Kosovo: What You Can Do The Independent Thinker--Critical Thinking, Activism, New Ideas

You have already taken the first step: getting informed. The more you know, the better you are equipped to address any situation. Visit my site on Alternate News Sites often. If you wish to go beyond staying informed, there are a variety of things you can do, from the most conservative to the most (well, almost!) radical. Here's a list:

1. Endorse the June 5th March on the Pentagon to Stop the War.

2. Call, fax or write the President, and your Senators and Representatives and tell them what you think. Go to the Web site on Voter Information right now and make a list of your representatives and how to contact them. Calling them, or visiting their local office, is the best option. Go to the Electronic Activist site and read up on the protocol for dealing with each level of politician. Also, possible things to mention, in addition to the specific issue of Kosovo:
   • Ask them why, from World War II to the present time, the United States has consistently supported right-wing anti-democratic governments against popular reformist governments -- in Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Brazil, Haiti, Panama, Cuba, Costa Rica, Granada, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Chile, Morocco, Egypt, Iran, Mozambique, Angola, Congo, South Africa, Indonesia, Philippines. (from Third World Traveler)

   • Tell them you don't want your tax dollars being used to fight wars. Use the numbers from the site, Where Your Income Tax Money REALLY Goes

   • Tell them that the US should help fight for human rights in -- Burma, Guatemala, East Timor / Indonesia, Tibet / China, Mozambique, and other countries with abysmal human rights records. (from Third World Traveler)

   • You don't want your foreign aid tax dollars going to support authoritarian governments or Third World elites. (from Third World Traveler)

   • Tell them that the sale of weapons to repressive right-wing military governments is not acceptable to you. (from Third World Traveler)

   • Let them know that the U.S. spends too much money on the military and on weapons. (from Third World Traveler)

3. Support organizations which promote peace and nonviolence, and/or combat war. Start by looking at The Nonviolence Web, OneWorld, Pacifica Radio, The Peace Center of San Antonio, PeaceNET, and The War Resistors League. Each of these sites lists organizations which you can support, including local groups. You could also contact your local church or Quaker organization and they can put you in touch with local groups working to stop the war.

4. Support the Peace Tax Fund bill which would allow 100% of your taxes to go to NONmilitary programs (call 1-800-732-2382).

5. Get involved in anti-war activities: demonstrations, sit-ins, marches, etc. The Web sites listed in number two above will get you started.

6. Don't buy products from or deal with companies which manufacture or sell war materials.

7. Get involved in politics and lobbying. Contact your local Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Socialist, or other party. For contact information, check the PAC Politics Links.

8. Support organizations sending aid to the victims of warfare.

9. Write letters-to-the-editor of your local paper. Send all of them copies of the articles in What's REALLY Happening in Kosovo?

10. "Contact the network and cable TV news programs, you watch, including PBS, and the newspapers and news magazines you read, to complain about their inadequate or misleading coverage of harmful US government and corporate policies in the Third World" (Third World Traveler).

11. "Support organizations that work for improvements in human rights in the Third World -- Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam America, Global Exchange, School of the Americas Watch, 50 years is Enough, and others" (Third World Traveler).

12. "Help organizations that provide aid to those in the Third World resisting repression by dictatorships and authoritarian governments -- Free Burma, Coalition for Corporate Withdrawal from Burma, International Campaign for Tibet, East Timor Action Network, and others" (Third World Traveler).

13. If you want to take the radical approach, think about refusing to pay your taxes. For more information on this option, see the site Where Your Income Tax Money REALLY Goes. They have a list of things you can do. If you really get serious, take a look at the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee Web site.

Links on What You Can Do

ACLU Freedom Network. Alerts you to threats to civil liberty and facilitates

your sending faxes or emails to your representatives.

Electronic Activist. Includes "how to" on activism, including Campaign

strategies, Campus organizing, Coalition building, Communication techniques, Countering the religious right, Fighting to win, Getting started in activism, Home-based activism, How to publish a newsletter, How to win the fight, How to write your congressperson, Mass media for activists, Mel White's soul force, Organizing a candidates' forum, Say it on the radio, School board candidate questionnaire, Success story, Tips for activists, Tips from Cecile Richards, Tips from Mel White, Tips from Morton Metersky, Using your talents, and, When the religious right comes to town

Freedom Train. "In politics, the bad guys can hire professionals.

FreedomTrain helps the rest of us -- without a lot of time or money -- fight back. The next page lists petitions from a variety of sources, and includes links to their complete texts. Read each one. Click the checkbox beside a link to endorse a petition. When you finish endorsing, press SEND button. This adds your name and address to all petitions you checked... Periodically we forward endorsements to targets, via e-mail, fax or snail mail as appropriate... The point of this service is to provide an automated way to add your name and address to petitions of your choice.

Phone Numbers and Addresses of key people and organizations to contact.

What You Can Do. Third World Traveler

Please send comments to: Colby Glass, MLIS

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