From the Editor's Desk

From the Editor's Desk "But peace, like a poem,/ is not there ahead of itself,/ can't be imagined before it is made,/ can't be known except/ in the words of its making,/ grammar of justice,/ syntax of mutual aid."-- Denise Levertov, "Making Peace,"from her 1987 collection, Breathing the Water

Denise Levertov describes peace, not as a frozen utopian end-state, but as a process we need to continually remake by practicing human solidarity.

This issue of Peacework focuses primarily on peace and Vietnam: not just the US war and the enormity of its legacies, but on struggles in Vietnam for freedom and social justice today. Peace was not "there ahead of itself"simply because the US war ended.

The multi-faceted US movement to end the US war against Vietnam worked tirelessly in solidarity with the suffering people of Vietnam. Many inspiring activists have never wavered in this struggle, including Merle Ratner, who chronicles her ongoing work in support of those suffering from Agent Orange poisoning, and US anti-war veteran Steve Morse, who describes his impressions during a recent return visit.

All of us have much to learn from the US anti-war movement of the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. Gareth Porter warns us that Presidents routinely invoke "credibility"as a mantra in order to ward off opposition and attempt to justify continuing to wage war. Bill Fletcher, Jr. describes the promise of the Iraq Moratorium campaign, an effort building on the legacy of the Vietnam Moratorium of October-November, 1969.

George McGovern's passionate appeal to cut off funding for the US war in Vietnam might inform today's legislators and peace lobbyists about what it means to legislate for peace. FAIR's article about how a minority in the Senate or a simple majority in the House could stop the war is essential reading.

Similarly, Barbara Jordan's 1974 oration on the importance of using impeachment as a check on usurpations of power by war-waging Presidents-who-would-be-monarchs is echoed by mayor Rocky Anderson's carefully documented case for the impeachment of President Bush today. Both emphasize that impeachment is not to be used for partisan purposes, but underline the danger to democracy of not impeaching Presidents who flout constitutional liberties and violate limits on Presidential power. We invite you to join the activist dialogue on our web site, where we ask, "What are our responsibilities when constitutional liberties are violated? How can we organize effectively to reverse these encroachments?"

The US has a lot to atone for after killing and wounding millions of Vietnamese people. Our responsibilities to the Vietnamese run deep. I believe these responsibilities include nonviolently supporting the efforts of those Vietnamese who continue to strive, at great personal risk, to create a peaceful society. Creating a "syntax of mutual aid"needs to include supporting the initiatives of activists jailed for advocating alternatives to one-party rule, for peacefully practicing a religion outside of state control, or for advocating for the rights of workers to organize independent unions and the right to strike.

Increasingly, US corporations are re-invading Vietnam, this time to exploit workers whose right to organize is being suppressed by the Vietnamese government. For years, anti-corporate globalization protests have decried the "race to the bottom,"in which corporations shift production to countries "offering"the worst working conditions, most exploitive wages, fewest environmental and safety controls, and harshest suppression of workers' right to organize. The story of BJ&B, a unionized factory in the Dominican Republic producing for Nike that was shuttered in order to shift production to Vietnam, sheds a glaring light on this process.

Finally, if ever an author and activist created a "grammar of justice,"it was Grace Paley (1922-2007). Her incomparable stories featured open-ended conclusions because she never wanted to lock a character into one position. She insisted our society change too, arguing "We know there is a healthy sensible loving way to live."Paley planned on reading in honor of Denise Levertov's legacy at Peacework's Pat Farren Lecture on October 24th. Although Grace will not be able to attend, we hope to see many of you there. We'll attempt to make "peace, like a poem."

-- Sam Diener, Co-Editor