Outreach, Framing/Reframing (Also see Organizing & Activism)

No Image

The Eight Stupidest Things About Nuclear Weapons, according to David Swanson

October 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Nuclear weapons could easily destroy the world.  All it takes is one reckless person whose finger is on the button — or one computer error — or one misunderstanding or miscalculation — and we’d all be dead. The status quo is NOT smart and is NOT sustainable.  We need smart thinking about nuclear weapons. David Swanson is an expert who is alerting us to what he calls “The Eight Stupidest Things About Nuclear Weapons.”  See this smart article: https://davidswanson.org/the-eight-stupidest-things-about-nuclear-weapons          

No Image

PROHIBIT nuclear weapons! Support this global Treaty to do this!

October 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

During the 1960s the world was alarmed that some nations had nuclear weapons and more nations were starting programs to build their own.  The 5 nations that had them (U.S., U.S.S.R., the U.K., France and China) were alarmed that other nations (South Africa, Brazil, etc.) might join their elite “nuclear club” and threaten the world — just as the 5 nuclear nations were doing. In response, the world’s nations negotiated a grand bargain between the “haves” and the “have-nots.”  Nearly every nation of the world promised NEVER to build or acquire nuclear weapon while the 5 nuclear nations promised to […]

No Image

If we want “national security,” we must establish “climate security”

October 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

FACT SHEET: No National Security without Climate Security Environmentalists know that EVERYTHING IS INTERCONNECTED.  This is true about public policy issues too. We cannot have “national security” unless we have “climate security,” because climate disruptions makes the U.S. (and the rest of the world) INSECURE and causes global disruptions (environmental catastrophes, massive migrations of climate refugees, etc.) that endanger “national security” and result in escalating military violence. See the FACT SHEET posted below to understand how the U.S. government’s pitifully small spending to protect the climate compares to its enormously gigantically outrageous spending for the military. The National Priorities Project […]

No Image

US Militarism Fuels Domestic Gun Violence

October 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Overwhelmingly, the American people want to reduce gun violence.  Smart people urge Congress and state/local governments to pass specific legislation banning assault weapons, requiring background checks, preventing dangerous people from owning guns, and so forth.  All of those are good ideas and necessary. But nearly all people who want to reduce gun violence OVERLOOK “THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM” that persistently REINFORCES AND PROMOTES gun violence:  THE U.S. GOVERNMENT’S FOREIGN POLICY AND BUDGET AGGRESSIVELY PROMOTE SHOOTING (and bombing) in THE MISTAKEN ASSUMPTION THAT VIOLENCE SOLVES PROBLEMS. The government SETS A BAD EXAMPLE that ordinary Americans follow when they shoot people […]

No Image

People need “Peace Literacy” so they’ll learn about peace (and practice it), not only about wars

October 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Paul K. Chappell grew up in a violent household.  He joined the U.S. Army, graduated from West Point, was deployed to Iraq, and left active duty as a Captain.  Then he turned toward peace.  He realized that people need to to become as well-trained in waging peace as soldiers are in waging war.  He created the concept of “Peace Literacy” to help people of all ages and from all backgrounds work toward their full potential and a more peaceful world.  See www.peaceliteracy.org Just like West Point trains soldiers and the Civil Rights Movement has conducted serious training for disciplined nonviolent […]

No Image

At Christmas time 1914 – during World War I – German and British troops refused to fight!

October 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

My September 2022 TV program provides encouraging information about soldiers who refuse to fight.  An exciting inspiration occurred during World War 1 when — on Christmas eve — German and British troops got out of their trenches, refused to fight, and celebrated the holiday together.  Besides refusing to fight, they also shared music, singing, chocolate, alcoholic beverages, photos from their families back home, and so forth. John McCutcheon wrote and performed a great song about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJi41RWaTCs Also, I encourage you to watch this 21-minute video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYwKD2dc33A&feature=youtu.be Please share this with other people. Yes, PEACE IS POSSIBLE!!! We have huge […]

No Image

Rethinking nuclear security for a world free of nuclear weapons

October 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Rethinking nuclear security for a world free of nuclear weapons The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists posted this article by Kennette Benedict on November 2, 2020. https://thebulletin.org/2020/11/rethinking-nuclear-security-for-a-world-free-of-nuclear-weapons/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=MondayNewsletter11022020&utm_content=NuclearRisk_RethinkingSecurity_11022020 The article linked above urges us to think about “human security” and to prioritize democracy and related values.  One short paragraph near the beginning says: “These two approaches—emphasizing human security and democracy—could help shift the frame of reference and provide the basis for a world free of nuclear weapons.” The article mentions the ways the powerful nuclear nations have used technical methods and traditional kinds of negotiating, and it says those are not […]

No Image

“Re-Thinking National Security” — Read my article or click link to watch my worldwide speaking engagement

October 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

A participant in the course I co-teach (along with three other members of the Olympia Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) told the people at a progressive California-based organization that they should invite me to speak about a peace-related topic to their worldwide audience (about 1/3 of the participants in the U.S. and Canada, about 1/3 in Europe, and about 1/3 in Asia, Africa and Latin America).  They invited me to be the featured speaker for today’s worldwide Zoom broadcast.   On March 10, 2021, I delivered a presentation I had recently developed, “Re-Thinking National Security.”  They recorded this Zoom event.  […]

No Image

How to devise strategies for abolishing nuclear weapons

October 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

People who plan wars know they need to devise strategies so they can win.  Likewise, we who want to achieve peace – and to abolish nuclear weapons – must also devise strategies so we can achieve peace and abolish nuclear weapons. How could we adapt their war-making strategies into peace-making strategies?  Below I’m listing a few of the classic military strategies and asking how we could use those insights to help us devise smart strategies to abolish nuclear weapons.   Concentrate force at the weakest link.  Military strategists figure out where their adversaries are weakest and focus their attacks at […]

No Image

How to use humor to help the climate (and other scary issues, such as nuclear weapons, etc.)

September 27, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

This article is about how we can educate people about the climate by using humor – helping people laugh first – before the educational part comes out. I have long been urging us to use humor to educate people about hard, scary issues such as nuclear weapons, dangerous right-wing politicians, etc.  This article’s focus on the climate is applicable to other hard, scary issues: https://grist.org/fix/arts-culture/humor-comedy-engages-people-climate-science/   Here is a GREAT EXAMPLE of how to use humor in our outreach: This movie satirized the Cold War. During the workshops I conduct to strengthen people’s skills in organizing grassroots movements, I encourage […]

No Image

United Nations is warning the world about persistently hurting the environment!

September 27, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

U.N. warning #1: A U.N. report blames short-sighted economics for endangering nature.  The dominant policies focus on short-term profits from exploiting nature. Instead, we need to “value” other aspects of nature. The smart article is at this link:  https://grist.org/international/nature-is-in-crisis-a-un-report-says-short-sighted-economics-is-to-blame/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily   U.N. warning #2: Pay attention to economics: U.N. warns that increasing disasters are ‘setting humanity on a spiral of self-destruction’ Currently, our politicians and our economic models are FAILING TO PAY ATTENTION to the escalating disasters (environmental, climate, etc.).  The United Nations issued this warning.  We – grassroots people – need to push our politicians, big businesses, economists, etc., to […]

No Image

Inflation: Fresh insights debunk conservative myths

September 27, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Mainstream news media and mainstream politicians have been misleading the public about what has caused the current inflation — and what to do about it.  They — and the Federal Reserve (the bank-owned nationwide entity that decides how much money to circulate) — misdiagnose the causes, so their remedies actually hurt ordinary people. I’m posting here some articles that provide true information, fresh insights, and suggestions for solving this economic problem in ways that help ordinary people.   This video — in less than 3 minutes — DEBUNKS 4 Myths About Inflation.  Robert Reich explains economic realities in clear and […]

No Image

Spending for Military and Nuclear Weapons Makes Poverty Worse — Glen’s October 2022 TV program

September 23, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

The October 2022 program on “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” TV series “connects the dots” between poverty in the United States and excessive military spending, including the costs of nuclear weapons: This TV program begins by recognizing the extent of poverty in the United States – the richest nation on earth. Poverty is a serious crisis – and it is getting worse. Next, we recognize how excessively expensive the U.S. military has become. The U.S. spends a gigantic amount on the military – much, much more than is necessary.  Both political parties keep increasing military budgets far, far beyond reason. We spend […]