2008 NFP State Board Issue Priorities
There’s no end to peacemaking. No matter how much a Peace & Justice organization
like ours might already have on its plate, or how overcommitted we may already be,
there’s always one more issue deserving of our attention.
But when you’ve only got a budget of $150,000 a year and the equivalent of
three full-time staff, you have to make some choices. So each year, the State Board of
Nebraskans for Peace has the unenviable task of setting the organization’s priorities
for the coming year.
From our inception at the height of the Vietnam War, NFP has always been a
multi-issue organization — focused on both peace and justice issues. That same
mindset and outlook informs our agenda-setting efforts today. With the United States
embroiled in yet another conflict in the developing world, anti-war organizing is of
course a foundational part of our activities. As a Nebraska-based group, however, we
continually strive to give our anti-war work a Nebraska flavor — particularly since our
state has two senators, in Chuck Hagel and Ben Nelson, who have been openly
critical of the White House’s policy initiatives in the Islamic world.
We try to balance this national and international emphasis though by also choosing
some issues that have a uniquely Nebraska bent (such as our long-term involvement
with Whiteclay alcohol sales, for instance). Not only does this local focus
highlight our Nebraska identity, we’re well aware that if NFP doesn’t pick up on these
state-specific Peace & Justice issues, it’s unlikely anyone else in the country is going
to.
Finally, you may notice that this year’s list of priorities looks suspiciously like
last year’s list of priorities — and not all that different from the priorities of the year
before. While the work of peacemaking and justice-working is indeed endless, many
of the issues are persistent and enduring. Sadly, our government tends to force its
will onto the rest of the world as much today as it did 40 years ago. Exploitation and
oppression are as prevalent now as they were four decades ago. And injustice continues
to be pretty standard wherever you look.
It’s our responsibility, as the oldest statewide Peace & Justice organization in
the country, to continue to confront these unacceptable conditions — with whatever
resources we have at our disposal. And, as always, how effective we are in confronting
them depends to a large part on the support we can muster from our members.
For 2008, the NFP State Board has identified the following five program priorities:
Program I: Turn Off the Violence. As has been the case previously, we will
continue our anti-bullying work in the schools. We hope to take a leading part in the
passage of LB 205, the anti-bullying bill that got out of committee last session. This
year we also mean to expand the focus of this program to address domestic abuse
and adult violence.
Program II: Anti-War & International Law. This long-standing priority will
center not only on Iraq, Iran and the White House’s “War on Terror,” but on the
essential role of the United Nations and the primacy of international law.
Program III: StratCom & Anti-Nuclear Organizing. With StratCom in our backyard,
those of us in NFP have a special responsibility to alert the rest of the world
about the even greater menace this command center has to world peace in the wake
of 9/11.
Program IV: Civil Rights. In addition to our continuing focus on Whiteclay, we
will also be treating such diverse topics as immigration, globalization and economic
development in North Omaha.
Program V: Environment. The ongoing degradation of the environment is fast
becoming the premier peace issue of our time. In addition to urgently needing to
develop our state’s renewable wind energy resources, Nebraska faces a long overlooked,
but growing danger from the military and nuclear pollution of our soil and
water.
Just as these five programs are not ranked in order of importance, this list is not
immutable or exhaustive. For example, with this being our best opportunity in years
to abolish capital punishment in the state, NFP will naturally be aiding Nebraskans
Against the Death Penalty in their abolition efforts. Our 2008 Priority Plan is really
nothing more than a blueprint for action — and we know, depending on the circumstances,
plans can and should be changed. But if we’re to be as effective as we can
be with the limited resources we have available, it’s important that we have a plan
