Obama: Maybe being methodical has its virtues . . .

About 18 months ago, I wrote a blog post entitled "I Support the President's July 2011 Promise" in an attempt to deal with my frustration that Obama decided to send 30,000 MORE troops to Afghanistan. My approach was to say, "OK, let's deal with the hard facts here. The one good fact we have is that at least he has put a stake in the ground about starting to withdraw troops at date certain."


Frankly, despite my attempt to put a positive spin on things, I have to admit to a lot of despair since then over whether even that 7/11 promise was worth anything.

Yesterday, the NY Times' lead story was "Steeper Pullout Raised As Option for Afghanistan". The underlying premise of the article is that there is a genuine expectation that July 2011 represents a firm commitment of some kind. Maybe the 7/11 promise isn't just a throwaway?

Is there a way to gain advantage from the fact that Obama -- despite being too much of a compromiser and too much of a deliberator (and I could say a lot of other things here about drone attacks and Guantanamo and unilateral war-waging in Libya) -- is also methodical and sticks to his path once he sets it in motion?

The 2012 election is fast upon us. (Super Tuesday is a little more than 6 months away.) Bottom line: Obama will likely be re-elected. (Agree? Disagree?)

What's the best way for all of us who have been experiencing despair, confusion, anger, etc. to re-focus our energies and contribute to an effective antiwar discourse?

Looking forward to everyone's thoughts on this.

Is there an anti-war movement in Illinois?

I've been working with a group in Chicago to use the film Rethink Afghanistan to encourage a civic conversation about U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, as well as in Iraq and other parts of the Mideast and South Asia. "Rethink Afghanistan" is a very powerful, fact-based, 60-minute documentary that covers key issues in the Afghanistan conflict. The entire film can be watched on the Rethink website. A large community follows Rethink Afghanistan on Facebook.

The bad news is ... what with holidays, work schedules, school schedules, family schedules, the economic meltdown, etc. etc. etc. ... it's very hard to make regular progress in advancing the conversation.

The good news is ... the conversation is advancing ... and not just in Chicago! Over the past several weeks, I've reached out to people throughout the state to learn what is going on in local communities. Below is a sampling of what I found.

The Peoria Area Peace Network has weekly (noon - 1 pm) protests agaist the wars, and often includes speakers on human rights issues. The group also participates in national programs, e.g. the Chicago event on October 16.

Alton has a group that has screened "Rethink Afghanistan."

Carbondale also has a group that has screened "Rethink Afghanistan" ... in a congressional district that includes a lot of Scott Air Force base workers ...

Evanston has a very active anti-war group called Neighbors for Peace. Also - there are quite a few other groups throughout the North Shore.

In Chicago . . .

. . . there was a large anti-war march on October 16;

. . . Chicago-Area Veterans for Peace has an active slate of activities;

. . . Loyola, UIC, and Columbia College and have active chapters of Campus Anti-war Network.

. . . the Chicago Peacebuilding Program at the American Friends Service Committee has regular activities;

And, of course, in our own Rethink Afghanistan - Chicago group, we've had a series of activities, including:

• summer screening of "Rethink Afghanistan"


• participation in the October 16 Chicago march


• monthly meetings at The Bourgeois Pig, 738 W Fullerton

In other parts of Illinois, groups have been set up to arrange screenings of "Rethink Afghanistan," as well.

I'm sure the conversation in Illinois will continue to grow!

Do you have additional information on the anti-war movement in Illinois? Please add your information as a comment below!

Post #1: What if . . . ?

Thinking about the challenges and opportunities the United States faces . . . in the grand scheme of things . . . I started to think that we are writhing in the face of a lot of specific challenges ( . . . mortgage crisis . . . China on the rise . . . conflict with the Islamic world . . . .) but the more important question is: what is our larger purpose? To put it more starkly: what is a national purpose that is worthy of us as a nation?

I'm particularly intrigued by the phenomenon of other countries "catching up" to us -- particularly after they have gone through difficult periods of trying to "learn from" the United States and the West. (I've personally spent a lot of time studying China and Japan.) Often this learning is heavily slanted in the direction of how to imitate our military might. And, unsurprisingly, those other countries have found a way to learn those lessons well.

The United States found itself in a peculiar situation in the second half of the twentieth century. We had saved the world during WW II through an assertion of superior might. We came out of that conflict with a head of steam that made it hard to deny the proposition that, when the chips are down, the big guns are a good thing.

But does that circumstance adequate define our purpose in the future?

What would we define as our purpose, if we knew that we could choose the purpose that truly had value, and that we could prevail? Would we identify a purpose that transcended such things as home ownership, a favorable balance of trade, and a cessation of hostilities with our ideological foes?

What if the purpose the United States aspired to was something of historical proportions? A purpose that hadn't been tried before? But one that would be worthy of us precisely because of the obstacles our own size and strength puts in our way?

What if our purpose as a nation was to demonstrate the truth of the proposition that might doesn't make right, and that governance can be achieved principally on the basis of compassion?