Nancy Oden Op-ed -- Just and Positive Alternatives

All good people abhor the death and destruction of this past week [September 11, 2001].

People of the world want peace. But they also want justice.

Looking past today, we need to learn how to stop terrorism, how to break the cycle of hatred and revenge. We need to come up with JUST AND POSITIVE ALTERNATIVES.

Clearly, the way countries now deal with one another isn't working. The world needs leaders who will set good examples for Earth's peoples.

Can we not use this latest Disaster as a starting point for working together towards peace? There is no security in revenge, only a continuous escalation of killing once the hatreds are solidified.

What can we do so people do NOT feel they have to attack others?

WHAT DO PEOPLE IN THE THIRD WORLD WANT FROM THE UNITED STATES?

Stop interfering. If American-based corporations choose to take risks by attempting to steal another country's natural resources, do not support these corporations with American military or in any way. In fact, corporations should be actively discouraged from taking advantage of poor regions of the world, including in the U.S.A.
Stop U.S. military incursions and blockades of needed food and other goods anywhere in the world. These anti-human acts, being engaged in by U.S. military every day, kill many civilians and engender permanent hatreds towards Americans.
Stop selling arms to the world, which enables many, who would not otherwise have the means, to attack and kill others.
Bring all American troops home from all over the world. We do not need far-flung bases whose only purpose is to protect U.S. businesses. Let U.S. corporations, so busy using up Earth's resources and beggaring Earth's life forms, protect themselves. "Defense" should mean only that; defending ourselves when necessary against harm.
Stop the manufacture and sale of most pesticides and industrial toxic chemicals; especially stop shipping hazardous chemical wastes to Third World nations. Have full public disclosure and debate before the creation and/or use of any toxic chemical, with citizens wherever there might be exposure having the right to make these decisions.
After we've stopped the military and toxic incursions into people's lives, then begin working on how to share and help one another. Each country is bound to have expertise or goods that others need or want.

Share whatever we can in emergencies, and work out FAIR TRADE among nations so that no one is cheated and no country's people are enslaved or, despite working long hours, kept in extreme poverty.
Send helpers to all corners of the Earth to:

Bring health care, which should be available to all no matter their monetary situation;
Clean up environmental messes and assure clean water supplies for all;
Encourage people everywhere to live lightly on Earth, not buying or consuming goods they do not need, so as to leave some resources for the future;
Assist in growing food crops suitable for each climate. Ensure control by the people of that region over what's planted to assure their needs are met.
Build/rebuild houses and necessary social structures (schools, hospitals), especially where the U.S. military has done them harm;
Work to relieve suffering of all kinds, wherever it may be. The U.S. has a lot to answer for to many peoples of Earth.

Only by helping others and encouraging other countries to do the same, and by working to undo the harm U.S. corporations and military have done, can we hope to achieve peace, cooperation, and genuine democracy amongst human beings on this Earth.

— Nancy Oden, Jonesboro, Maine - September 2001

Do right, and risk consequences.

— Sam Houston

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Nancy Oden

Op-ed

JUST & POSITIVE ALTERNATIVES: What We Could Do Instead

JUST & POSITIVE ALTERNATIVES:
What We Could Do Instead