Peace Power

This morning started off rather rough.  At about 8:20 I made the novel discovery that my car wouldn't start- and I had to give a presentation in my Honors "Great Ideas of the East" class at 9.  The presentation is 10% of my grade, and since this is a Tuesday-Thursday class today was the last day of class, meaning I could in no way postpone the presentation.  Fortunately I have a wonderful girlfriend who can pick me up and drive me to school even on her day off- thanks again Jo Anne!

The presentation went in many ways like most my presentations go, meaning I belatedly prepared for it the day and morning before, which has its advantages and disadvantages.  The main advantage is that the material I have prepared is fresh in my head- the disadvantage being that I don't have much material.  Fortunately the topic was on a paper I had written about Iran, which is something I have become mildly knowledgeable in over the past few months on account of my internship at Omid for Iran.  I would never say I'm an "expert" at anything I talk about though- at best I'm a relatively-well informed person with what I hope are helpful insights, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

So anyway- the paper was about U.S.-Iran relations and how they have built up to the sort of odd relationship we have with Iran today.  The essay documents Iran's Constitutional Revolution, the CIA overthrow of Mohammad Mossadeq, and of course the Islamic Revolution.  I won't go into detail on these three, but the point of their reference is how they relate to the current climate of our relationship with Iran and the strategies we should pursue in light of the current protests going on in Iran, which many have dubbed "The Green Revolution."  My argument was that the United States needs to frame its policy with Iran in a way that human rights of the Iranian people takes precedence, instead of overbearing fear of the nuclear program which only leads to negative uses of power, which in turn leads to an ideological strengthening of Iran's regime.

Following my presentation, I basically got laughed at by a Chinese girl in our class who asked me, "Why do you Americans think you need to get involved in these sorts of things?  What do they have to do with you?"

This is a difficult question which has no simple answer.  How do these things relate to us?  Political movements in Iran, genocide in Darfur, war in the Congo, ethnic cleansing in Burma, or almost any other event or problem always seem so isolated to us in the United States.  Why should they matter to us, and do we have a responsibility to act?

The answer to these questions depends, primarily, on your foreign policy view and understanding of the role of the United States globally.  Isolationists would say no, we have no dire interest in these nations and have no reason to get involved.  Neo-conservatives would say yes, and that the best way to solve these problems is to project our military might: the most powerful in history and clearly the current hegemon- utilizing roughly half of the world's military spending.  Staunch liberals would advocate the furtherance of complex interdependence- the creation of global institutions for organization and peace, and multi-lateral fronts to condemn acts such as these, but with minimal military intervention.

As a fairly liberal person, I'll say right now I have a clear bias towards the institutional end of things, but my worldview has a slight twist.  I would say that yes, as the unipolar power in the world the United States has a responsibility to shape the world in a positive image, which means we do have a responsibility to people living under oppressive governments.  That said, the United States by no means has the resources to go on a global crusade to "bring democracy" to these people or to deploy combat forces in dozens of countries.  The United States has seen the consequences of imperium in Iraq and Afghanistan- two bleeding wounds in the Leviathan. 

But the United States does have the resources to globally pursue a very effective strategy- Peace.

Peaceful movements in the 20th and 21st centuries are an interesting phenomenon unparalleled in history.  In addition to Gandhi's movement in India, in the past 23 years 8 brutal governments from every corner of the world have fallen to peaceful movements.  That's an average of 1 government every 3 years taken down by people with no tanks, no guns, no bombs, and no bullets, just peace power.

But how does peaceful power work?  I can't describe an exact formula because every situation is different, but I do notice a basic relative pattern.  These movements begin internally- first on a small, grassroots type scale, but gain momentum over time.  Once a certain threshold for internal momentum is reached, the movement begins getting noticed internationally, and foreign nations join in the fray, albeit in a mostly symbolic role- of solidarity.  Once a certain threshold of solidarity is reached, the internal movement amasses a deal of legitimacy, and ultimately becomes a popular, peaceful, "revolution." 

To name a few examples- in India, Gandhi's movement was at first a minority affair, but grew to a size and scope that had even British nationals on the side of his people.  Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for years in South Africa, but solidarity movements worldwide helped end apartheid, and South Africa became a model democracy on the African continent.  I'm sure there could be found some exceptions, but I do believe that as a basic rule this pattern holds true.  Democratic changes begin as minor movements, but are solidified with global consent and solidarity.

I believe this role- a supporting role rather than outright leadership- is the role America should take in some (but not all) crises, particularly with internal national movements.  In regards to brutal governments that have no such political upheaval, the United States should take a more firm stance, depending on the situation, but for the most part the United States should work multilaterally.  Working from the outside in a supporting role, gathering support from other nations, and so on and so forth.  Allowing other nations to take the lead (or other peoples, as is the case in Iran) will show the world that the United States isn't the "bully" who abuses power, as it is often made out to be.  Taking a supporting role will allow the United States to utilize its soft power- the ability to gather strength through the popularity of our ideals, rather than the brute force of military might.  Utilizing soft power in our foreign policy will be key for developing U.S. legitimacy in the future.

I don't advocate a complete freeze on our military power- there are certainly times where it is necessary and appropriate.  But soft power- taking a supportive role and backing up national movements with solidarity- is an under appreciated use of power which I believe has a great deal of merit.  We must couple our power with a generosity of spirit- the world deserves no less.

Taking the Reins

This semester's volunteer work with Weber State STAND has been exceptional.  I've lobbied twice, participated in a hunger strike, and spoken at a banquet.  I've helped with movie screenings, Amnesty International events, and gone to a national conference in Washington D.C.

This semester has been a very successful one, but it also has a sad note.  Cameron Morgan, the student activist and great friend who started Weber State STAND from the ground up, has stepped down from his Presidential position.  He is stepping down because he has a lot of other work to move on to, and a lot of work to do in order to finish his degree.  His energy, passion, and optimism is what has made STAND what it is today- and that in my opinion is the most active volunteer group on campus.  He is passing on the Presidency to me, and now it is up to me to attempt to fill the void his absence will make.

I'm not going to pretend this isn't a difficult task- the work that Weber State STAND does is arduous and difficult.  It will put a lot of pressure on me to balance the job with my classes, work, and social life, but I believe I am ready for this task.  Cameron has set an excellent precedent and tradition for hard work and determination.  I fully intend to take those same qualities with me into my Presidency.  I would like to promise here that though I certainly won't be a flawless leader the one thing I can give with all my heart is my knowledge, dedication, and passion to this organization.  Cameron never gave it any less, and it deserves no less.

With this in mind, I would like to mention a few things for the future of STAND.  Next semester's events are not set in stone, but I do have an idea that I need to flesh out with Cameron, because it requires his help and information from his December trip to Kenya.  In addition to this, I would like to continue the STAND "Art of Peace" exhibit as well.  Beyond these ideas, I am going to try to organize events with organizations with interests and goals similar to STAND, so we can form a sort of group coalition to raise money together and double our manpower.  These are a few of my basic ideas, but I am definitely open to any other ideas, comments, or criticism, provided they are honest and constructive.

I am looking forward to the coming semester and all the ones ahead.  I know STAND will continue to be a powerful tool of advocacy and volunteerism at Weber State for a long time and I hope that throughout the course of my Presidency I will be able to help and inspire fellow activists as much as Cameron did.  If I can do these two things, I will consider my time as President extremely successful.

Again, I look forward to working with all of you and making some noise at Weber State!  Let's keep the momentum rolling!

Washington D.C. Day 4: Successful Lobbying, Unsuccessful Air-Lining

Our final day in D.C. went very quickly- minus the flight at the end of course.  We started the day by walking to one of the Senate office buildings with over 800 other activists.  We took a quick picture together, and then it was time to go our separate ways.  Hundreds of students lobbying virtually every Senator in the United States- and at the same time too!  We did our share by going to a meeting with Senator Bennett's aid Kami Capner.  Our meeting was pretty quick- about 20 minutes in all, but during that time we showed Kami a short film made by STAND's national organization, pressed the importance of pending legislation, including the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery act as well as the Congo Conflict Minerals act.  In addition, we expressed our concern for future legislation not yet brought to congress, encouraging the Senator to spearhead a project to create genocide-prevention legislation.  After we spoke, we gave Kami the video, some summary sheets, and a full report by the Genocide Prevention Task Force to pass on to the Senator.  Overall, the meeting went very smoothly and was definitely another success for STAND.

Our trip back home, however, has been very difficult!  We were supposed to be back in Salt Lake City at about 11:30 Monday night, but as I write this it is about 8:45 am on Tuesday and we are waiting for a plane in Phoenix! 

In order to get to Phoenix in the first place, we had to get to the Baltimore Airport.  Don't ask me why we couldn't just take a plane from D.C's Reagan airport- Baltimore was for some reason much cheaper.  But anyway, in order to get to Baltimore we had to ride the Metro subway for about 30 minutes and then catch a bus to Baltimore.  This travel was for the most part uneventful, though at one point Jo Anne tried to throw away some paper from a distance and missed the trash can.  Some guy then said "NBA Star, you aren't."  He was right, but I'm fairly certain he wasn't an NBA star either.  If he was, I would have asked him to come with us to Utah so he could remind my Utah Jazz that they still have to play in the 4th quarter.

Anyway, we got to the airport and boarded the plane.  The plane then taxied out near the runway, but they then found out that the cockpit door wouldn't close.  So we idled there for about 30 minutes until they discovered a mechanism for door-closery.  But by then we had idled for so long that the plane didn't have the fuel to get to Phoenix, so we taxied back to the terminal, refueled, and headed back out- delaying us about an hour.  We then flew what seemed like the longest flight in the history of man.  During the flight I finished reading two books, Memoirs of a Geisha and The Stranger.  I also started reading Gandhi's Autobiography, but I decided I didn't want to read any more.  So instead I looked out my window.  It was too dark to see anything; except when the lights of the plane flashed and I could see the wingtips like some really lame mid-air strobe-light rave-party.  In truth I wasn't watching the wingtips though, I was staring at the inside of the window which was frosting over from the cold.  I've never watched frost appear on anything before, but I can say that it takes a long time.  Long time, luckily, was something I had, so I watched frost appear on the window.  In a way it was kind of beautiful, how slowly it accumulated there, but before long I realized that I was watching frost appear on a window, so I took out my journal and started writing.

Jo Anne was asleep this whole time, and the woman sitting next to her was reading a Nicholas Sparks novel, though either she wasn't very interested or wasn't a very fast reader because throughout the course of the flight she only read about 20 pages.  I never asked her about the book though. 

Anyway, after all that junk we finally arrived in Phoenix and, of course, we missed the flight to Salt Lake City.  They gave us a hotel voucher and told us to wait for a van to come from the hotel they had assigned us.  The van didn't come for about 45 minutes.  While we waited for it we were surrounded by a bunch of old people and army veterans smoking cigarettes and we were often talked to by the guy that sat next to Rollin, who was kind of crazy. 

We made it to the hotel though, and they actually had a good breakfast for us this morning.  In good spirits now, I am very much ready to come home.  I need to get caught up in school and sleep in a comfortable bed.  I don't know why I said those things in that order- those are just the things on my mind right now.  That and going on facebook, which I think I'll do right now.  Thanks for reading eh, and um...  Don't fly US Airways?