A CAMPAIGN FOR DISARMAMENT
A DAY WITHOUT THE PENTAGON
By Christopher Ney

WHAT WOULD YOU DO on a day without the Pentagon? What would you do if the fear of nuclear annihilation and the threat of conventional military destruction were ended once and for all? What would you do in a world without enemies?

Would you dedicate yourself anew to the elimination of poverty with the new resources that would be available? Would you learn a new language and dedicate yourself to building understanding among people now that the threat of military violence had been removed from the relationship? Would you pursue an artistic or other intellectual activity, freed from the anxiety that this generation would be earth’s last? Would you live life with new interest?

Would you simply have a party?

These questions may sound utopian, but they are the questions that a new War Resisters League disarmament campaign invites you to contemplate. As we approach the next millennium, how else can we begin a new era with clean hands and leave behind one of the bloodiest centuries in history?

For almost three quarters of a century, the War Resisters League has said that war is a crime against humanity and has supported individuals and communities who have pledged not to support any war. That commitment has never been popular, but it has led to some courageous— and even outrageous—acts of resistance. Yet, sadly, the wars keep coming, despite the peace treaties and conferences, the politicians’ speeches and promises. The founders of WRL would probably not recognize the world today—40,000 nuclear weapons threaten global destruction, 10 million land mines (some from wars long past) maim civilian populations, conventional wars rage across the globe as the United States has become the arsenal of war-making for countries large and small, and unprecedented levels of violence on our streets threaten all our communities. By now, we all should recognize what the founders of the War Resisters League knew long ago: There are no enemies; war itself is the enemy of humanity.

Basic Understandings
Unfortunately, our nation’s elected leaders do not share this basic understanding. Today, Washington grows increasingly austerity-minded and social programs are decimated, poverty increases and racism thrives, domestic terrorists (many of them trained by the U.S. military) threaten the national community—and the Pentagon continues to receive more and more money! With one stroke of the pen, President Clinton eliminated the 60-year-old income guarantee for the poor last year. Then he increased military spending by $7 billion over the next five years.

At the local level, cities and states are spending more money on police and prisons. In many state budgets, costs of incarceration rival expenditures for schools and education. We may be approaching the day in which the government will guarantee only guns and steel bars, not classrooms and textbooks, housing and food, libraries and museums. We say enough is enough!

To put the issue of disarmament back on the agenda and to shift resources from wasteful military spending to real social needs, the War Resisters League has declared October 24, 1997, A Day Without the Pentagon in communities across the country. On that day, we will demonstrate that we can get along without the "protection" and the budget-busting expense of the military.

Of course, we can’t eliminate the Pentagon for only one day; and just saying it won’t make it happen. We have to work consistently and effectively to eliminate militarism, its wasteful use of resources and the culture of violence it supports. Social change begins with a vision, but becomes reality with dedication and organization.

In crafting this campaign, the WRL Disarmament Task Force confronted some difficult issues: How to reach new communities with WRL’s message? How to mobilize for peace when so many are confronting basic survival issues? How to challenge the assumption that the military is the only institution of government that deserves to survive the budget-cutting scalpel? How to challenge the belief that violence is the solution to conflict? How to challenge militarism itself in a world with only one superpower, where the image of global harmony masks deep divisions and economic injustice? How to end violence in an era of ethnic cleansing?

Breaking the Addiction
The campaign gives us the opportunity to organize in new and creative ways. Drawing on traditions from alcohol and drug abuse recovery, the campaign seeks to break the U.S. addiction to the military one day at a time. Across class and social lines, most of us are familiar with recovery traditions from our own experience or from the experience of a friend or family member. Focusing on one day’s military spending is more tangible than challenging the total military budget, which is too large for most of us to understand.

On Oct. 24, 1997, A Day Without the Pentagon, we invite peace activists and community organizers to take action:

• Go to a local symbol of the military with the intention of converting it to peaceful purposes or simply shutting it down.
  
• Hold a teach-in on economic conversion and encourage community groups to consider how they would use the $1.7 billion dollars the Pentagon spends every day.
  
• Hold a rally supporting a community institution—like a school, daycare center, library or community arts program—that would be better supported if the Pentagon did not consume so many resources.

One year later, on Oct. 19, 1998, we will bring ourhopes—and our bodies—to the great symbol of the military in this country: the Pentagon. As the culminating action for WRL’s 75th Anniversary conference, we will nonviolently halt business as usual as we seek to shut down the business of war. Five years after the end of the Cold War, half a century into the atomic age, 75 years after the first resister signed a WRL pledge, now is the time to show that we can live without the Pentagon—not just for one day, but forever.

For more information about A Day Without the Pentagon—or to get an organizers’ kit—contact Chris Ney, WRL, 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012; (212)228-0450; fax (212)228-6193; e-mail wrl@warresisters.org.

Christopher Ney, WRL’s new Disarmament/Fundraising Coordinator, was the Co-Coordinator of the War Resisters League Executive Committee.

[War Resisters League Website] [Nonviolent Activist Index]
May-June 1997: [Editorials: Disarm Police] [Turmoil in Tabasco: Maya vs. Big Oil] [A Day without the Pentagon] [Youthpeace Meets Toymakers] [Activist News] [Activist Reviews: Women in Media]

The Nonviolent Activist is published bi-monthly by:
WAR RESISTERS LEAGUE
339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012. (212) 228-0450, fax (212) 228-6193, e-mail:wrl@warresisters.org.

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