vietnam
GRITtv: Brave New Films: Martin Luther King and the War
"A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, "This way of settling differences is not just."...A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." Those were Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words on war--but last week a Pentagon official actually tried to claim that were King alive today, he'd actually support the war in Afghanistan. Our friends at Brave New Films put together this film as a reminder of what King really believed. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Email this pageGRITtv: Wavy Gravy: Saint Misbehavin'
"My life is my message--do good in the world and have fun while doing it," says Wavy Gravy, 60s icon, clown, activist, and of course inspiration for a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor. Now the subject of a new documentary, Saint Misbehavin', Wavy Gravy is still going strong, taking his positive message of change around the world. Wavy Gravy and filmmaker Michelle Esrick join Laura in studio to talk activism from the West Village and Woodstock to the Hog Farm, Bangladesh, and curing blindness.
GRITtv: Geoff Millard: Recovery and Reconciliation
"You don't go to war without being changed by it," says Geoff Millard, former Chair of the Board of Iraq Veterans Against the War. From sky-high suicide rates for veterans at home to horrific stories of "kill teams" in Afghanistan, we're hearing stories every day of the traumas that going to war inflicts on our young men and women. Millard and IVAW, though, have been working both at home and back in Iraq to bring about some sort of reconciliation, both for soldiers and for Iraqi civilians. Millard joins Laura in studio to discuss IVAW's Operation Recovery campaign to stop redeploying traumatized soldiers, the ongoing news from the wars, and his upcoming trip back to Iraq on a humanitarian mission.
GRITtv: Andrew Bacevich: Sustaining Illusions of War
U.S. militarism isn't limited to one president. "It is a pattern, it follows a trajectory, it derives from a set of habits and we need to understand them," Andrew Bacevich reminds us. This pattern has led us on a dramatically different course from the countries that experienced firsthand the wars of the 20th century--Bacevich notes that the U.S. and Israel seem to be convinced of the rightness of using force to accomplish goals. In part two of our interview with Bacevich, he discusses U.S. interventions around the world, our lack of learning from history, and why the WikiLeaks information is different from the Pentagon Papers.
GRITtv: Prophecy: The Human Cost of War
We spoke this week about the actual cost of war as well as the toll it takes on those who participate in it. Now a new play at the East Fourth Street Theater in New York is focusing on the human toll that war takes, not just on those who fight it, but those back at home. Starring Kathleen Chalfant and Najla Said, "Prophecy" is written and directed by Karen Malpede, and explores the themes of transgression and forgiveness. Najla Said and Karen Malpede join us in studio to discuss the play, the role of theater in communicating between people, and why they felt compelled to produce this project.
GRITtv: Najla Said: Characterizing Arab Women
Actress and writer Najla Said discusses the Arab characters she plays in the new play Prophecy, and why she was careful to ensure that they were two separate individuals with motivation. GRITtv with Laura Flanders brings participatory democracy onto your computer screen and into your living room, bridging the gap between audience and advocates.
GRITtv: Karen Malpede: Iraq Less Destructive than Vietnam?
Noam Chomsky said that the Iraq war was less destructive than the Vietnam war because of popular disgust for that conflict, according to Karen Malpede, writer-director of "Prophecy", a new play for which Chomsky gave a talk-back. GRITtv with Laura Flanders brings participatory democracy onto your computer screen and into your living room, bridging the gap between audience and advocates.
GRITtv: Rethink Afghanistan: Worse Than Vietnam?
This week, the war in Afghanistan surpassed Vietnam to become the U.S.'s longest war, and there's no end in sight. Daniel Ellsberg has called it "Vietnamistan," comparing the determination to "win" against people who want to expel foreign invaders. Our friends at Brave New Films pulled together this clip looking back at our fight in Afghanistan and asking the question: When will it be clear that we need to get out?
GRITtv: The F Word: Impossible to Ignore Wikileaks Tape
"Well, it's their fault bringing their kids to a battle."
Those words, spoken by a faceless soldier, echo from a classified US military video released by the site Wikileaks.org. The release comes on the heels of the revelation of a cover-up in Afghanistan—and the anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, as well as the anniversary of his “Beyond Vietnam” speech.
King spoke to the Clergy and Laity Concerned about Vietnam, saying “It should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read Vietnam."
Hearing allegations that special forces troops in Afghanistan may have dug the bullets out of their pregnant victims bodies to hide evidence, hearing airmen on the Wikileaks tape begging “Come on, let us shoot!”, reminds me of Rev. King's other words when he said, "War is horrible and it does poison the soul."
"Democracy Now!": Mon. Mar. 15 2010
We spend the hour with world-renowned linguist and dissident, Noam Chomsky. In a wide-ranging public conversation at the Harvard Memorial Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Chomsky talks about President Obama’s foreign and national security policies, the lessons of Vietnam, and his own activism. “You just can’t become involved part-time in these things,” Chomsky says. “It’s either serious and you’re seriously involved, or you go to a demonstration and go home and forget about it and go back to work, and nothing happens. Things only happen by really dedicated, diligent work.” "Democracy Now!" is a daily independent newshour.
