Assessing Zones of Concern and Struggle Proceeding in the Years 2000-2001
The original "abolish war" vision of Veterans for Peace fifteen years ago still has strong emotive attraction to many who have served in the armed services. This is particularly true of those who have experienced the conflagration and aftermath of war. Realistic contemplation on the evasiveness of peace bespeaks on how deeply the peculiarities of war are embedded. The foremost motivational task is building the public expectation that their government representatives demonstrate deep commitment to the preclusion of conflict situations and the cultivation of a healthy peace with justice.
Accomplishing this requires the cooperation of numerous interlocking academic disciplines and interrelated organizational resources in an intensifying communication campaign. Veterans for Peace further pushes the challenge of defining security by probing its universal human dimensions.
Veterans for Peace through its own and cooperative ventures has gained respect from several prominent allied organizations and government agencies for its accomplished peace services. Many who have weight in the policy making agencies, cognizant of its veterans' identity, support the efforts of Veterans for Peace. Building on its assets this system will bolster the community outreach capacity of Veterans for Peace at all levels. A key element is to enhance and consolidate the membership of Veterans for Peace to fully utilize members' broad range of personalities, skills, knowledge and ideas. 'Training' opportunities will be offered to help members become more adept at being conversant with a diverse public in the realm of post-modern structural changes.
Events are unfolding, more than ever before, with quick global consequences for a majority of the world's people. Among spotlighted concerns are burgeoning transnational corporate and financier hegemony, leaner working opportunities, demands for equity by social groups, and a flux of immigrations caused by economic aspirations and violent conflicts. Political misfeasance and manipulation of the situation has further engendered a rupture in a sense of common purpose. Unprecedented opportunities appear available for some while others find deep disillusionment.
Dissociated peoples, projected into an increasing competitive policy system for livelihoods, pointedly accentuate their external differences, i.e. religious beliefs, ethnic or race identity, social class, et al. This has led to exclusive interest groupings and civil strife of varying intensity throughout the world. Forgotten are the relations to the land, or earth, we share. Cultural diversity can be celebrated if coalitions of "we the people" combine. A forward step would be to look back at the type of societies rooted in egalitarian ways of life. These diverse cultures have been self-sustaining, secure and in harmony for the bulk of history. This is not to be a 'nostalgic' viewing, but one openly searching interconnected meaningfulness.
The eventuality and course for global community and cooperation requires examination of national self-images as filtered through the agents of socialization; mainly the family, schools, the primordial attachments of ethnicity and religion, and the influence of the media. A world of ideas without boundaries requires a level of social learning and understanding to recognize authentic human securities and ability to allay insecurities. The anxious polemics between vying public or private democracy, national-international exigencies, the course of economic distribution, and the contested ground of military and civilian preeminence are determined reactively by a few elite. Emerged in habits of abrogating decision-making, or bound by other constraints, many citizens are absent from the foundations fashioning national policy.
Societies laden with such devastating weapons potentially sacrifice their own freedom, discourage dissent, subvert the freedom of others, hideously ruin the environment, cater to business conglomerates, and accept government rule shrouded in secrecy. Veterans For Peace is grounded in the assertion that in a public democracy people have choices and legitimate claims on organizing for policy action. This is predicated on having open and abundant channels to all past and current policy records critical to good governance.
Veterans For Peace, in the context of public democracy, explores and analyzes the universal sense of commonality for interdependent, but autonomous economic and cultural integrity, equity in decision making, instituted redress accessibility, reciprocal civility in understanding geostrategic human security and eradication of the conditions that compromise world peace.
Social tradition condenses the national incentive for war participation as a matter of protecting "our way of life." Wars also have had unattended, but positive effects such as bringing unity to groups with common interests. Wars, for instance, have brought people of color, workers, gays and women together enabling them to better protect their way of life through unity and understanding. On the other hand, wars also bring together those who profit from war's state of affairs, for instance, officers, industrialists and government officials. This negative unity fosters the desire for domination. Therefore, counters to resist it need to be amalgamated.
Ex-service members make up one of the world's largest affinity groups arising out of the exigencies of wars. In the United States one out of nine people are veterans. Former service in the armed forces firmly associates Veterans for Peace members. They have had shared life-experiences and exceptional episodes in this capacity. Their combination of military encounters and cognizance of war preparing and fighting has conversely solidified these veterans in a united commitment to prevent the ways of war. Veterans compose a significant role in raising the conscience for peace by evoking their vantagepoint from experience. With a new emphasis on membership development to include those not having served officially in the armed services, but who have engaged in activities alongside veterans and in the same vein, new terrain should open.
It is recognized, however, that veterans have a special stature within the community and their representatives in public institutions. Veterans have a common-bond with other veterans and active services members, regardless of contrasting issue viewpoints. This allows for less rigid obstacles in discussing issues. Their service experience and consequent learning often bestows them with a sound historical perspective of events and motivates them to be active citizens.
ZOCS (Zones of Concern and Struggle) is a national VFP project. Much has already been raised and used for educating the public. The funds go to VFP members and projects.