For four years Trump made the U.S.’s cruel, violent, counter-productive foreign policy even worse. Joe Biden will most likely retreat from some of Trump’s worst foreign policy blunders, but Biden has a decades-long track record of supporting wars and recklessly cruel, unjust foreign policies and unnecessary military weapons.
Therefore, returning from Trumpism to “normal” is NOT ENOUGH! We need a TRULY PEACEFUL foreign policy, not “American Exceptionalism” and what Senator William Fulbright called “the arrogance of Power.” We must replace the threats of violence, the actual wars, the bloated budgets, and the contempt for international law that have defined U.S. foreign policy for many decades.
Many non-profit organizations provide smart, reliable information and advocate for wise, peaceful alternatives. I recommend them highly. I encourage people to visit their websites, get onto their e-mail lists, click links on their action alerts, and support them financially.
Win Without War (www.winwithoutwar.org) provides good information, including critiques of the status quo and recommendations for what we need instead. I encourage you to see various parts of their websites, get onto their e-mail list, etc. For example, they propose “Principles for a Progressive Foreign Policy” at https://winwithoutwar.org/policy/principles-of-a-progressive-foreign-policy-for-the-united-states/ and “10 Foreign Policy Priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration” at https://winwithoutwar.org/policy/10-foreign-policy-priorities-for-the-biden-harris-administration/
World Beyond War (www.worldbeyondwar.org) is a global nonviolent movement to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace. They reach out to build popular support for ending the entire system of war — not simply individual wars but abolishing the entire institution. They urge nonviolent methods to resolve conflicts instead of using violence. Their website offers many excellent educational items and resources, including a bold, persuasive resource titled, A Global Security System: An Alternative to War.
In November 2020 the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (www.thebulletin.org) published a smart resource titled, “Rethinking nuclear security for a world free of nuclear weapons.” It 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 enough for what we need now. The article urges an emphasis on “human security” and democracy as the best ways to move forward. See it here: 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
