07) PEACE IS STILL EVERYONE'S BUSINESS

People's Voice Editorial

            Way back in the scary 1980s, a decade of justified fears of imperialist war threats, the peace movement in Canada coined the slogan, "peace is everybody's business." Winding down massive spending on militarism, went the argument, would allow governments to tackle hunger, homelessness, poverty, and other devastating social problems.

            More than twenty years later, the U.S. remains the undisputed global leader in the arms race, pouring hundreds of billions into new weapons of mass destruction and a global network of military bases. The only "winners" from the latest round of sabre-rattling by the Obama administration appear to be corporations like Raytheon, makers of the Cruise missiles which may soon be destroying Damascus, one of the historic centres of civilisation.

            The world now spends about a trillion dollars a year on the insane pursuit of military domination. Even a fraction of that sum could go a long way towards providing billions of people with clean drinking water, decent homes, adequate schooling, good jobs, and protection from the impending climate change catastrophe.

            By the time this newspaper is printed, the people of Syria may be the next victims of imperialism's revolting "responsibility to protect" mass murder doctrine. Or it may be that worldwide popular opposition is able to prevent this deadly attack. In either case, the fundamental problem will remain: how to wind down the arms race and dismantle all weapons of mass destruction, including the Pentagon's vast arsenal of killing machines. Under the shadow of the constant threat of war, humanity can never turn its full collective attention to the struggle for survival. Today, more than ever, peace must become the number one priority of all those who love this planet.

(The above article is from the September 16-30, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)