Honor MLK
Say ‘No to War’
By Grace Lee Boggs
Michigan Citizen, January 19-25, 2003
The way to honor MLK is to say “No to War!”
If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, there is no doubt that he
would be in the forefront of the growing national and global movement
opposing the war in Iraq.
He would be explaining, as he did during the Vietnam war, that
“Poverty, insecurity and injustice are the fertile soil in which the seed of
communism grows and develops. War is not the answer. We must not engage in
a negative anti-communism but rather in a positive thrust for democracy,
realizing that our greatest defense against communism is to take offensive
action in behalf of justice.”
He would be pointing out, as he did during the Vietnam War, that
blacks and poor people make up a disproportionate part of the armed forces
being sent to the Middle East.
He would be attacking the war against Iraq, as he attacked the Vietnam
war not only as a moral outrage but as an enemy of the poor because the
billions used to kill Iraqis and to create chaos in the Middle East are
being taken away from programs needed to feed, house and provide medical
care for the poor.
The administration¹s war against Iraq can be stopped. Despite the huge
military build-up it is not a done deal.
UN inspectors have found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
World-wide opposition to a U..S. invasion of Iraq and anti-Americanism
is spreading. In some countries the areas around U.S. embassys are like
war zones with streets rolled up to prevent hostile demonstrations.
Governments in the Middle East are fearful for their own future if they do
not resist U.S./UK pressure to provide staging areas for the war against
Iraq.
Here at home the anti-war movement is growing by leaps and bounds. It
already includes most of the mainline churches, the overwhelming majority
of African Americans, and the city councils of many major cities. A recent
poll by the L.A. Times concluded that "72 percent of respondents, including
60 percent of Republicans, said Bush has not provided enough evidence to
justify starting a war with Iraq, " and "63 percent said war would be
justified only if the United Nations finds a pattern of serious violations
by Iraq, while just 22 percent agreed with the administration's position “
So if you have not yet said “No to War’ it is “Time to Break the
Silence,” as MLK put it when he spoke out against the Vietnam War. Wear a ‘No to
War’ button. You¹ll be surprised how many of your co-workers and neighbors agree with
you. Discuss respectfully with those who don’t. The anti-war movement isn¹t only about
stopping the war over there. It¹s about creating authentic communication and
communities here at home.
Two Songs for the New Year
Words and Music by Larry Long
Be The Change
Be the change
You seek in this world
Be the change you believe in
Give support to
Each boy and girl
Be the change you believe in
(Chorus)
Stand up (Stand up)
For the children
Stand up (Stand up)
For the people
Stand up (Stand up)
For each other
Lift up your voice
Let it roll like thunder
Be the change you believe in
Where hatred sleeps
Where truth never slumbers
Be the change you believe in
(Chorus)
Let your truth
Shine like a beacon
Be the change you believe in
Fill your life with
Love, hope, and reason
Be the change you believe in
(Chorus)
Organize at home
In the work place
Be the change you believe in
Without fear of
Being replaced
Be the change you believe in
(Chorus)
Stay on fire
Be good to yourself
Be the change you believe in
Health care for all
No more politics of wealth
Be the change you believe in
(Chorus)
When all do better
We all do better
Be the change you believe in
Children of earth
Standing together
Be the change you believe in
(Chorus)
Who Are The Terrorists?
Who are the terrorists?
Are they Arafat and Sharon?
Who are the terrorists
In this world we call home?
Are they Christian, Islamic?
Arab, are they Jew?
Or that homophobic neighbor
Who lives next door to you?
Who are the terrorists?
Do they pay thousands of bucks
For the child of the family
Who blew themselves up?
In the name of Allah
In some holy Jihad
Just like those Christian Crusades
In the name of God
Who are the terrorists?
Are they the soldiers
Bulldozing children down
Beneath that war of rubble
Never to be found
Do they prey upon the innocence
Of that little child?
Asking for forgiveness
Like some priestly pedophile?
Who are the terrorists?
Do you know their names?
Who are the terrorists?
Do they hijack passenger planes?
Do they make nuclear missiles,
Manufacture anthrax spores,
Did they support the death squads
In El Salvador?
Who are the terrorists?
Do they hide
behind their portfolio
Like some Œsacred book¹
Are they just like Osami Ben Laden,
Or should we take another look
Who are the terrorists?
Copyright Larry Long 2002
Larry Long, called "a true American Troubadour" by author Studs Terkel, has
made his life work celebrating the lives of ordinary people throughout the
world in song. “Be the Change,” on a CD with the same title, was inspired
by Paul and Sheila Wellstone with whom he worked on numerous campaigns.
Flying home together during their last Senatorial campaign, Larry asked
Paul how he was able to handle personal attacks without responding in kind.
Paul simply quoted Mahatma Ghandhi, "Be the change you seek in the world.”
This is also the title of my January 20 keynote speech at the 16th annual
University of Michigan Symposium celebrating MLK¹s birthday.-- GLB,
boggscenter.org/
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