Nonviolent American Revolution 2.0
by Tom H. Hastings
Now comes the 4thof July, when we celebrate how the American colonists used nonviolent tactics to win independence from Great Britain.
Wait—what? Where did your history lessons come from? you ask. What about the British War of Reclamation? The war of what?
As historians dig deeper into the particulars of American colonists’ campaigns against British exploitation, imperiousness, oppressive taxation and regulation of the 18thcentury in particular, they are finding that our vaunted American Revolution was not the 1775-1783 shooting warbut that the decade of nonviolent resistance from 1765-1775 had already achieved revolutionary change and the British started the shooting war to attempt to regain control of the nine of 13 colonies that they had, for all practical purposes, already lost.
Author Rivera Sun, daughter of New England farmers, summed upmuch of this historical research in a widely circulated essay in 2017, and pointed to the significant civil society participation in some of the most impressive economic costs ever imposed using nonviolent resistance to imperial subjugation:
Some of the most powerful boycotts in nonviolent history occurred in the New England colonies against the British Crown. Though the term boycott would not emerge for another hundred years until the Irish coined it during tenant and land struggles, what the colonists called “nonimportation programs” dropped British revenue in New England by 88 percent between 1774 and 1775. In the Carolinas, colonists deprived the Crown of 98.7 percent of import revenue. Moreover, in Virginia and Maryland, the rate reached an impressive 99.6 percent participation.
Historian Walter H. Conser points out that this is not revisionist history, rather, it is a return to accuracy and the wellsprings of actual American revolutionaries. He quotes a Founding Father:
“A history of military operations . . . is not a history of the American Revolution,” warned John Adams in 1815. “The revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people, and in the union of the colonies; both of which were substantially effected before hostilities commenced.”
Indeed, the Continental Association—a civil society cross-colony political and economic series of parallel institutions of self-governance—was so robust that Crown loyalists and especially British troops suffered social shunning and financial deprivation so widespread that most colonies were no longer profitable to the British empire, instead were costly and increasingly hostile.
Colonies were engaging in workarounds to avoid irritating bureaucratic imperial mandates such as the imposed requirements to use British forms for almost all legal transactions, forms that were printed in England and sold at high prices to colonial units of government. Colonial courts simply began accepting non-British forms as legal, in direct contravention of British order. This sort of growing official colonial government resistance would have been impossible to generalize without profound acceptance by a populace so tired of British rule that it simply broke away in all its conduct.
American colonial women began spinning their own cloth and making homespun clothing, one of many nonviolent aspects of withdrawing cooperation and support for British control. More than a century and a half later, Gandhi would emulate these American women in his virtually identical campaign of homespun in India. Let’s not forget that Gandhi named Thoreau and other American activists and authors as some of his influences and inspirations. His estimation of the importance of people ceasing to purchase foreign cloth and instead make their own clothing (khadiin Hindi) with their own spinning wheels (charka):
Charkha is the symbol of the nation's prosperity and therefore freedom. It is a symbol not of commercial war but of commercial peace. It bears not a message of ill-will towards the nations of the earth but of goodwill and self-help. It will not need the protection of a navy threatening a world's peace and exploiting its resources, but it needs the religious determination of millions to spin their yarn in their own homes as today they cook their food in their own homes. I may deserve the curse of posterity for many mistakes of omission and commission, but I am confident of earning its blessings for suggesting a revival of the Charkha. I stake my all on it. For every revolution of the wheel spins peace, goodwill and love. And with all that, inasmuch as the loss of it brought about India's slavery, its voluntary revival with all its implications must mean India's freedom.
For Gandhi in India, and for Americans in colonial times, the revolution of the spinning wheel was a part of the revolution seizing independence. May we credit nonviolent cooperation with each other and noncooperation with empire for our own freedom.
And now, in the time of Trump and the erosion of our freedoms, what measures will bring us the nonviolent American Revolution 2.0? We see stirrings from women resisting erosion of reproductive rights, schoolchildren who want better gun laws, and the majority of Americans who are sickened by mistreatment of refugees seeking safety in our borders, borders that used to welcome oppressed “huddled masses,” but are now headed toward Trump’s “great great wall” and are enforced pitilessly by his agents who shred American family values so blatantly.
Happy Interdependence Day. May we unite and find a new American freedom and justice for all with a peaceful revolution replacing violent values with those honoring and respecting all humankind.
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Dr. Tom H. Hastings is PeaceVoice Director and on occasion an expert witness for the defense in court.
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The Most Anti-Woman President Ever
By Laura Finley and Matthew Johnson
It’s hard to imagine a presidential administration that hates women more than the current one. Not only has the President himself faced numerous sexual assault allegations and been caught on camera and in debates making derogatory and repulsive comments about women, but his policies to date clearly show deep disdain for women, despite the fact that Mr. Trump once claimed, “Nobody has more respect for women than I do.”
Target the most vulnerable is the Trump administration’s philosophy, argues Jill Filipovik of the UK Guardian. After his first 100 days in office, Serra Sippel wrote in the Huffington Post, that they read “like anti-woman and anti-human rights check list. From day one, Trump has been relentless in his attempts to undermine human rights globally, especially for women, girls, and other marginalized populations. Trump has done everything in his power to disempower women – their health, their well-being, their human rights.” One of Trump’s first moves upon taking office was to reinstate the Global Gag Rule, which withholds federal funds from organizations that even discuss abortion as an option. The Gag Rule was previously in effect between 2001 and 2008, and during that time women’s access to contraceptives decreased, the rate of unsafe abortions increased, and HIV prevention programs were significantly scaled back. In April, Trump announced plans to significantly cut funding to the UN Population Fund, which provides maternal health and family planning assistance to women in 150 countries.
Per the President’s directive, between May 5 and June 9, 2,342 children were taken from their parents and held in separate detention centers. Although he has since announced he reversed the order to separate immigrant women from their children, the administration has said it these children will not be immediately reunited with their mothers. Although it is clear that the Obama administration was far from kind to families in this regard, the Trump administration has taken it to a new level, with reports of babies being taken from their mothers while breastfeeding. The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, an international organization, has cautioned that this results in trauma that is not only short-lived. Furthermore, it is a violation of human rights.
Equally egregious, although it warranted less outrage, was Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement that the administration was removing asylum protections from victims of domestic violence. Sessions’ ruling vacated a 2016 ruling by the Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals. Michelle Brané, director of the Women’s Refugee Commission’s migrant rights and justice program, said “Women and children will die as a result of these policies.”
Of course, there’s also the President’s defense of known domestic abusers. Trump backed Rob Porter, the White House aide who was forced to resign after it became public knowledge that two of his ex-wives had accused him of abusing them. Although he was not elected, Trump threw his weight behind Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for U.S Senate in Alabama who had been accused of engaging in inappropriate contact with a 14-year-old girl.
So, respect for women? Actions are way louder than word, Mr. Trump. It remains shocking that 53 percent of white women who voted in the 2016 election supported this raging misogynist. We remain hopeful that things are indeed darkest before the dawn, and that the realization of just how anti-woman this president is couples with the coming wave of female candidates will bring a sea-tide of change. As Margaret Atwood wrote in The Handmaid’s Tale, “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”
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Laura Finley, Ph.D., teaches in the Barry University Department of Sociology & Criminology and is syndicated byPeaceVoice.
Matt Johnson is an author and activist.
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The Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) has a number of women and leadership announcements (research, events, and resources) this month from our work and that of our partners (I skipped sending one out in June, so there are a bunch):
First, a few months ago we hosted a gathering of 25 school counselors from the Alpine School District to brainstorm ideas about how counselors can use their position to strengthen the impact of girls and women. Today we are releasing the final product from this gathering titled “What School Counselors Can do to Strengthen the Impact of Utah Young Women.” This is part of our “What Can I Do?” Initiative. Please make sure the counselors in your local schools get a copy from you! We will hold another “What Can I Do?” think tank titled “How Male Allies Can Advance Female Colleagues at Work,” and we are looking for 25 men (who are already working hard to support and empower their female colleagues in their professional pursuits) to join us for a 2-hour session to be held at Adobe in Lehi (thanks to Adobe for hosting it). More details and RSVPs can be found here.
Second, we are pleased to announce we are partnering with Silicon Slopes to host a Women in Leadership Chapter. More details will be released in the next month, but individuals, groups, and networks can join now. Also, I have two new LinkedIn articles that may be of interest: “Strengthening Women’s Leadership Identity: Part I” and “Part II”.
Third, we have our first community event planned for September 26, 2018 (6:30-8:30pm, UVU). The evening is titled “Navigating Transitions: Finding New Paths, Passions, and Purpose.” Ruth Todd (former award-winning television news anchor in Utah) will be the keynote speaker, after which attendees will choose one of three workshops:
Details about session speakers, facilitators, and panelists can be found on this flyer. RSVP NOW. We also welcome you to attend a community gathering titled “Strengthen Your Impact as Girls & Women,” with us in Tooele, Utah on September 12, 2018 (6:30-8:00pm). We will also be working with partners in Price, Utah to hold a community gathering there on September 13, 2018 (6:30-8:00pm).
Fourth, the Utah Women’s Economic Forum (a free event) is being held at UVU on Friday, August 17, 2018 from 6:00-9:00pm. Diversify is hosting and the UWLP is partnering on this event. The flyer has all of the details—there are breakout sessions by wonderful and knowledgeable presenters. It has a focus on investing and entrepreneurship for women.
Fifth, our partners have some upcoming events you may be interested in. First, the Women’s Leadership Institute is hosting their 3rd Annual Women’s Golf Clinic & Tournament on August 28 from 7:00am-1:00pm at Thanksgiving Point. For those interested in running for public office at any level, registrations are now open for the WLI Political Development Series that starts this fall and runs for six months. Also, save the date for the first-ever Utah Women’s Policy Conference, August 23-24, 2018 at the Thomas S. Monson Center in downtown Salt Lake City. One-day registrations will also be available. Sign up for email updates and be the first to know when registration opens! Contact Erin Jemison, Policy Director at YWCA Utah, with questions: ejemison@ywcautah.org. Follow/like our social media platforms for timely announcements and partner efforts (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter).
Sixth, suffrage and enfranchisement describe Utah history but these are unfamiliar words to many Utah students. Yet, Utah was the first place where a woman voted in the United States. Better Days 2020 (one of our partners) has launched its educational curriculum to bring Utah women's history stories into classrooms across the state. There are Utah women resources now available for teachers and families. They have compiled stories of Utah women in history at www.utahwomenshistory.com, posted lessons for 4th and 7th grade Utah Studies, and have resources for all interested students on their website.
Finally, the Salt Lake County Mayor’s Office is currently seeking applicants for a number of Salt Lake County Boards and Commissions. More details can be found here. In addition, more details about where to go for information on committees, boards, and commissions in cities, counties, and the state level—can be found on our website here.
Have a great July!
Susan
Dr. Susan R. Madsen
Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership and Ethics
Utah Valley University, Woodbury School of Business
Director, Utah Women & Leadership Project
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Valuing Life More than Borders
By Robert C. Koehler
“We are people who believe in the worth of every human being,” Elizabeth Warrensaid the other day, and I wondered for a moment what life would be like if that were true.
The more crucial question, however, is: How can we make it true?
Warren had just returned from McAllen, Texas, where she visited an “immigration processing center” — a place where desperate human beings are stirred into the border bureaucracy and separated into categories — immigrants, refugees, criminals — and where children, including babies, are torn from their parents’ arms, possibly forever.
This is “the law” at work here, and as we all know, “the law” is often the voice of racism and smug superiority, a tool of dominance and exploitation in the name of public order. This is American history: founded on the belief that some men are created equal and other men are less than human. And women clean house, have babies, do what they’re told.
“There are children by themselves. I saw a six-month-old baby. Little girls, little boys,” Warren said. “Family units are together if it’s a very small child, but little girls who are 12-years-old are taken away from their families and held separately. And they’re all on concrete floors in cages. There’s just no other way to describe it. They’re big, chain-link cages on cold concrete floors.”
This is not what America stands for, she said. But except for a thin, vital strain of humanity and compassion — the abolitionists, the suffragettes, the civil rights movement — this iswhat America stands for. It usually does so with such quiet certainty no one even notices, except, of course, those on the wrong side of the “us vs. them” divide: the helpless ones who bear the brunt of our patriotic hatred.
It’s so easy to kidnap children, indeed, to commit murder (usually called war) when you first dehumanize the designated enemy. Here, for instance, are the words of Leigh Valentine, speaking on a program called “Faith & Freedom”:
“Rape after rape after rape. Children below 10 years old engaging in sexual activity. All kinds of sin and disgrace and darkness; the pit of the pits. So we’re not getting the top-of-the-line echelon people coming over this border, we’re getting criminals. I mean, total criminals that are so debased and their minds are just gone. They’re unclean, they’re murderers, they’re treacherous, they’re God-haters.”
What’s unnerving is that this is not just a marginal rant. I fear those who absorb such words control the levers of American power. These are the words that justified slaveryand the genocide of Native Americans. They justified “Indian schools” — the boarding schools that native children were forced to attend, which ripped them from their families and their culture. And words to that effect have justified every war we’ve waged (even the “good ones” . . . World War II, the Civil War). You can’t don a uniform — whether Army fatigues or an ICE outfit — without dehumanizing the enemy of the moment.
Back to the border, then, and the words of Elizabeth Warren: “We are people who believe in the worth of every human being.”
If this were true, what would it mean?
At the very least, it would mean uprooting a lot of simplistic assumptions of what a nation is, and how, as a nation, we connect with the rest of the world. It would mean asking ourselves, for instance, why we “protect” our (Southern) border with such obsessive cruelty — and beginning to face the armed racism we have perpetrated for so long on the countries and people beyond that border.
As Richard Eskowpoints out: “One question remains: Why did these children’s families leave home in the first place? Again, the answers lie, in large part, with U.S. policy. The United States government has intervened in the internal politics of Central American countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador for more than a century. It has trained Latin American military officers in techniques that include illegal techniques of torture and interrogation, often at the U.S. Army’s School of the Americas…
“Many of today’s immigrants seeking refuge from poverty, persecution, and violence aren’t just fleeing to (the) United States. In a real sense, they are also fleeing from it — or, more accurately, from the results of its actions in their home countries.”
If we begin to value the worth of every human being, the first thing we must do is acknowledge our failings in this regard over the last two centuries, and begin groping for fundamental change. This is a foundational question. Perhaps it begins with a simple (and extremely complex) commitment: From now on, we dehumanize no one. What if all national policy were embedded in such a value?
As we stood at our border, we would do so with awareness that the planet’s social order is evolving and humanity is uniting. We would understand that change begins here, with us, and the right to life doesn’t stop at this invisible line.
Masha Gessen, writing recently in The New Yorker, points out that the Trump administration is defending its border policies by citing both the law and the Bible, and alleging that the Democrats want — oh, the horror! — open borders. “Sadly,” she writes, “this is not true: no voice audible in the American political mainstream is making the argument for open borders…
“The existence of borders, and the need and right to police them, are among the unquestioned assumptions in the conversation.”
Now is the time to challenge this stagnant, cruel assumption. Now is the time to stand at our border with something other than hatred and fear. Now is the time to declare to the world that no human being is illegal.
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Robert Koehler, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor.
