CORE MESSAGE
People in the United States and around the world want similar things: safety for our loved ones, freedom to be ourselves, shelter, clean air to breathe, and food to eat. But certain politicians and the greedy weapons manufacturers who fund them have used fear and lies to divide us based on race, nationality, or faith. Meanwhile they funnel billions into multiple military entanglements around the world that pad corporate profits, endanger people at home and abroad, and pollute our communities. Politicians find hundreds of billions to support an ever-growing military industrial complex, but when we demand our tax dollars fund health care, good schools, and affordable child care, they tell us there simply isn't enough money to go around.
Protecting our families and communities - locally and globally - means re-investing in diplomacy and other non-violent tools of statecraft. Together, we can cooperate to solve the biggest challenges we all face like climate change and pandemics. We are joining together across differences to build a world where all people can live with dignity and freedom and have their human rights respected, protected, and fulfilled.
WATCH IT IN ACTION
The coronavirus pandemic proves that we are all connected and we need to work together with the rest of the world to address the greatest challenges to human security like disease and damage to our climate. Turning our back on the rest of the world puts us at greater risk. We can’t fight a pandemic or climate change with bombs and we can’t get the health care, housing, and support we need if we pour trillions into bloated military budgets that can’t and won’t buy true security. Rather than continuing to increase the military budget, we should invest in sharing the COVID-19 vaccine and preventing the spread of the virus. We are all safer and stronger when our foreign policy is rooted deeply in values like equality, justice, and human rights. It’s time for us to work together to build a world where all of us can live with dignity and freedom.
POLLING + Fast Facts
AMERICANS VALUE DIPLOMACY AND WANT TO CUT PENTAGON SPENDING
73% of Americans say that good diplomacy is the best way to ensure peace, while 26% say military strength is the best way to do this. 56% of Americans support cutting Pentagon spending to pay for domestic priorities.
BILLIONS WASTED ON ENDLESS WARS
The United States has spent an estimated $8 trillion and counting on post-9/11 endless wars, with the war in Afghanistan having cost an estimated $45 billion each year.
Words that Work
We must prioritize diplomacy, development, and the well-being of all people in the world.
We must consistently uphold our values...
We want peace with….
Pursue peace and justice
Only by helping to make others secure will we ourselves become more secure.
We must be a partner for peace
We support dignity and justice for all people
NEXT: TOOLS + RESOURCES ↓
Tools + Resources
For more information, we have included the following additional resources below. These resources do not necessarily reflect the policy positions of the Progressive Caucus Action Fund.
MESSAGING GUIDES + DATA TOOLS
Messaging Guidance: President Biden’s FY 2022 Pentagon Funding Request Increases Above Trump Levels — Win Without War
No Cold War With China: Messaging Guidance — Win Without War
Principles of a Progressive Foreign Policy for the United States — Win Without War
Public Opinion And Defense Messaging During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic — ReThink Media
Busting Pentagon Spending Budget Myths — Win Without War
Coronavirus and U.S. Foreign Policy — Win Without War
Surcharges at the IMF: Regressive, Counterproductive, and Bad for the World Economy — Center for Economic Policy and Research
Sanctions Watch, May-June 2022 — Center for Economic Policy and Research
US Over-Investment in the Pentagon Left Us Vulnerable to the Coronavirus — Institute for Policy Studies
F-35 Program Stagnated in 2021 but DOD Testing Office Hiding Full Extent of Problem - POGO
Congress Should Provide Non-Defense Appropriations Sufficient to Address Full Range of National Needs and Priorities - Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
2021 Discretionary Spending - National Priorities Project
The Pentagon doesn’t need more money. These things do. - National Priorities Project
Where your 2021 Tax Dollar Went - National Priorities Project
We Make the Future Messaging Guide - We Make the Future
Polling
Voters Overwhelmingly Support a Progressive Policy Agenda – Data for Progress 04.29.2024
Check out the latest polling from our partners at Data for Progress and Navigator
Questions?
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