.
- Every family member of a fallen soldier joins Cindy Sheehan in saying “Honor our sacrifices; stop the killing.”
- Every living veteran, those who best know the agony of war, converges on Washington to demand a Department of Peace.
- Every woman who wants to see a more peaceful world connects with like-minded women of all ages, races, religions and nationalities to demand an end to war. *
- Every citizen who feels lied to about the reasons for invading Iraq demands that George Bush be impeached.
Maybe, together, we could end the occupation of Iraq in the new year and make it harder for future leaders to drag us into unjust wars. When we sow seeds of peace, a whole field of dreams can blossom.
From your sisters at CODEPINK, we wish you a joyful holiday season and look forward to working together in 2006 to make our dreams come true.
Medea Benjamin is Founding Director of Global Exchange. For over twenty years, Medea has supported human rights and social justice struggles around the world. Medea is a leading activist in the peace movement and helped bring together the groups forming the coalition United for Peace and Justice . She is also the co-founder of CODEPINK: Women for Peace, a women's group that has been organizing creative actions against the war and occupation of Iraq. CODEPINK is pushing for a reorientation of budget priorities in the US to focus on heath care, education and housing, not war. Code Pink now has over 250 chapters throughout the United States.
