By John Reuwer, World BEYOND War, May 17, 2024
Living near Washington DC affords countless opportunities to learn about the U.S. government and how it works. Unfortunately, much of it is not the bastion of freedom and democracy that I grew up believing it to be.
Most impressive to me is how difficult it is to get to talk with your actual representatives, so ordinary citizens often talk to front office staff or if you persist, senior level staff. Meanwhile we know that professional lobbyists with money to donate have ready access (see here how much your rep gets from the American Israeli Political Affairs Committee), which explains the number of Israeli (foreign government) flags on display in the halls of Congress. It certainly must explain the bizzare support of probable genocide in Palestine, and the lack of concern for the increasing hatred and attacks on American interests all over the world.
One could get discouraged seeing the lust for war with almost every piece of foreign policy legislation, but one thing that keeps me going is learning new things and meeting the heroes and heroines for peace who are always at work.
Above is an artist helping decorate the occupation “Kibbutz” around the Israeli embassy that has been going on since Airman Aaron Bushnell gave his life there to bring attention to the plight of the Palestinians. Embassy staff have the opportunity to hear and see messages like this coming and going, or looking out their window at work.
And here’s what I found at a Congress Member’s office:
