2/15 : The Day the World Said NO to War

Rating:
Summary: A moving tribute to the day we marched for peace
Review: 2/15: THE DAY THE WORLD SAID NO TO WAR is a tribute to those of us who marched for peace on that historic day, as well as the following days before the illegal US-led invasion of Iraq. It is a moving tribute because it demonstrates that this was the largest protest for peace in world history. Estimates hold that around 30 million people marched. But the editors caution that since so many people marched and demonstrated in so many places, the true numbers are impossible to know - it's likely that far more than 30 million participated. All different forms of protests are depicted: from the more straightforward marches (some of them numbering in the thousands, giving a panoramic view), to sit-ins, "dead"-ins, nude-ins (yes, there is a small amount nudity in this book), mock-graveyards displayed in front of foreign US embassies to represent the potential casualties in the event of a US invasion, and avant-garde exhibits in art houses. There is roughly one picture on every other page, with a corresponding quote or passage by luminaries who opposed the war, politicians, political commentators, authors, etc. I found the introduction by Arun Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence headquartered in Memphis, TN, to be insightful. Arun instructs that peace is not only the absence of war, but the absence of hatred within the individual. Peace must grow outward from our own personal approach.

Outrage certainly does come up for me when I see this book. It is outrageous to realize that we orchestrated a truly historic event, and the mainstream US media largely ignored it, or portrayed US participants as fringe and eccentric. When viewed from a global perspective, the perspective this book provides, one realizes that we were in fact in the majority. Those in favor of the war were in the fringe. That is why I believe that 2/15 THE DAY THE WORLD SAID NO TO WAR is so important. It helps those of us opposed to the war feel a sense of solidarity, forge a connection where the powers that be would like to dismantle it and create the illusion that we are enemies. A sign carried by an English protestor states it beautifully: "We are all French now"; another more graphic sign lampoons the ridiculous US policy that renamed all French fries sold in government cafeterias: "Freedom Fries and Baghdad Burns." As the editors point out, never before in history had so many citizens opposed something that their supposed representatives allowed. (In an open letter to "Governor Bush," Michael Moore reveals that virtually no one in the United States was gung-ho for war with Iraq.)

Reading this book, I couldn't help but remember something Noam Chomsky recently said: there are now two super powers - the United States and world public opinion. It is Chomksy who provides this book's epilogue, saying that the governments of the world can handle it when we take part in one protest and then go home and go about our lives. What they can't handle is sustained, prolonged involvement of the people in affairs.

Andrew Parodi

Rating:
Summary: Visually stunning...
Review: This book is visually stunning... Very well photographed and nicely put together... It's a tribute to the power of the people when we all get together and what can happen... My favorite photograph is where someone is holding a sign that says "there's a village in Texas missing an idiot" - we all know who they're talking about... To me this book shows how many people strong the present day revolution really is, and that's scary to the government - to actually see it in visual - how many people are against their decision on the war/occupation of Iraq... Buy it, it's a visual document of anti-war protest history in making... Viva revolucion - Savannah Skye...