Here is a very frank appraisal of this international conference that I recently attended. Wonderful people, some very good times, some very frustrating times.
Perhaps I spoke too much, but for me, there was very little in the way of direct action from this conference group. This seems surprising when I consider what I know of the wonderful examples of direct action that have been taken by many of those who were present. There was a lost opportunity here. I felt I should stand up and cheer when, during the perennial discussion of why there were essentially no young people at this conference (thank you, Kristen and a few others, for being the exception), someone stated out loud that no young person could stand to attend something (often dull– my addition) as this was. Exactly one solution was offered….let’s set up niffty interactive websites at sites where young people are active. Since this is an older group whose members tend to be ignorant of technology, this idea can take the form of “the answer” when nothing else seems possible. Peacepays is a fine website, but it is not “the answer.” My question — what do we offer after the website? And just how great is that medium for us? I am dubious about how well our peace message can ever compete on youth websites – it is not inherently well suited to the medium in the way that the U.S. Army has perhaps the world’s best hi-tech video games on their websites. How far can this approach take us — then what?
Our action needs to be “on the ground” and we offered not one stitch of that at this conference. Well, I walked around Fallowfield with my “WAR, No Way, Don’t Pay” shirt on, and a number of young folks clearly looked at it and got the message. As far as I know, that was the only hint that we gave to the many young people all around us in the town, that an international peace conference with some amazing people was being held right in their midst. Nearby Platt Fields Park is one of the best and busiest parks in Manchester. We had two beautiful banners at the BACK of our main assembly room, and I never witnessed them being used. Well, I do have a picture of me standing beside the principal banner. It will be included in my report to the many people and groups that sponsored my presence at the conference. Anyhow, why didn’t we simply take the two banners and our group of fifty or so, and walk along the street of Fallowfield and into Platt Fields Park, passing many young people and families who desperately need to hear our message? And we would create dialogue. Where was the real dialogue at the conference? It was preaching to a small group of the already converted. A group that will grow progressively smaller if we don’t take this to the streets and do some direct peaceful action. It is also what young people, in my experience, find most satisfying and appealing.
Pardon me for saying, yet again, that I am surrounded by 10,000 young people in my work. As moderator for Villanovans for Peace, I agree that no Villanova student would have been caught dead at that conference. They DO like trips to Washington, DC. They DO like to talk with veterans (not us) who have actually been on the ground in Iraq. Iraq and Vietnam veterans, if properly publicized, can draw a group of students and receive a respectful hearing. Movies (“On the Ground” video did well for us) do quite well, and better if combined with a veteran. Petitions do quite well; try to make them not too radical for the group that you are engaging. You get people feeling that they have participated in some action, and the petition can then lead to the next step — the formal presentation of the petition, after having made a personal appointment with the appropriately-placed human to receive it. Don’t just put it in the mail. Our annual Iraq Boots display does very well, and many hundreds of young people walk through the display and see banners that are too large to ignore. Speak, then listen, then dialogue. And of course, all this is also an opportunity to speak about how our taxes are the key to enabling this war.
You might reply that much of what I say here is not directly relevant to our conference topic of War Tax Resistance and Peace Tax Campaigns. I think we all realize that it is highly unlikely that war tax resistance/campaigns will ever be the “gateway” for young people to enter the peace movement. We need to start with a more direct and less intelectual focus. OUT OF IRAQ – NOW! This is not a radical statement at this point in the Iraq war. Or be gentler (while making the same point, very visibly) if you are with a more conservative group. How can we get out of the war? Present various options, and one of these is always taxes for peace not war. But don’t expect any active response from people hearing about WTR for the first time, or even for quite a while. Civil disobedience appears scary and difficult for most people. Personally, I believe that WTR is generally inappropriate for anyone new to the peace movement. I have on one or two occassions gently discouraged individuals whom I believed did not understand its full implications and were not prepared for what is required of war tax resisters. On the other hand, Mimi is a young Menonite whom I have spoken with considerably about this topic, and she became a war tax resister this year. Her commitment to pacifism was already well developed, and thus WTR was a new and additional avenue for her to express and witness to her beliefs. As a practical matter, in the United States peace tax campaigns are much more user-friendly to the vast majority of people and represent an easier place to start a discussion.
I am a person who believes in street speaking. Be a public Friend or whatever you are. Let our beliefs be known directly to the public. Not to be in someone’s face, not as a weirdo, but let it be known (gently) to whomever you meet. If, between now and the time of our next Conference two years hence, each of us enlisted ONE new person to our common cause, our members (well, we don’t have members really, do we?) would be dancing in the streets. We should not expect to ever be a large group, or even a young group. What we are stuggling with now is simply to replace the old people with a new crop of experienced middle-aged people. I know that as individuals we are “activist” and willing to take risks. What wonderful people I met at the conference. But our work does tend to be of the legalistic and formal variety, which does not engage young people. And to the extent that the conference itself represented how we present ourselves to the world, it was not an enticing model.
Well, I wrote this in one sitting, quickly while getting prepared to return to work. The haste is doubtless apparent, but I see a value to get this post done now. I was glad to be able to attend the conference and will have a “nicer” report on my regular www.peacefulways.com/ website (or google peacefulways). The beauty of a blog is that it is much less formal and more open to expressing/sharing feelings. Mine is an old-person’s blog with respect to its relative formality, but I value it as a venue to present some personal feelings and ideas (for better or worse), and I encourage your comments.
Peace, Paul