As much of the world worried whether the U.S. would plunge into yet another war in the Middle East, it became clear to many Americans that only mass public demonstrations might be “heard” by the Trump administration. Within what seemed just hours after the assassination of Iranian general Soleimani, antiwar protests were staged by tens of thousands of demonstrators in over 70 U.S. cities.
Did it make a difference to the apparent move by President Trump to deescalate a situation that most of world viewed as an act of war by the U.S.? Perhaps, perhaps not. But whether decisive or not, it does appear evident that only mass action can get through to a government (and not just Trump and the Trumpublicans) unresponsive to the wishes and needs of its people.
Americans do not want another war. They don’t even want the “endless wars” that we have, and that we continue to invite by attempting to play the part of policeman for the current world order (one dominated by the U.S.).
Much has been made in the mainstream media about the Trump administration’s overall lack of “strategy” in regard to its bellicose actions. But a strategy far more important from the people’s perspective is that of organizing ordinary citizens for action in their own interests – not just in regard to war, but myriad other critical issues (health care, education, gross inequality, gun violence, homelessness, just for starters) that our government seems unable to address effectively, if at all.
The Southern Miss School of Social Work 