reid@uw-june (Reid Swick) (04/16/85)
The following is the text of "A Call to Act" calling for a national day
of protest on April 29th. It is signed by over 70 individuals and groups
(which are not included here for the sake of brevity).
"The threat of world war is increasingly real and pressing. The
recent past has witnessed an unprecedented increase in interna-
tional tension and war preparations. The great powers stand toe
to toe, openly building and boasting of their increased arma-
ments. They intervene against popular struggles around the
world, while at the same time a series of confrontation points
between the great powers (and their proxies) burn like fuses ca-
pable of igniting a greater conflagration.
"The military forces of the major powers are equipped with nu-
clear weapons at all levels, making it all but certain that any
global conflict would be fought with these weapons of mass des-
truction. Target lists to annihilate whole nations have been
drawn up and are continually revised. Beyond the hundreds of
millions of deaths their use would cause, lies a future scarred
by global climatic, ecological, and economic effects. Worldwide,
many millions more who might have escaped the immediate effects
of nuclear weapons will die of starvation and disease.
"In this season of peril, all the governments continue to pro-
claim their peaceful intents and declare global nuclear war to be
unthinkable. Yet their actions (and with increasing frequency
their words as well) speak differently. The major powers con-
tinuously hone their war plans with new weapons tests and ever
more realistic war games. New disarmament proposals are cynical-
ly designed to elicit rejection. Jingoistic appeals to national
pride abound. Military-political moves and counter-moves force
the situation to ever more dangerous heights. The U.S. govern-
ment stands belligerently on the front lines of these moves to
war. Crisis follows crisis in a spiral that cannot go on without
resulting in the gravest of consequences.
"Such an extraordinary situation requires an extraordinary
response. Mass opposition and resistance to war must achieve new
heights, and with the greatest urgency. Only the independent ac-
tion of millions stepping onto the stage of history to resist can
realistically speak to the enormity that looms before us. It is
in this spirit of practical politics that we now call for a coor-
dinated day of national action against war, a concerted day of
"No Business As Usual" on April 29, 1985. A day that deliberate-
ly disrupts and shuts down as much as possible of the daily rou-
tine through which we are lurching toward global war. A day of
diverse events across the country which include the activities of
people of many nationalities and social backgrounds: the anti-
nuclear and anti-interventionist movements, the rebellious youth,
the women's movement, religious activists, immigrants and politi-
cal exiles, academics, workers, those involved in the war machine
itself, and others. With activities ranging from teach-ins and
forums to civil disobedience and other creative forms of direct
action, our joint actions will focus the attention of large sec-
tors of society on this critical question and on the necessity to
act, and will deliver a powerful message that we will not go
along with the rulers down the road to World War III.
"We who issue this call have taken part in many different ways
in the movements against injustice, exploitation, and war. Among
us we hold different political and philosophical analyses of the
configurations of world power, the sources of wars through histo-
ry, and the many fronts of struggle and tactics we must employ
for social change. But we share the recognition that now it is
time to unite to say NO. Precisely because:
They won't listen to reason,
They won't be bound by votes,
The governments must be stopped from launching World War III,
No matter what it takes!"
The address for more information is:
No Business As Usual
3309 1/2 Mission St. #127, San Francisco, CA 94110
phone: (415) 550-8506
(No, they're not on the net.)
reid