|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
In the event of a future terrorist attack in the United States we are proposing the following actions.
We encourage you to develop your own ideas and share them with us. We encourage civic and religious organizations to consider and develop plans of their own and to share this information publicly before a future terrorist attack occurs.
In the event of a terrorist attack we believe that it is critical to challenge the idea that life should go on as normal. A terrorist attack represents a tremendous loss of life, family, community and sense of safety. Families and communities take the time when a loved one dies to grieve the loss. The grief that occurs with the loss of a loved one does not go away in the first week or month, it is an ongoing and life changing occurrence. Marking and grieving the death of a loved one does not mean that the cause of death has won. Similarly, terrorism doesn’t win if we try to understand how it impacts us. Our society needs specific actions to take collectively when a catastrophic attack happens and we need ongoing initiatives to fully address the complexity of what a terrorist attack and terrorism means to our society.
The actions we are calling for are rooted in the idea that our lives can and should change as a result of the loss to our society, our community, our family, and our individual sense of security that a terrorist attack brings about. It important to remember that we can choose how to respond to a terrorist attack based on the needs of our family, community and larger society. Our current government has responded to terrorist attack with an adventurist and ill-planned war which has left us less safe, and domestic policies that erode our freedoms while doing little to protect us.
The War on Terrorism is a simple response to a complex problem. It is a poor substitute for the process required to successfully encounter our changed world. Fear, anger and revenge are only part of a natural response to trauma and loss but none of these emotions that our Government encourages with its War on Terror equip us with the wisdom necessary to effectively succeed in our effort to make the world a safer place for all of us. If the Government doesn’t have the right answer than who does?
We believe that families and communities do. And we do not need to wait for a terrorist attack to begin the process. It is important that all of us talk about these issues and our feelings and develop plans to honestly address terrorism.
This is not something that our current or future government will do for us. We will need to do it ourselves.
We feel that the following principles should guide the specific responses to a terrorist attack.
1. Create opportunities for honest dialogue and share the complex feelings that are the result of an attack. Discourage actions that are based on fear, anger and revenge (which are natural responses) and instead make sure that members of your community get a chance to express themselves and then move to analysis and strategic responses.
2. Protest government policies and elected leaders who have made us less safe and who are unwilling to deal with complex issues. Do everything in our power to remove these “leaders” democratically from office
3. Support victims and their families
4. Protect against the predictable backlash that will occur against Arab-Americans, Muslim-Americans, Americans of color and immigrants from around the world who live in the United States
5. Prevent military responses which will continue to make us less safe as well as cause tremendous loss to families and communities around the world
6. Protect against the further erosion of our freedoms and rights
Our Proposed Actions
Immediate Response
Day of or Day after Attack Community Vigil
If the attack occurs before 12 PM EST we are calling on people to gather that same day at 5 PM local time at their local gathering places-houses of worship, city or town halls, local commons or parks. If it occurs after 12 PM EST we are asking that people gather the next day at 5 PM local time. These gathering can go on as long as is needed for the participants. We have developed the following poster [link to poster] for you to use. We encourage candle-lighting, singing, prayers and silence or other appropriate rituals for your community.
The First 7 Days of Mourning
Support Victims
We encourage local collections to be taken up for victims and their families. We also encourage cross-community dialogue which should include actions to prevent backlash against communities of color.
Do Not Work or Shop
We encourage everybody who can to not work the day after a terrorist attack. Spend this day with family, friends and with your community. Do not shop-everyone deserves to have the time with their family and community so no one should be required to serve you.
Moment of Silence
Honor three minutes of silence each day for the first seven days at the same time of day the attack occurred. Do this wherever you are, with others or by yourself.
Suspension of Political Advertising and Campaigning
If an attack occurs during the election season, we are calling on all incumbent politicians and candidates for office to suspend television advertising for at least seven days. In addition, we are calling for the Presidential candidates to suspend campaign activities for seven days. Any effort by the current President, members of his party or Administration, or any other politician to exploit the terrorist attack should be met with scorn, shame and disobedience. Regardless of when the attack occurs elections should go on as scheduled.
Ideas for the First 30 days
Continue to support victims and work to prevent backlash. We encourage communities and other groups of people to continue to dialogue and find support from each other. Although life will return to normal in some ways and for some people, a month is not a long time.
Community Vigil
The first month should be marked with community vigils and other reflective demonstrations of peace and justice.
Daily Minute of Protest
Continue the moment of silence at the same time each day. Commit yourself to taking actions each day that will transform our government and society for the better.
One Year Anniversary
The one year anniversary of an attack should be a day of national mourning each year not to be commemorated with sporting events or other entertainment. Entertainment on the anniversary should be strongly condemned along with any efforts to use an attack’s anniversary for political gain.
Note: We need to plan ahead for possible responses by our government to a terrorist attack. After 9/11, it was difficult for many people to speak up as our government marched ahead with plans for war and created repressive policies in our country. A future attack will bring renewed efforts to limit our freedoms and rights and will fuel further military intervention abroad. It is critical for us to evaluate our past efforts and use our experiences to develop strong, reasoned and effective strategies to respond to terrorism, fear and war.
|
|
|
