Time to say “yes” to peace and prosperity
by Molly McKasson on Jan. 19, 2009, under Opinion
Molly McKasson
In international affairs, the Bush administration has been a bull in a china shop – breaking treaties, alliances and possibly laws.
Soon they will hand over the unpaid bill for damages accrued in the past eight years.
The balance for Iraq alone is staggering: more than 4,200 American soldiers dead and thousands more crippled.
At a cost of $500,000 a minute, this war’s cost could reach into the trillions. And what security and prosperity have we purchased for such enormous sacrifice?
In the past year, politicians have begun referring matter-of-factly to a limited nuclear or chemical attack in the near future.
At this historic juncture in our country’s life, we have a chance to say “no” to such fatalism (so dangerously exploited by the past administration) and “yes” to old-fashioned American optimism and respect for life.
But it will take more than high ideals to increase the peace: It will take courage and commitment on all our parts.
Nuclear or biological holocaust is no more inevitable than the approval of a non-verifiable, multi-billion dollar missile defense contract.
It’s about choices: We can choose to create peace for the world’s children, or we can doom them to a hell on Earth. If we continue in the direction of the past eight years, there will be no shelter for anyone.
America has chosen a new direction. We elected Barack Obama to be our 44th president because he promised to end the insanity in Iraq, bring back diplomacy and restore our moral standing in the world.
His words have brightened the future: “I will make the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons worldwide a central element of U.S. nuclear policy.”
With a Wall Street tsunami still breaking, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture: Perpetual war – America as “global cop” – is bankrupting the country as much as anything else.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said point blank that the long-term prognosis for our aging nuclear arsenal is “bleak.”
Instead of upgrading our WMDs – sinking us deeper in debt and not deterring one suicide mission – let’s upgrade our efforts to create peace-time jobs.
The dollar may be weak, but the American spirit is strong enough to solve these economic challenges.
“Yes we can,” says our new president. And given the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into terrorist hands, “Yes we must” – and quickly – transition to an economy and foreign policy based on peace.
With the exception of a handful of hatemongers, the entire world will stand with us.
It would be disingenuous to ignore the fact that such a change in direction could have a negative economic impact in southern Arizona, and Tucson in particular.
This is where our individual courage and commitment comes in to play, and where the ingenuity of our local leaders can shine.
In a peacetime economy, business at Raytheon would not keep booming the way it has for the past six years, which would cost the community some very good jobs.
Now is the time for local leaders to redouble their efforts at creating and nurturing new, sustainable, high-tech work.
It’s time to reopen the dialogue on economic conversion as if our lives depended on it. Because they do.
In the long term, the positive benefits of a peace-time economy, for Tucson and the world, far outweigh the negatives.
Our new president bears a heavy burden for mistakes made in the past eight years. But some of this weight can (and should) fall on all of our shoulders.
It’s critical that none of us disconnect our economic woes from the exponential growth of weapons and war.
Almost immediately, Barack Obama will have a chance to move us in a new direction. He can say “no” to new foreign military bases, torture, missile defense systems, the militarization of space – “no” to the ever-lengthening military-industrial gravy train.
He can say “yes” to working with Russia on the worldwide elimination of nuclear arms. “Yes” to refocusing national priorities onto the health and education of our own people. “Yes” to renewable energy. “Yes” to going after the real enemies – at home and abroad – to fighting hunger, disease, joblessness and despair.
“Yes,” at last, to a livable future for children everywhere.
Molly McKasson is a former member of the Tucson City Council.
