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In
This Time of Crisis and War Danny Glover, the award-winning film actor who is currently appearing in The Royal Tenenbaums, has a long history of involvement in human rights issues. He recently made headlines for views he expressed at Princeton University on the "war on terrorism." Afterwards, he was canceled from several scheduled appearances. James Early interviewed Glover exclusively for War Times while he was in Washington, D.C. on January 17 for a public interview at the Smithsonian Institution's celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. Q: WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE "WAR ON TERRORISM"? The tragedy at the World Trade Center was a crime against humanity. Everyone who thinks rationally and is a custodian of peace thinks this and feels this. Then we ask, what is a just response to this great crime? Bombing Afghanistan and creating the idea that the U.S. is the judge, the jury and the executioner is the wrong way to respond. It's hard because of the anger, the pain and the humiliation we feel about September 11. But we have to understand that other people have faced the same kind of pain, the same kind of anger. Their lives have been transformed by acts of terrorism and violence, often supported or perpetrated by the U.S. So while we ponder the value of our own lives, we must place the same kind of value on the lives of others. Do we use the word terrorism only when we want to impose our own demands on a situation? Were not the contras, whom the U.S. supported in Nicaragua, terrorists? They attacked civilians, workers' cooperatives and other soft targets. Is not UNITA, the U.S.-supported force in Angola, terrorist? We have to have frank discussions about these difficult issues. Q: DO YOU THINK THAT SOME OF THE MEASURES INSTITUTED FOR THE "WAR ON TERRORISM" BY THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CURTAIL CIVIL LIBERTIES? I think that the Justice Department is setting very dangerous precedents that have led and will lead to a further curtailment of civil liberties. The erosion of civil liberties happens when some people want to control other people's responses; they want to quash dissent. Often when people are afraid, they are willing to give up rights. They hope that they are going to be safer. Q: SOME PEOPLE ACCUSED YOU OF BEING UNPATRIOTIC BECUASE OF REMARKS YOU MADE WHEN YOU SPOKE AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY. WHAT HAPPENED? I was invited to Princeton because the people of New Jersey are lobbying to get a moratorium on the death penalty placed on the ballot. I advocate the abolition of the death penalty. The moratorium is a way to get people talking about it. Since 1977 when the U.S. started using the death penalty again, there have been 101 people on death row that have been freed, not just by legal technicalities, but because it was proven that they were clearly innocent of the crimes for which they faced the death penalty. At the same time, there have been more than 750 men and women who have been executed. So, for every eight people who have been executed, one person on death row has been freed. If you were selling tires, and one out of eight of your tires exploded, consumers would force your tires off the market. That's how I see the death penalty. Some people in the audience at Princeton were uncomfortable and unhappy with my remarks. One gentleman asked me if Osama bin Laden were found guilty, would I oppose the death penalty for him? I answered that I certainly would. I am opposed to the death penalty on principle. A local newspaper wrote an article that took my remarks out of context, and the issue took on a life of its own. I was called unpatriotic, among other things. My publicist received many calls protesting my views. I was canceled from several events. Still,
when I spoke to the staff of the State Department in honor of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, I received such a strong welcome. My speech
focused on King's uncompromising, unflinching commitment to social and
economic justice, to nonviolence, reconciliation and peace. Too often
we understand Dr. King by what other people say about him and ignore his
own words. His words are very instructive for us in this time of crisis
and war. James Early is board chair of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. |
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