LAWRENCE WITTNER – Clearly, as the history of the United Nations demonstrates, if the world organization is to maintain international peace and security, it must be freed from its current constraints.
Why conspiracy theories are corrosive to social movements — and what to do about it
SHANE BURLEY – Opposition to the current state of the world is not synonymous with fighting for a liberatory future. And the inability to parse out this reality has revealed instability across a radical left that often clamors after any ally in the struggle against systemic injustice. Without safeguards and clarity on the mission, nearly any voice against the status quo can be mistaken for a friend — including those who want to replace it with something even more deadly or whose analysis relies on conspiracy. The left needs to return to political arguments, reading groups, liberation schools, teach-ins and serious debate hashed out in late night meetings. This is what will move the justifiable instinct that something is wrong to an accurate diagnosis that begs workable action. Without a clear picture of how our world has failed, any demagogue can capture the energy of the disaffected by offering a solution that creates even more profound problems. Our mission is not to simply destroy the old world. It’s to build a new and more just one in its place.
Senior Nonviolent Resister Celebrates Nuclear Ban Treaty the Hard Way
JOHN LAFORGE – A super-majority of UN members finally decided that the nuclear weapons powers must have lied when they promised, in 1970, in Article VI of the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) “to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date”, etc., etc. After 57 years, “at an early date” has become the laugh line of international law. The phrase was vague enough for nuclear powers to ignore it indefinitely, while asserting their lawful adherence.
War in Gaza and Yemen Incompatible with King’s Message
WIM LAVEN – Martin Luther King never missed an opportunity to speak up for the poor or the voiceless. He was assassinated while speaking up for Sanitation Workers in Memphis. The protesters wore sandwich boards that read “I Am A Man.” Should children in Gaza and Yemen carry signs reading, “I am a child”?
Climate Change and Energy Transition: The 2023 Scorecard
RICHARD HEINBERG and J. DAVID HUGHES – The numbers are in, and it doesn’t look good.
How To Celebrate MLK Beyond His Holiday Commemoration
TOM H. HASTINGS – If we would honestly study MLK, his writings, his speeches, and learn from his actual words and actions, we would start to really grasp how we can heal our racial divide, stop our culture wars, and be the best version of America that we can be.