Now I don't really have a formal, outside in public job, so it seems damned unlikely that anyone would notice if I went on strike. A pity, too, because it seems damned likely that we're going to bomb Iran pretty soon. There's a rumor that has made it even to the mainstream news that we'll bomb on Friday. And, of course, we haven't taken the nuclear option off the table, so if we're really lucky, maybe we'll commit the biggest war crime in history. Something to look forward to for you Christian types - how better to memorialize the death of Christ than to use nuclear bombs on people.
All of which has made me wonder this - why, instead of marching, don't we strike? Why do Americans who oppose their government's actions choose the method they can best ignore - peacefully yelling slogans, and not the ones that we can't afford to, the one that puts the all-important economy at risk.
If we really care about the Iraq war, and we really care about peace, we should refuse to engage in all commerce and economic activity until our leaders stop the damned war. That is, we should boycott *EVERYTHING* - don't buy gas, don't buy food, don't go to work. It will be hard, but by sharing and working together, a large percentage of the US could be taken offline with minimal hardship. We couldn't do it forever, but even a few days of a large percentage of the population refusing to shop and work would be enough to draw the real attention of our leadership. We have the power to hold our economy hostage, rather than to passively shrug and say we can't do anything about the war. We have the power to say no and make our leaders listen. But we haven't.
Why not?
Sharon
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3 comments:
I wish I could say that a goods and services strike would do something. But likely, not enough people would participate, and not for long enough.
I have watched Wisconsin dairy producers dump milk out of their bulk tanks to protest low milk prices. I think one farmer even dumped a bunch of milk all over the Capitol in protest one year. They reasoned that taking the milk off the market would make legislators think and that the withdrawl would cause a severe economic impact. Their efforts did nothing. Life went on as usual. Not enough producers were willing to dump in order to even make a miniscule difference.
I believe this is the case with oil and us. We need it too much. We are not seriously willing to look to alternatives yet. Only when we have to choose between food or the weekend RV trip will we start catching the vibe.
Some dairy producers, it would take the banker coming to the door with the sheriff to get them to stop their dairy farming. Oil and humans are running at the same level.
Paula
I think you're being unnecessarily pessimistic, and confusing on-tv babble with planned action.
The Iranians are releasing the interned British sailors, so that removes one casus belli - not that it was, anyway, it's well in the Geneva Conventions that if combatants stray across into your borders you intern them for the duration of the conflict, eg German and Allied pilots downed over Ireland and Sweden and Switzerland in WWII. However even Iran seems to have forgotten that, but then their leadership's about as bright as the US leadership ;)
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