Danger and hope

Folks, we gather here today in a situation of hope and danger.

The greatest controllers of weapons of mass destruction ­ the leaders of the USA - are internationally isolated probably as never before. That gives us great hope. There is hope in the fact that the warmongers are increasingly isolated in their own countries.

There is a huge and growing antiwar movement in the UK. In the USA there is increasing dissent. We donšt get taught much about them in our schools, but there are in the USA, very great traditions of radicalism and protest, Today these traditions which are reawakening and spreading in a most healthy way. This global tide of opposition the Bush administration is the hope of the world.

But as well as hope there is danger.

There is a danger of complacency, in particular a danger of trusting in the United Nations to solve our problems. Our government says they will go along with the UN ­ and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions policy on the war is tied to decisions of the UN. That policy is a profound mistake.

Funny things can, and have happened at forums like the UN; we cannot rely on it to save us. We must think and act. for ourselves.

There is another danger. That is the danger of believing that the rulers of the USA can somehow be reasoned out of their advance to war. They cannot be persuaded to desist by force of reason, because they are in charge of an illogical system. The corporate rule of the US allows for the private interests of a few, who control all economic wealth and military power, to override any moral scruple.

As long as such a system prevails, we can never ever be rid of the threat of war. That's why an essential part of the antiwar movement is for all of us to liberate our minds and work towards the creation of an alternative system. Some call this socialism; others call it social justice, or workers democracy. The words are less important than real action towards this necessary alternative.

Our struggle to build the antiwar movement must strive to rid the world of the corporate system, under which the present rulers, sooner than give way to reason, would burn the planet to a crisp.

Kia kaha,

Don Franks,
Presentation of petitions to parliament, 11 September 2002

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