The point Fishman wants to make is that those bread-and-butter economic issues and the war shouldn’t be viewed as separate.
When Bill Clinton made his first run for the presidency in 1992, James Carville’s now-famous quote - “It’s the economy, stupid.” - formed the foundation for the campaign’s success. But in 2008, Fishman says, that credo is only half right.
“It is not just the economy,” he says. “And it is not just the war. Those two issues are inextricably linked.”
But that point does not yet seem to have hit home, at least in terms of moving the war to the forefront of people’s attention.
This perception was reinforced by recent poll that found only about one-fourth of all Americans were aware that nearly 4,000 of their countrymen have died in the war. The survey results were announced with a headline that declared: “Awareness of Iraq War Fatalities Plummets.”
On the other hand, says Wendy Hamilton, there are signs that the public is becoming more concerned about our nation’s use of military force. She points out that when the group Peace Action brought arms expert Scott Ritter and media critic Jeff Cohen to this area for a presentation addressing such issues as political propaganda, the Iraq war and the possible invasion of Iran, a standing-room-only crowd of more than 500 turned out.
“Only a few years ago that number would have been much smaller,” Hamilton says.
The key to change, the activists say, is not to expect change to happen at the top. Work at the grassroots level involving masses of people is what’s needed to alter the direction this country is taking.
It is not enough to just show up at the polls on Election Day. You have to become active and make your voice heard on an ongoing basis. Contact your representatives in Congress. Come out for protests. Circulate petitions. Donate to peace groups.
“In this upcoming election, we’re going to be working to put the issue of war and peace in the forefront as much as possible,” says Fishman, who has been at this for 60 years. “We’re going to be very active in this campaign.”
But one important question remains:
How many of us will be with them?
© 2008 The Metro Time
