Expressions From Ellen

by Ellen Finkelstein

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”

-Martin Luther King Jr.

During a recent workshop with national Peace Action and National Priorities Project, I took part in a mock “debate” in which I argued that we could not afford to make cuts to funding for the Pentagon. I said that we couldn’t cut the Pentagon for social needs, as my “opponent” suggested. Workshop participants then voted for who was most persuasive. Sadly, I won the debate – in part because it’s easy to lie and to play on people’s fears about safety, and to emphasize current jobs instead of the many more that could be created if we chose to invest in  non-military sectors.

Although the fiscal “cliff” has been sidestepped, the next several months will hold “slope instability” as Congress looks to make massive budget cuts.  We have our work cut out for us in persuading Congress to make substantial cuts to Pentagon spending instead of cutting the safety net of “earned benefits” (ie, “entitlements”). (See page 4.)

We need to continue to illuminate the human costs of unchecked militarism, using both facts and human stories. We need to make the connections to the real crisis of climate crisis. (See Glen’s article.) We need to stop the cuts to human services in DC and Olympia. And we need to defend those within our communities who are under attack from increasing repression. (Activists are launching a campaign to draw attention to this trend, including the grand jury sitting in Seattle.) We also need to work for and celebrate the human spirit.

I had the chance recently to spend some time with 12 former PATs (Peace Activist Trainees) and was, as always, inspired by what they are doing. For her senior project, one 2012 PAT is working with WWFOR to develop social media application(s) for our “Put Your Face Where Your Mouth Is” project. Another 2012 PAT is working to raise funds and supplies for an elementary school in rural Mexico (where she was born) with the assistance of WWFOR. Others are engaged in activities that give me hope, working in their schools and communities on a variety of social justice, environmental, and peace issues.