Susan Farrell: Why Kurt Vonnegut’s advice to college graduates still matters today
If Vonnegut was, like the students’ fathers, a family man and a veteran, perhaps he also embodied the dad that students in 1969 dreamed their own fathers could be: funny, artistic, anti-establishment and anti-war.
Nan Levinson: Is There a World Beyond War?
Women have been at the forefront of peace actions since Lysistrata organized the women of ancient Greece to deny men sex until they ended the Peloponnesian War.
Richard Cambridge: In Medias Res
Tom, the eldest son of Daniel and Helen Brownson, tells his parents he has dropped out of college. He is now in the crosshairs of the draft board and will be re-classified 1-A — a good chance he will be sent to — and possibly die in Vietnam.
Tom Engelhardt: Living in a Sci-fi World
Honestly, if you had described this America to me more than half a century ago, I would have laughed in your face.
Andrew Bacevich: What Would Martin Say?
The attention given to racism of late has had exactly that unintended effect — relieving Americans of any obligation even to acknowledge the insidious implications of materialism and militarism. In that sense, even now, two of King’s giant triplets barely qualify for lip-service. In the political sphere, they are either ignored or, at best, treated as afterthoughts.
Charlie Brice: Out of the Closet
Clothed in my cheap JC Penny’s suit, holding a bible, sitting on a container of disinfectant that smells like murder, like what they’d use to clean the war machine of … Continue reading
Video: An Antiwar Couple Who Shaped History
“Radical Love” tells the story of Michael and Eleanora Kennedy’s lifelong dedication to radical political movements—from the Black Panthers to the Weather Underground—and to each other.
Rebecca Gordon: Keep Your LAWS Off My Planet
New technology under development by Raytheon BBN Technologies could unleash swarms of small, autonomous air and ground vehicles, working in tandem and under the control of remote operators.
James Dubinsky: Veterans turned poets can help bridge divides
Today, there are approximately 20.17 million veterans – 7 percent of the U.S. population. That’s more than 20 million stories, along with the stories of their loved ones. Sometimes poetry is the most effective way to capture both the ambiguity and the story.
Doug Anderson: Monsoon
Up river, the rich
are counting their gold
and hiring armies to protect them.
W.D. Ehrhart: Afghanistan | Vietnam Redux
The real tragedy in all this is that the United States of America invaded yet another foreign country, imagining that we could bend it to our will and create a “Mini-Me” version of ourselves, and then spent twenty years, trillions of dollars, and thousands of lives ignoring what was obvious from the very outset.
Rev. John Dear: Daniel Berrigan and his fearless nonviolence, at 100
Five years since his death and 100 since his birth, legendary priest, author, poet and activist Daniel Berrigan continues to offer wisdom and insight on living a life of creative nonviolence.
Vox Populi 