Nicole Dovel

Physical violence is now so common in our society we are all but desensitized to it. The horrors of a mugging, of rape, or of military violence are passé on the nightly news. US policies like the “War on Drugs”, the “War on Poverty”, and the “War on Terror” are a reflection of our society’s emphasis on war and aggression. One byproduct of a culture that is as focused on war and aggression as ours is, is that we mistakenly attempt to create peace through violence. As an example of this, I was dismayed to learn recently that over 80 percent of the War on Drugs funding in Columbia goes to military and police aid. Over $3 billion has been spent there since “Plan Columbia” passed in 2000, and yet it is still common consensus that the US has not effectively helped Columbia reduced the availability of drugs either in Columbia or here in the US. What does this show about our culture? I think it reveals a misplaced notion that we can “fix it all” with force. We try to change the world using force. Just look at the “War on Terror”, or the “War on Poverty”. These issues, like drugs, stem from social issues. Social inequality, racism, gender discrimination, poverty, broken families, and poor education contribute to the causation of most violence, and are all going to necessitate a lot of intervention on both a governmental funding and agency level, and on a personal one-on-one level in order to address these issues successfully. In the case of Columbian drugs, I don’t understand why someone thinks that an ingrained belief and pattern of growing and selling drugs can be dismissed from someone’s mind just by supporting a military junta. Drug use stems from a lack of education and opportunity. If no other viable options are available, what more can be expected of anyone in that situation? Why don’t we invest in education, in social programs, basically in the PEOPLE, not in guns? It may be just me, but it seems like it would be a lot more effective solution.

This is an article I thought was very timely and should be read. It was published Oct. 3, 2007, at

http://peaceblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/03/promoting-real-security-through-international-cooperation-and-democracy-building/

The title of the article is:

Promoting REAL Security through International Cooperation and Democracy Building

Let me know what you all think.

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This week we have all seen the horrors unfold the territory formerly known as Burma. It was renamed Myanmar in recent years by the ruling military junta. Up until 2 weeks ago Myanmar was the internationally recognized and used name for this state much to the dismay of Democracy activists and Buddhist Monks. Now, since the pictures of a dead Monk floating in the Inle Lake and the truth of the military dictatorship have immerged in mainstream media the international community has jumped on the ‘democracy for Burma’ bandwagon.

Isn’t it a little late to support these Democracy activists? Would it not have been more productive to address this issue back in 1990 when a general election voted agianst the militaristic government and these results were thrown out by then State Peace and Development Council Chairman Than Shwe? This is the man who responsible for the atrocities of recent weeks and for the renaming of this once democratic country.

Pres. Bush, at the UN meeting declared that we must support democracy in Burma. After our invasion he declared we must support democracy in Iraq, and after 9/11 he declared the Afghans ‘hated us for our freedom’. Why, after we supplied AK47’s and rocket launchers to the Taliban to support our proxy war with the Soviets did they have such a change of heart against the U.S.?

Surely, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism was a significant factor. But how did this rise occur? The Taliban, like the SPDC did in Bruma, took over Afghanistan with military might. They terrorized Afghan citizens, created a huge refugee crisis, and institutionalized Madrasah educational systems to teach Islamic fundamentalism to the oppressed and disenfranchised population. It is apparent to me that if we had supported a democratic movement and given non-military aid (in the way of education and basic necessities) to citizens in those early years we could have avoided the tragic events of 9/11. Subsequently, we could have avoided the current international quagmire we find ourselves in today. No one straps a bomb to their body if they are leading a fulfilling and secure life.

The only way to combat terrorism and promote grassroots democratic systems is to engage the population BEFORE the violence comes to a head. We have the largest military in the world and yet we have no Peacekeepers. We allocate 90% of our security budget to our own military and a fraction of it to international cooperation. It is time we switched our priorities to secure a future for our children and children all over the world.