by Aimee Allison & David Solnit
Seven Stories
2007, paperback
SKU: 9781583227558
Uniformed U.S. Army Officers lunch with students in elementary school cafeterias. Army training programs including rifle and pistol instruction replace physical education in middle schools. Like never before, military recruiters are entering the halls of U.S. schools with unchecked access in an attempt to bolster a military in crisis.
However, even as these destructive efforts to militarize youth accelerate, so do the creative and powerful efforts of students, community members, and veterans to challenge them. Today, the counter-recruitment movement-from counseling to poetry slams to citywide lobbying efforts-has become one of the most practical ways to tangibly resist U.S. policy that cuts funding for education and social programs while promoting war and occupation. Without enough soldiers, the U.S. cannot sustain its empire.
Army of None exposes the real story behind the military-recruitment complex, and offers guides, tools, and resources for education and action, and people power strategies to win.
Reviews:
"Army Of None is a direct challenge to the militarization of American youth. It's a toolkit, a practical how-to manual, for the emerging politics of non-cooperation and direct action. Army Of None is published at a pivotal moment in the peace movement." -Paul Rockwell, Counterpunch
"Army of None is a manual for opponents of the Iraq war who want to cut off its supply of cannon fodder." -Jeremy Brecher, Truthout
The Authors:
After serving four years as a combat medic in the Army Reserves, Aimee Allison earned an honorable discharge as a Conscientious Objector during the Persian Gulf War who now serves on the steering committee of San Francisco's College Not Combat Initiative.
Anti-war, global justice and arts organizer David Solnit was a main organizer in the WTO protests in Seattle in 1999 and in San Francisco the day after Iraq was invaded in 2003. He is the editor of Globalize Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World.