Remind Obama to Keep His Promises for Peace
As Barack Obama is sworn in as President of the United States of America next week, we – as progressives, activists, and organizers – are more mindful than ever of the promises Obama made during his election campaign – as well as the great challenges he has ahead of him. After nearly six years of war in Iraq, a US policy of torture, a decline in the government’s respect for human rights, and a cowboy policy of ‘diplomacy,’ we are especially mindful of Obama’s promises to:
1. End the war in Iraq
2. Shut Down Guantánamo
3. Reject the Military Commissions Act
4. Stop Torture
5. Work to eliminate nuclear weapons
6. Hold direct, unconditional talks with Iran.
7. Abide by Senate approved international treaties.
When President Franklin Roosevelt was in office, a group of organizers came to him to ask for his support for their cause. Roosevelt said, “I agree with you. I want to do it. Now make me do it.” We must make Obama do it! He cannot create this change alone. We must remind Obama of the promises he made and support him in creating the change we voted for!
CODEPINK has launched a new campaign today at RemindObama.org that does just that. The new website and video calls for visitors to sign the pledge to support President Obama in his Promises for Peace. It says, “We will be the string around his finger that reminds him to practice what he preaches and deliver the change our country so desperately needs.”
As a symbol of this commitment, CODEPINKers are tying pink ribbons around their finger for Obama. Tens of thousands of ribbons that read “Obama, Keep your Promises for Peace” will be handed out on the street to supporters at Obama’s Inauguration ceremony next Tuesday. After the inauguration, these ribbons can be tied around the wrist as a reminder to keep up the work it will take to make change.
In addition, there is a virtual ribbon that can be downloaded at RemindObama.org. The graphic can be used to change your profile picture on Facebook, MySpace, or other websites.
We should take this moment to celebrate the victory of this last election. However, Change does not happen on its own. As activists, volunteers, and bloggers, we need to harness the energy that we have put into the protests, demonstrations, organizing, and volunteering during this election season and the past 8 years, and finish the job!
Tags: gitmo, Give Peace a Vote, Guantanamo, Iran, Iraq, Moving Obama, Obama, Peace With Iran, promises, remindobama, torture
October 10th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
I really wish you wouldn’t have such a pro-Obama video on your website. Obama hasn’t kept a single one of the promises he mentioned in the video and I don’t want to hear, “well, he’s only been in office for about 10 months now.” No one said being president was an easy job. I bet such excuses wouldn’t be made for Bush. I mean Obama had the most expensive political campaign ever, obviously he wanted the job…right? I find it disgusting that you play such an “uplifting Obama” video on a this website which is supposed to be promoting women’s rights and ending war. Obama doesn’t give a crap about women’s rights. And he isn’t going to end the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. He does the bare minimum to keep women voting for him. If he actually cared about women do you think he would have had Jay-Z’s “99 Problems but a B*tch Ain’t One” playing after he “won” against Hillary in the first caucus? Don’t you think he would have stood up against the blatant sexism which both Hillary and Sarah Palin had to endure? He doesn’t care about us…. Don’t you think he would have spoke out against the repressive legislation Karzai passed further prohibiting women’s rights in Afghanistan? Please don’t be blinded by the B.S. Obama has no real experience and his campaign slogans can only get him so far…sorry if you voted for him, but it’s time to wake up and realize he isn’t going to do anything he said he would when running for president.
October 22nd, 2009 at 7:59 am
Why is ending the war in Afghanistan not on your list? Oh I’m reading your reports on how we “need” to have troops their to “protect the women”. Switch some of the facts around and you have an argument for keeping troops in Iraq. (Saddaam gassed the Kurds. Women will suffer if Islamists like Muqtadah Al Sadr get the upper hand etc.) Either you are going to be consistent for peace or you aren’t. I notice also that you don’t have Antiwar.com up as one of your blog links. Why is that? Is it because they are consistent in their antiwar message even after the whitehouse changed hands?
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 am
Ending the war in Afghanistan IS definitely “on our list” — in fact, it’s one of the first things on a long list of desired changes to US foreign policy. We have pushed the petition authored by Tom Hayden, we have done many actions and congressional office visits this year, we are in the media all the time talking about how US military forces are a problem, not a solution, for the situation in that tragic country. The question is not if but how.
Antiwar.com is a libertarian website. We aren’t libertarians.
November 12th, 2009 at 7:39 am
admin Says:
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 am
“Antiwar.com is a libertarian website. We aren’t libertarians.”
Hey Admin, What political affiliation are we? I thought we were a coalition of people (women) for peace despite political affiliation?
November 17th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
We have members of various political affiliations, ranging from progressive Democrat to Green Party to Peace and Freedom Party, and others. We don’t have an affiliation with a political party, and as I said, we aren’t libertarians.