MOTIVATIONAL SEEKER

Thanks to Joshua Zaffos and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle for covering the “convergence” on Senator Ken Salazar’s Fort Collins office, marking the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq (“War Blames,” Eat the Week, March 27). The letter we presented to Salazar’s staff representative is posted on our website (cjpe.org/stp). If and when we receive a response from Salazar, we will post that on our website as well. Zaffos admits to “subconsciously blam[ing] the handful of motivated antiwar activists for the dominant apathy of the general populace” toward the ongoing occupation of Iraq. He then rather gratuitously mentions our “tired strategies: petitions and letter-writing campaigns, marches and vigils.” While Strength Through Peace certainly does use the strategies to which Zaffos refers, we have also engaged in many other, less conventional strategies. The weekend before the convergence, for example, we sponsored an entry in the Lucky Joe’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, in Fort Collins, that involved some sixty people to publicize the event at Salazar’s office. We also have written and produced street-theater performances, developed a Peacemakers’ Toolkit, and supported a sit-in at Salazar’s office last year. A list of our activities is posted on our website. The reason the U.S. is still in Iraq is not any lack of creativity on the part of the peace movement, here or elsewhere. A principal reason is that not enough people are sufficiently motivated to protest. Strength Through Peace welcomes people to get involved, either with us or with other organizations. For more information, visit our website or call us at 419-8944.   Kevin Cross Convener, Strength Through Peace Fort Collins       originally appeared in the Rocky Mountain Chronicle April 3, 2008