The news that we are edging closer to attacking Iran is not something to read and then commiserate with each other about. Rather, it is something to react to and take action against. It is my opinion that we must take all necessary steps to thwart the administration's plans to invade Iraq. So, what can we do?
I am not going to get into why we need to prevent a war with Iran. I'm going to leave that up to you to figure out. But once you've achieved an answer to the question of why, then the difficult question of how must be addressed.
First, there's nothing to vote on, so voting won't do it. Second, our Congress is in open rebellion, so we can't rely on them. Third, protests in the streets don't get numbers, and even if they do, they are ignored. We cannot simply try to prevent a war in Iran. We have to actually do it, by whatever means it takes to do it. If we start out saying we are going to try, then we are going to fail. This is not something we can fail at, so this is not something we can simply try at; it is something we have to actually do.
I'm glad you're with me so far, but here's where I lose you. Short of violence, the only way to halt the war plans in DC is to call a general boycott and rally everyone to it. We have to bring the economy to a standstill so that the powerful will listen to us and do as we say. The boycott would be general and would apply to all unnecessary purchases. Food would still be purchased, but compact discs would not be. Diapers would still be purchased, but that new pair of shoes would not be. That's the idea.
And the boycott would be set as an ultimatum. The boycott starts on a certain day, and then it continues until we get promises that the administration will keep its hands off Iran. Once we have the promise, the boycott stops. But it will be started again on the first day bombs drop on Iran, and then it will continue indefinitely.
So here are the rules:
1. On May 1, 2006, all who oppose a war with Iran start a moratorium on extraneous purchases.
2. The moratorium continues until we are assured by George W. Bush himself that he will not wage a unilateral war on Iran without UN approval, at which time the moratorium will stop.
3. The moratorium will be resumed immediately if the United States attacks Iran without UN approval.
Sounds great, doesn't it? And it's bound to work, if enough people participate. Ah, but there's the rub, just as usual. Collective action can only work if the people know it can work and they therefore participate, but the sad truth is that people don't realize the power of collective action, and therefore they do not participate, and therefore collective action often fails. But, if enough people do it, it will succeed. If we send the economy into freefall, we will be able to make any demands we want.
So this diary is not meant to be the spearhead of the boycott. Rather, it is meant to motivate someone else to write a better, more well-thought-out diary that goes into detail about what needs to be done to get such a consumer strike going. I hope someone takes the initiative. Cheers.
Cue the crickets.