If you don't see yourself as the sort of person who calls your representatives in Congress and urges them to vote to end the war in Afghanistan, stand up and take a bow. This is your moment of special recognition. The American peace movement is calling on you – you – to call your representatives in Congress now to urge votes against the wars, and we want you to do this so badly that the Friends Committee on National Legislation has established a toll-free number for you to reach your representative: 1-888-231-9276.
The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act is expected on the floor of the House this week, and the House is expected to consider, among others, amendments to limit and end the war in Afghanistan, to limit and end the war in Libya and to strip from the bill the “permanent war” authorization inserted by Representative McKeon. Voting on these amendments may happen as early as Wednesday afternoon, Eastern time.
A suggested call script, with information on many proposed amendments, is here. If your schedule doesn't permit you to call, you can write here.
Polls show that America – Blue America, Red America and Purple America – is done with these wars. But the wars grind on.
One reason that these wars grind on is that, while members of Congress do obviously care about polls, polls are not all they look at to gauge public opinion. They want to know what people in their particular district think, and they want to know not only where the majority of opinion lies, but the intensity with which people hold their views. It's one thing to say that the majority wants to end the wars; it's another thing to say that the majority wants to end the wars, and furthermore, people in my district see this as a priority.
And a key way that members of Congress gauge whether people in their district not only want to end the wars, but see it as a priority, is whether the phone is ringing off the hook in their office. It's a striking fact, that even as polls register more and more public opposition to the wars, some members of Congress say: People aren't calling us about this.
And that's why peace groups collaborate to organize call-in days to Congress. Judging from a quick scan of my email, this one includes, among others: Peace Action, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the Council for a Livable World, Win Without War, USAction/TrueMajority, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Progressive Democrats of America, Veterans for Peace, United for Peace and Justice, Voices for Creative Nonviolence and Just Foreign Policy.
That's a range of groups, in terms of their philosophies of social change. They all agree on one thing: you need to call your representatives now and urge them to vote against the wars. If you can't call, you can write.
The most important thing right now is not how you feel about your Representative, or how you think the vote is going to turn out. The most important thing right now is how many calls there are. An opinion poll is being conducted right now: how do you really feel about the wars? Stand up and be counted. Call your representative now: 1-888-231-9276.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy