FAME , Finding Alternatives to Military EnlistmentA group of Detroit-based activists came together in the spring of 2005 to form Finding Alternatives to Military Enlistment, FAME. Of different ages, faiths and backgrounds, we agreed the U.S. war and subsequent occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan were being carried out under subterfuge. We formed FAME to challenge the military's recruitment.
Young people join the military because they want to learn skills or get the college education that they feel is otherwise out of their reach. But risking one's life to secure oil and natural gas lines for U.S.-based companies or in order to strengthen U.S. dominance in the region is an inappropriate bargain. We want to do all that we can so that young men and women are not forced into an "economic draft."
FAME's task is to talk to young people and
parents about why the promises of the military recruiters are misleading.
We identify other antiwar organizations--particularly
Vets for Peace, Iraqi Vets for Peace and Military Families Speak Out--as
specifically supporting antiwar GIs, and work with them to spread the
word about how the false promises of a military life are hazardous to
a democratic and productive society. By mid 2005 the majority of the
American people oppose the occupation of Iraq, however as of August 20 2006, 2,604 U.S.
soldiers are dead and several thousand have been severely injured. The
number of Iraqi dead and wounded remains shrouded in
secrecy. It is within this context that FAME is organizing.
Although we can't compete with the Pentagon's
multimillion dollar advertising campaigns, we have
some valuable tools on our side- our minds and hearts and commitment
to the truth. We can't let another generation be destroyed by a war without end.
MEETINGS
Please
join us in this important mission. We usually meet every other week. Please contact us at famedetroit@gmail.com for location, time and place.
VOLUNTEER
TO SPEAK
TO STUDENTS
Please help
us educate our young people. We plan to go to the high schools to pass
out the "opt out" forms and explain to the students how important
it will be to get the forms signed and handed in to the school. We
plan to speak to students in classes, in auditoriums, in schools where
ever administrations or teachers will allow us in.
We plan to ask for "equal time" in cafeterias, setting up "Counter
Recruitment" booths next to the military's recruitment booths and
giving information to the potential recruits about what to really expect
if they join the service.
We plan to work with National GI Hotlines to make sure there is a hotline
in our area to answer questions from those who have signed up and are
not getting what they were promised.
These will be ALL VOLUNTEER efforts, and we need your help. You and your friends and neighbors are the best people to talk to the young people in your area. This information will be heard much more clearly if it is a message from the community to the community.