Dick, Everyone registered for the course will receive PDF, ePub, and/or
mobi (kindle) versions of David Swanson's book Leaving
World War II Behind, which will provide additional
reading to those who want to go beyond the written, video, and graphic
materials provided in the course. The purpose of the course is to inform
the participant and enable them to inform others of why World War II is not a good
justification for military spending and war planning, both because
WWII happened in a very different world from today's, and because
common beliefs about the nature of and justifications for WWII are
false. By debunking myths about
WWII having been necessary, justifiable, and beneficial, we can strengthen
arguments for moving to a world beyond war.
The course will explore why WWII was not fought to rescue anyone from
persecution, was not necessary for defense, was the most damaging and
destructive event yet to occur, and could have been prevented by
avoiding any of several bad decisions. . . . Objectives
By the end of the
course, participants will be able to:
explain their understanding of the relationships between WWII and
military spending today; present their case for why they think WWII did
not have to happen; produce an argument for why WWII was neither justifiable
nor beneficial; explain how they can support their claims with
evidence; know how to use their learning from this course in the
development of war abolition work in their own contexts.The course
has passed, but Swanson’s book on which the course was based is readily
available: Leaving World War II Behind.
Warmakers:
US Military Corporate Complex One of the human causes of war--and therefore humans can remove
the cause--is humans investing in war, humans creating corporations
that plan and create and sustain wars for profit. Join a divestment campaign, or create
one. Brett
Wilkins. “US Funds Invest in
Nuclear & Cluster Bombs.”
Common
Dreams and Consortium News
(7-19-23). Some of
the largest corporate retirement funds are among the most heavily
invested in weapons banned under international law, finds a corporate
accountability watchdog. Read here... |