We come to you with a simple yet urgent appeal for funds for World Can’t Wait’s much needed work in 2016 and ask: What can’t the world wait for?
- An end to the U.S. “war on terror,” begun on the basis of lies, which killed and displaced millions, continues secret operations in 147 countries and allies with brutal monarchies setting the stage for reactionary armed Islamist movements bringing chaos and fueling more unjust war?
- The closure of the torture camp at Guantánamo, a symbol that the U.S. maintains a right to abuse and hold people indefinitely outside the law? An end to secret targeted killings by drones?
- Stopping the planet from being killed by rapacious global competition running on oil to produce profit?
- For the U.S. to stop vast surveillance of whole populations and an end to epidemic police brutality – including murder, disproportionately of Black and brown people – within the U.S. borders?
- An end to America = racist bigotry, arrogance and ignorance covered as patriotism, ugly anti-immigrant actions, Christian fundamentalism and male supremacy?
Indeed, World Can’t Wait has been working to stop all of this. This year we’ve brought in expert voices to dig into what ISIS represents and the responsibility we have to expose both that as well as the U.S./NATO warmakers; helped lead protests on the anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq at the White House; organized the Close Guantánamo NOW tour; continued bringing both Iraq and Vietnam-era veterans into high school and college classrooms with We Are Not Your Soldiers; and were deeply involved in the successful RiseUpOctober protests to STOP murder by police, helping more than 100 family members of people killed by police to come to NYC.
But all of our efforts have not been nearly enough to counter the dangerous U.S. war on the world. We need to do much more to challenge how people think and act. After the horrific killings in Beirut, Yemen, Syria and, of course Paris, we cannot allow well-meaning people to remain silent about and be complicit with U.S. crimes, thereby strengthening both sides in the reactionary clash of the West vs. Jihad. As outrageous as the Republican pro-war rants against immigrants are, humanity and the planet will lose if one’s hopes and efforts – not to mention one’s funds – are put behind Democrats who support targeted killing and the “American exceptionalism” of the last 7 years.
In response to World Can’t Wait’s call on November 16 to Break the Silence: No More War on Syria & Beyond, a friend wrote, “I am extremely surprised at the lack of response from the peace community to this expanded bombing, aka mass killing, campaign. I am mystified. Hence I was gratified by what you and your colleagues wrote compared to the other things I’ve read.”
World Can’t Wait is working to change the minds of millions while leading thousands in action, even when no one else will. To get to a situation where humanity and the planet come first will take massive struggle, visibly, in the streets and in institutions across society.
If you share this vision of ending the endless wars through real mass independent political action that shakes up and inspires many more to protest, will you give support to make it real?
Sincerely,
Debra Sweet DIRECTOR, AND
Samantha Goldman | Emma Kaplan | Dennis Loo | Jill McLaughlin | Curt Wechsler
FOR WORLD CAN’T WAIT
P.S. Please give generously. What are we waiting for?
worldcantwait.net • warcriminalswatch.org • firejohnyoo.net • wearenotyoursoldiers.org
ADVISORY BOARD World Can’t Wait / War Criminals Watch | |||
Amanda Bass M. Cherif Bassiouni William Blum |
H. Candace Gorman Ray McGovern Nick Mottern |
Lynne Stewart David Swanson Sunsara Taylor |
Andy Worthington Ann Wright |