Prosthetic Conscience

Counter-recruitment as Non-violent Direct Action

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the ineffectiveness of the anti-war movement, particularly of demonstrations and other symbolic actions. On the whole I agree with these criticisms (though see below), which is why I am involved in counter-recruitment.

Although some of the actions taken in counter-recruitment may appear symbolic (e.g. picketing recruiting stations, posting anti-recruiter signs, distributing anti-recruitment literature), in fact, they are a kind of non-violent direct action, with the goal of making it impossible for the power elites to fulfil their military goals. The US military on the ground in Iraq is stretched thin. Re-enlistment levels and recruitment levels are far below what the military needs to continue its present missions. The Pentagon has been forced to extend tours of duty, over-use reserves, and implement “stop-loss” measures to maintain troop strength. These measures lower morale, which leads to declining re-enlistment and increasing desertion — a virtuous cycle for those opposed to the war. Counter-recruitment activities are a small contribution to declining enlistment rates, but every little bit counts and is worthwhile as a direct, non-symbolic action. Eventually the power elites will be forced to either withdraw from Iraq and refrain from further military adventures, or institute the draft. If the draft is instituted, we can expect resistance to be extremely high, even moreso than in the Vietnam war, for many reasons, which is one reason they are currently insisting that they have no desire to bring back the draft. The power elites will be forced into this partly as a result of our actions, not as a result of being convinced of the rightness of our cause or our ability to mobilize voters. This is why I say that counter-recruitment is direct action, and not symbolic protest.

Now, this is not to say that symbolic protest is completely worthless. It is true that the power elites will ignore any number of rallies and demonstrations, no matter how well-attended. This is why demonstrations aimed at the politicians are useless. However, there is one valid role I can see for rallies, demonstrations, and vigils. That is to remind people that support for the war is not universal. A recent survey showed that nationally, support for the war has dipped below a majority — 53% of Americans believe that the war has not been worth it. Only 28% think the war has placed the US in a stronger position globally than before the war. However, you would not know this from the state-corporate media, which continues to produce pro-war propaganda. Simple vigils like Women In Black at the statehouse provide a simple reminder to people that not everyone supports the war, and lets people driving by know that they are not alone in their anti-war sentiments, despite what they see on TV.

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