NOT IN OUR NAME...

Hi everyone.

Someone named Marcia Lopez posted this powerful post on facebook a couple of days ago, and I thought it was such a beautiful and powerful post that I thought as many people as possible should read it, so I posted it here, with no changes.

I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.



IN OUR NAME
PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE
~ Saul Williams

We believe that as people living
in the United States it is our
responsibility to resist the injustices
done by our government, in our names

Not in our name
will you wage endless war
there can be no more deaths
no more transfusions of blood for oil

Not in our name
will you invade countries
bomb civilians, kill more children
letting history take its course
over the graves of the nameless

Not in our name
will you erode the very freedoms
you have claimed to fight for

Not by our hands
will we supply weapons and funding
for the annihilation of families
on foreign soil

Not by our mouths
will we let fear silence us

Not by our hearts
will we allow whole peoples
or countries to be deemed evil

Not by our will
and Not in our name

We pledge resistance
We pledge alliance with those
who have come under attack
for voicing opposition to the war
or for their religion or ethnicity

We pledge to make common cause
with the people of the world
to bring about justice freedom and peace

Another world is possible
and we pledge to make it real



Now after she made this post, Marcia posted some more things in the comments section, and I thought it was amazing, and everyone should read it. So here they are, with no changes.

Let it not be said that people in the United States did nothing when their government declared a war without limit and instituted stark new measures of repression.

The signers of this statement call on the people of the U.S. to resist the policies and over all political direction that have emerged since September 11, 2001, and which pose grave dangers to the people of the world.

We believe that peoples and nations have the right to determine their own destiny, free from military coercion by great powers. We believe that all persons detained or prosecuted by the United States government should have the same rights of due process. We believe that questioning, criticism, and dissent must be valued and protected. We understand that such rights and values are always contested and must be fought for.

We believe that people of conscience must take responsibility for what their own governments do -- we must first of all oppose the injustice that is done in our own name. Thus we call on all Americans to RESIST the war and repression that has been loosed on the world by the Bush administration. It is unjust, immoral, and illegitimate. We choose to make common cause with the people of the world.

We too watched with shock the horrific events of September 11, 2001. We too mourned the thousands of innocent dead and shook our heads at the terrible scenes of carnage -- even as we recalled similar scenes in Baghdad, Panama City, and, a generation ago, Vietnam. We too joined the anguished questioning of millions of Americans who asked why such a thing could happen.

But the mourning had barely begun, when the highest leaders of the land unleashed a spirit of revenge. They put out a simplistic script of "good vs. evil" that was taken up by a pliant and intimidated media. They told us that asking why these terrible events had happened verged on treason. There was to be no debate. There were by definition no valid political or moral questions. The only possible answer was to be war abroad and repression at home.

In our name, the Bush administration, with near unanimity from Congress, not only attacked Afghanistan but arrogated to itself and its allies the right to rain down military force anywhere and anytime. The brutal repercussions have been felt from the Philippines to Palestine, where Israeli tanks and bulldozers have left a terrible trail of death and destruction. The government now openly prepares to wage all-out war on Iraq -- a country which has no connection to the horror of September 11. What kind of world will this become if the U.S. government has a blank check to drop commandos, assassins, and bombs wherever it wants?

In our name, within the U.S., the government has created two classes of people: those to whom the basic rights of the U.S. legal system are at least promised, and those who now seem to have no rights at all. The government rounded up over 1,000 immigrants and detained them in secret and indefinitely. Hundreds have been deported and hundreds of others still languish today in prison. This smacks of the infamous concentration camps for Japanese-Americans in World War 2. For the first time in decades, immigration procedures single out certain nationalities for unequal treatment.

In our name, the government has brought down a pall of repression over society. The President's spokesperson warns people to "watch what they say." Dissident artists, intellectuals, and professors find their views distorted, attacked, and suppressed. The so-called Patriot Act -- along with a host of similar measures on the state level -- gives police sweeping new powers of search and seizure, supervised if at all by secret proceedings before secret courts.

In our name, the executive has steadily usurped the roles and functions of the other branches of government. Military tribunals with lax rules of evidence and no right to appeal to the regular courts are put in place by executive order. Groups are declared "terrorist" at the stroke of a presidential pen.

We must take the highest officers of the land seriously when they talk of a war that will last a generation and when they speak of a new domestic order. We are confronting a new openly imperial policy towards the world and a domestic policy that manufactures and manipulates fear to curtail rights.

There is a deadly trajectory to the events of the past months that must be seen for what it is and resisted. Too many times in history people have waited until it was too late to resist.

President Bush has declared: "you're either with us or against us." Here is our answer: We refuse to allow you to speak for all the American people. We will not give up our right to question. We will not hand over our consciences in return for a hollow promise of safety. We say NOT IN OUR NAME. We refuse to be party to these wars and we repudiate any inference that they are being waged in our name or for our welfare. We extend a hand to those around the world suffering from these policies; we will show our solidarity in word and deed.

We who sign this statement call on all Americans to join together to rise to this challenge. We applaud and support the questioning and protest now going on, even as we recognize the need for much, much more to actually stop this juggernaut. We draw inspiration from the Israeli reservists who, at great personal risk, declare "there IS a limit" and refuse to serve in the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

We also draw on the many examples of resistance and conscience from the past of the United States: from those who fought slavery with rebellions and the underground railroad, to those who defied the Vietnam war by refusing orders, resisting the draft, and standing in solidarity with resisters.

Let us not allow the watching world today to despair of our silence and our failure to act. Instead, let the world hear our pledge: we will resist the machinery of war and repression and rally others to do everything possible to stop it.

Erica Abeel, writer
Kim Abeles, artist
James Abourezk
Janet Abu-Lughod, professor emerita New School Univ.
Dennis Adams, artist
Dr. Patch Adams
Michael Albert
Lalo Alcaraz
Mike Alewitz, Labor Art & Mural Project
Robert Altman, filmmaker
Emma Amos, artist
Aris Anagnos
Laurie Anderson
Polly Apfelbaum, artist
Ida Applebroog, artist
Carol Ashley,artist/writer
Dore Ashton, writer and professor
Edward Asner, actor
Robert Atkins, writer
Shimon Attie, artist
Julie Ault, writer, curator
Helene Aylon, artist
Russell Banks, writer
Rosalyn Baxandall, historian
Judith Barry, artist
Ulku Bates, professor, Hunter College, CUNY
Robert Bechtle, artist
Aphra Behn, Guerrilla Girls On Tour
Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange
Robert Berlind, artist
Holly Blake, artist
Jessica Blank, actor/playwright
Theresa & Blase Bonpane, Office of the Americas
Lee Boroson, artist
Lana Bortolot, writer
Fr. Bob Bossie, SCJ
Martha Boyden, artist
Paul Brach, artist
Nancy Brett, artist
Madison Brookshire, filmmaker
Ann C. Byrne, editor, potter
Leslie Cagan
Kisha Imani Cameron, producer
Rosemary Carroll, attorney
Cynthia Carlson, artist
Whitney Chadwick, art historian and writer
Henry Chalfant, author/filmmaker
Kathleen Chalfant
Bell Chevigny, writer
Paul Chevigny, professor of law, NYU
Noam Chomsky
Jill Ciment, writer
Ada Ciniglio, Executive Director High 5 Tickets to the Arts
Ramsey Clark
Ben Cohen, cofounder, Ben & Jerry's
Jem Cohen, filmmaker
David Cole, Professor of Law, Georgetown University
Judy Collischan, curator
Robbie Conal, artist
Stephanie Coontz, historian, Evergreen State College
Marella Consolini, exec. dir. of dev. & admin., Skowhegan
Andrew Cooks, artist
Paula Cooper
Professor Irwin Corey, comedian
Kia Corthron, playwright
Petah Coyne, artist
Kimberly Crenshaw, prof. of law, Columbia U and UCLA
Culture Clash
Emilio Cruz, artist
Patricia Cruz, arts administrator
Joan Cusack
John Cusack
Kevin Danaher, Global Exchange
Betsy Damon, artist
Barbara Dane
Ossie Davis
Angela Davis
Sheila de Bretteville, artist & prof., Yale Univ.
Mos Def
Donna Dennis, artist
Rosalind Deutshe, prof. Art History, Columbia Univ.
Ani di Franco Julie Dorf, founding Director International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission9 hours ago ·

Daniella Dooling, artist
Roma Downey
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, professor, California State Univ, Hayward
Dread Scott, artist
Linda Earle, exec. dir., program, Skowhegan
Eleanor Heartney, art critic
Carla Heath, professor
Everett Heath, veterinarian
Judith Henry, artist
Edward S. Herman, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Susannah Heschel, professor, Dartmouth College
Fred Hirsch, vice president, Plumbers and Fitters Local 393
Gilah Yelin Hirsch, artist, professor, California State Univ. of Dominguez Hills

Carol Fein Hoffeld, editor
Jeffrey Hoffeld, art dealer
Barbara Hoffman, lawyer
Barry Holden, architect
Tracie Holder, documentary filmmaker
bell hooks
Walter Hopps, curator
Joanne Howard, artist
Rakaa Iriscience, hip hop artist
Alfredo Jaar, artist
Jesse Jackson
Aza Jacobs, filmmaker
Florence Jacobs, artist
Kenneth Jacobs, filmmaker
Nisi Jacobs, independent editor/videomaker
Carol Jacobsen, artist, professor, Univ. of Michigan
Yvonne Jacquette, artist
Harold B. Jamison, Major (ret.), USAF
Erik Jensen, actor/playwright
Chalmers Johnson, author, Blowback
Bill T. Jones, dancer
Kristin Jones and Andrew Ginzel, artists
Shirley Kaneda, artist
Janet A. Kaplan, art historian
Casey Kasem
Jane Kaufman, artist
Robin D.G. Kelley
Martin Luther King III, president, Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Barbara Kingsolver
Sally Kirkland
C. Clark Kissinger, Refuse & Resist!
Susan Kleckner, International Center of Photography
Nancy Kline, writer
Johannes Knoops, architect, educator
Yuri Kochiyama, activist
Annisette & Thomas Koppel, singers/composers
David Korten, author
Joel Kovel, prof, Bard
Joyce Kozloff, artist
Max Kozloff, critic
Nikolas Kozloff, historian
Barbara Kruger, artist
Robert Kushner, artist
Tony Kushner
James Lafferty, executive director, National Lawyers Guild/L.A.
Ray Laforest, Haiti Support Network
Saul Landau
Ellen Lanyon, artist
Martha Lavey, artistic director, Steppenwolf Theater
Jesse Lemisch, historian
Zoe Leonard, artist
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor, TIKKUN magazine
Les Leveque, video artist
Kristin Lewis, architect
Richard Lewontin, scientist
Louis Mannie Lionni, architect
Lucy Lippard, writer
Larrty List
Carey Lovelace, art writer/playwright
Barbara Lubin, Middle East Childrens Alliance
Theodora Lurie, Ford Foundation
Boreth Ly, historian of Southeast Asian Art
Marcia Lyons, artist
Jack Macrae, publisher
Lenore Malen, artist
Elliott Maltby, artist
Marianne Manilov, writer/organizer, Board Member, The Ruckus Society
Peter Marcuse, prof., urban planning, Columbia
Dave Marsh
Rabbi Robert Marx
Suzanne McClelland, artist
Susan Meiselas, photographer
Arnold Mesches, artist
Ann Messner, artist
Melissa Meyer, artist
Pedro Meyer, photographer
Julie Meyers, architectural interior designer
Susan Minot
Mary Miss, artist
Edgar Mitchell, astronaut
Anuradha Mittal, co-director, Institute for Food and Development Policy/Food First
Malaquias Montoya, visual artist
Bridget Moore, art dealer
Tom Morello
Viggo Mortensen
Robert Nichols, writer
Linda Nochlin, New York Univ., Institute of Fine Arts
Kate Noonan
Annette Oko, artist
Claes Oldenburg
Pauline Oliveros, composer
Yoko Ono
Rev. E. Randall Osburn, exec. v.p., Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Saul Ostrow, art critic
Ozomatli
Andrea Packard, artist/curator
Jim Page, singer
Grace Paley
Michael Palmer, poet
Michael Parenti
Sheldon Patinkin, chairman, Theater Dept., Columbia College, Chicago
Pilar Perez, curator
Irving Petlin, artist
Renee Petropoulous, assoc. prof., Otis College of & Design, LA
Jeremy Pikser, screenwriter
Howardena Pindell, artist
Sheila Pinkel, artist
Sylvia Plachy, photographer
Martha Posner, artist
Reeva Potoff, artist
Harold Prince, theater director and producer
Nancy Princenthal, art critic
Andrea Purcigliotti, artist
Charles Ramsburg, artist
Julia Randall, artist
Elaine Reichek, artist
Rita J. Robillard, artist, prof., Portland State Univ.
Jerry Quickley, poet
Juan Gómez Quiñones, historian, UCLA
Charles Ramsburg, artist
Margaret Randall
Marcus Raskin
Michael Ratner, president, Center for Constitutional Rights
Amy Ray, Indigo Girls
Elaine Reichek, artist
Adrienne Rich
Eugene Richards, photographer
David Riker, filmmaker
Boots Riley, hip hop artist, The Coup
Kate Robin, writer/producer for Six Feet Under
Abby Robinson, photographer
Mel Rosenthal, photographer
Avital Ronell, prof., German literature, NYU
Martha Rosler, artist
Joshue Rose, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces
Lucinda Rosenfeld, writer
Mel Rosenthal, photographer
James Rosenquist, artist
Lisa Rothe, director/actor
Erika Rothenberg, artist
Sharmila Rudrappa, asst. prof, dep. of sociology and Center for Asian American Studies, Univ. of Austin, Texas

Christy Rupp, artist
Allen Ruppersberg, artist
Tom Sachs, artist
Ed Sadowski, US. Steel Workers
Edward Said
Andra Samelson, artist
Susan Sarandon
Saskia Sassen, Professor, University of Chicago
Miriam Schapiro, artist
Jonathan Schell, author and fellow of the Nation Institute
Carolee Schneemann, artist
Ralph Schoenman & Mya Shone, Council on Human Needs
Michael Schumacher, composer/musician
Barry Schwabsky, art critic
Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz, Works of Art for Public Spaces
Anabella Sciora
Pete and Toshi Seeger
Mark Selden, historian
Maureen Selwood, filmmaker
Peter Selz, art historian
Joan Semmel, artist
Wallace Shawn, playwright and actor
Charlotte Sheedy, literary agent
Alex Shoumatoff
Jenefer Shute, writer
Jeanne Silverthorne, artist
Cathy Simon, architect
John J. Simon, writer, editor
Amy C. Smith, exhibition Coordinator, PS 1 Contemporary Art Center
Kiki Smith, artist
Rickie Solinger, historian
Michael Steven Smith, National Lawyers Guild/NY
Joan Snyder, artist
Norman Solomon, syndicated columnist and author
Nancy Spero, artist
Ann Sperry, artist
Paul Sperry, musician
Jacklyn St. Aubyn, assis. Prof., New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces
Starhawk
Bob Stein, publisher
Jack Steinberger, Nobel Laureate
Gloria Steinem
Pat Steir, artist
Oliver Stone
Mark Strand
Michelle Stuart, artist
Michael Taussig, prof. of anthropology, Columbia
Judith Tannenbaum
Simon Taylor, curator, Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY
Marisa Tomei
Susana Torre, architect
Charles Traub, photographer, Chair MFA Photography, School of Visual Arts
Leo Treitle, music historian and critic
Marcia Tucker, founding director, emerita, New Museum of Contemporary Art, NY
,br> Jose Urbach, artist
Marina Urbach, independent curator
Coosje van Bruggen
Marcia E. Vetrocq, senior editor of Art in America
Gore Vidal
Anton Vodvarka, Lt., FDNY (ret.)
Edith Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Alice Walker
Rebecca Walker
Kay Walkingstick, artist
Naomi Wallace, playwright
Immanuel Wallerstein, sociologist, Yale University
Kevin Walz, designer
Rita & Francois de Watteville, architects
Rev. George Webber, president emeritus, NY Theological Seminary
Leonard Weinglass, attorney
Haskell Wexler
Roger White, architect
John Edgar Wideman
Paul Willen, architect
Saul Williams, spoken word artist
Amanda Williamson, artist
S. Brian Willson , activist/writer
Martha Wilson, founding director, Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc.
Krzysztof Wodiczko, artist
Fred Worden, filmmaker
Miriam Wosk, artist
Jeffrey Wright, actor
Nina Yankowitz, artist
Carolyn Yarnell, composer
Michele Zackheim, writer
David Zeiger, filmmaker
Jerilea Zempel, artist
Mel Ziegler, artist
Debra Zimmerman, Women Make Movies
Howard Zinn, historian
Barbara Zucker, artist