Articles

Issue Three

Don't Torture in My Name

By Josh Madson

On September 13, 2003, Alyssa Peterson tragically ended her life. The third female soldier to die in Iraq since the invasion, Alyssa was a devout Mormon who had served a mission in the Netherlands. Shortly after her religious service, Alyssa volunteered to serve in the military.

Racism, Violence, and the United States, Part 1: The Prison System

By Spencer Kingman

In this article, and others forthcoming, I will explore the U.S. prison system, the practice of torture, and the wall at the nation's southern border as three particular projects that bely such an assumption. I intend to show that, far from fading away or becoming superficial, racism remains a vicious and violent a force in this country.

Space Technology or Social Progress?

By Bruce K. Gagnon

As criticisms of U.S. “missile defense” (MD) technology increase around the world, it is interesting that the reaction of the Bush administration is to accelerate efforts to deploy the system in as many countries as possible.

The Unattained Enlightenment

By Gregory VanWagenen

Calling oneself a socialist has always been a challenge, and it seems especially challenging to adopt that description at this particular time and place. Advocating the empowerment of a working class which seems profoundly conservative puts the socialist in one of two positions.

Palestinian / Israeli Conflict: A Cooperative Effort

by Abdullah Mulhimone

Over the years it has become clear to any one observing the peace process and the situation in the Middle East that Israel is more interested in its security than in peace with its neighbors.

The Zion/Babylon dualism in Mormonism and Anarchism

By Jason Brown

What sets the anarchist critique of society apart from other political projects is the view that, because the state is as an inherently hierarchical, and therefore oppressive institution, the project of human liberation must necessarily do away with all forms of economic and political oppression, not simply attempt to reform them or mitigate their damage. This critique of society can be easily compared to the Zion/Babylon dualism found in Mormon scripture and as elaborated by Hugh Nibley in his seminal and radical work Approaching Zion.

The Fascist Roots of Corporate America (And the Bush Family)

Stephen Wellington

“The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power...Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

The Iraqi Resistance, Al-Qaeda, and US Propaganda

By William Van Wagenen

In reporting on the violence in Iraq, most news organizations tend to focus on attacks carried out by the Al-Qaeda in Iraq organization (AQI), which largely consist of suicide bombings targeting Shiite civilians. Similarly, when briefing the press on its military activities, US army spokespersons focus almost exclusively on operations directed at AQI. One thus gets the impression that the war in Iraq today consists of largely two sides: the US-led coalition forces and the Iraqi security forces on the one hand, and AQI militants on the other.

Wendell Berry’s “Gift of a Good Life”

By Ron Madsen

As vividly portrayed in Walden’s Pond, Henry Thoreau was engaged in an epic struggle with his “bean field.” Needing strength he called upon the gods: “They (the beans) attached me to the earth, and so I got strength like Antaeus.”

Lakotah Indians Declare Independence from the United States of America

By Jason Brown

“After 150 years of colonial enforcement, when you back people into a corner there is only one alternative. That alternative is to bring freedom back into existence by taking it back - back to the love of freedom, to our lifeway.” Canupa Gluha Mani

Peter Chelcick (c. 1390 – c.1460)

By Kristen Kinjo-Bushman

As the Protestant Reformation swept through Europe, John Wyclif’s teachings inspired Jan Hus, a Czechoslovakian, to initiate reform in his own country. During the years of 1415-1419, Jan Hus organized the Czechoslovakians in a movement that would be known as the Hussite Revolution.

Commonwealth

Matthew Thomas

Modern democratic republicanism, in all its varieties, theoretical or realized, be they liberal, social democratic, or even anarchistic 1, took root in the events surrounding the English Revolution (1642-1652), and the establishment of that short-lived republic, the Commonwealth of England. The precedent set by this revolution was of great importance to the subsequent American and French revolutions because the absolutism of monarchial authority was not only questioned, but challenged, and ultimately overthrown.

A Love Poem from Iraq

By Jack Dawkins

last we spoke on the phone
you asked before the signal died
why I haven’t written you a poem