Published in 2005
256 pages
Medea Benjamin grew up in Long Island, New York, a self-described “nice Jewish girl.” During her freshman year at Tufts University, she renamed herself after the Greek mythological character Medea. She received master’s degrees in public health from Columbia University and in economics from The New School.
Benjamin worked for 10 years as an economist and nutritionist in Latin America and Africa for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, the Swedish International Development Agency, and the Institute for Food and Development Policy. She spent four years in Cuba, and has authored three books on the country.
In 1988 with Kevin Danaher, her husband, and Kirsten Moller, Benjamin co-founded the San Francisco-based Global Exchange, which advocates fair trade alternatives to what she describes as corporate globalization. She is a co-founder of the left-wing feminist anti-war group Code Pink: Women for Peace, which advocated an end to the Iraq War, the prevention of future wars, and social justice. Benjamin has also been involved with the left-wing anti-war organization United for Peace and Justice
What is this book about?
How can we humanize each other and act as responsible global citizens? What are appropriate and effective responses to terrorism? How should media figures report on terrorism and war? How should elected officials respond? What can ordinary citizens do?
How to Stop the Next War Now, edited by renowned Code Pink peace activists Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, shares expert insight on the issues and powers-that-be that can lead us to war—including the media, our elected politicians, global militarization, and the pending scarcity of national resources. It aims to educate and reflect on the effectiveness of peace movement activities and offers hope, through shared ideas, action steps, and checklists to transition from a culture of violence to a culture of peace.
Full of practical, proven suggestions to promote education, awareness, activism, and political change, drawn from experts from every walk of life who have passionately devoted their lives to peace. Contributors include elected officials, media personalities and reporters, public intellectuals, and ordinary citizens, all who are eager to find the most appropriate and effective responses to terrorism (other than bombing the hell out of third-world countries). Includes short essays, interviews, poems, illustrations, Q&As, action tips, and more.
