The Surprising Pervasiveness of American Arrogance
Advocates of "peace now" in Ukraine would do well to listen to what Ukrainian and Russian progressives have to say.
As a protester in the sixties of the Vietnam War I have often noticed how many have gotten stuck in a false consistency and we see this in the confusion on the left over Ukraine. This is not an instant replay of Vietnam! Instead as strangely tragic situation has forced contradiction on prior assumptions and demanded a response free or prior assumptions.
https://portside.org/2023-06-02/surprising-pervasiveness-american-arrogance
But here’s the surprising part. Americans on the left can be just as blinkered and arrogant as all the figures further to the right that we’ve criticized repeatedly for the same sins.
So, for instance, a broad assortment of pundit-activists from Noam Chomsky to Jeffrey Sachs have staked out what they consider “pro-peace” or “diplomatic” or “progressive” positions on the war in Ukraine. In open letters, New York Times advertisements, and countless blogs/podcasts/tweets, they have supported “peace now” against the position held by 65 percent of Americans of supporting Ukrainians in the defense of their country.
The Institute of Policy Studies has apologized to Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of Peace in Ukraine, after Foreign Policy in Focus published this article, which was full of inaccuracies about the war in Ukraine and the global movement for a negotiated peace.
FPIF has now published an article that Medea Benjamin, Marcy Winograd and I wrote to respond to the inaccuracies in John Feffer's article. Our response is titled, "The Surprising Pervasiveness of Pro-War Propaganda," and you can read it here: https://fpif.org/the-surprising-pervasiveness-of-pro-war-propaganda/