IT'S TIME FOR A NEW DIRECTION

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If you have difficulty viewing the ad, or reading this article, please CLICK HERE TO visit an information page at the Network of Spiritual Progressives.

The Way to End the War in Iraq.

{THE ACTUAL AD CAN BE ACCESSED AT THE TOP OR BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE. IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS, WE EXPLAIN THE THINKING BEHIND THE AD.}

The President escalates. The Democrats pass non-binding resolutions and then vote to fund the escalations. Everyone claims to not know how to get out of Iraq. But we do know...and we are framing the ad in religious terms to appeal to people across the political spectrum who know that the war is morally wrong, because their support for strong and clear action by their elected representatives to end the war, not just talk about ending it, is critical.

What makes this ad different from the message of the best progressive Democrats' resolutions is this: they all focus only on the need for immediate process of withdrawing troops (with which we fully agree), but they do not present a clear view of what will happen next, and more importantly, they don't use the Iraq war to provoke a rethinking of the fundamental assumptions that led us into that war and could lead us into other wars (even with a Democratic President) in order to show that the President was "tough" and "standing up to the threat of global terror." Our ad insists on a whole new world view: that safety and security comes not from toughness but from generosity and caring for others, and that when we've done something wrong, we need to acknowledge it as a society (in a way that we never did with Vietnam, which made it alot easier to then get involved in another mess, this time in Iraq. It is this new way of thinking that we highlight in the ad.

Though the ad speaks in terms like "repentance" and quotes the Bible, it does not intend to exclude anyone who agrees with its basic message. Some respondents find themseles "uncomfortable" with that kind of spiritual or religious language. However, as Howard Zinn, the American historian said when he signed this ad in early February, I don't need to agree with every nuance--the central message is really important, hasn't been said as clearly, and this ad is the way to say it. Our intent here is to bring into "a big tent" many who have not felt moved by the language of the peace movement up till this point, and who MIGHT be moved by this kind of language. Won't you make that kind of outreach possible by contributing financially to the publication of the ad even if you don't want to add your name to it? To make
this ad actually happen, we are going to need people to donate $1,000 or more (think of how much less that will be then the part of your taxes that are going to be spent funding this war this very year). But if you can't afford that, how about $500, or $300? or...whatever you can afford.

To get the impact of the ad, you need to enlarge it to the size of a full page ad in the NY Times, Washington Post, or other major U.S. media. The page will be much enlarged from what you see, and that will permit us to list many more names. Think 13 inches wide by 21 inches long and you'll get more of a feel for why there are not too many words for the space. We will also seek to get this same message on t.v. spots.

Help us to circulate an ad in major U.S. media.

CLICK HERE to view the ad.

If you have not yet signed, CLICK HERE to sign the ad (with an option to donate).
(After your information for signing the ad is recorded you will have the option of helping make this ad a reality by donating to it by clicking on another button!)

CLICK HERE to see a list of names of people who have already signed the ad.
If you have already signed, CLICK HERE to give an additional donation. We need your support more than ever!

If you wish to provide support anonymously, please contact Tikkun at members@tikkun.org. We respect your right to privacy, and we understand if you prefer not to share your contact information.

If you have difficulty viewing the ad, or reading this article, please CLICK HERE TO visit our new page at the Network of Spiritual Progressives.