Join us to “break the silence” with a day of blogging on Afghanistan

Grassroots organizations around the country are calling for days of action on Afghanistan April 6-9. Get Afghanistan Right, the blogging coalition of which Peace Action West is a member, is coordinating a day of blogging on Afghanistan on Monday, April 6th.  The theme is "Break the Silence" in commemoration of the April 4th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam" speech when he spoke out forcefully against the war in Vietnam. This is an opportunity for people to express their opposition to a military escalation in Afghanistan and propose strong alternatives.

That's where you come in. In addition to all the established bloggers, including PAW, who are posting on their own blogs, we are encouraging as many people as possible to post their own thoughts as a blog post on the "diaries" section of Firedoglake. All you need to do is write down your thoughts, and then follow these instructions to post your post anytime on Monday the 6th.

A few tips and resources for your post:

• Don't worry about trying to be an expert on Afghanistan. Make your post personal by sharing how you feel and any personal connection you have to the issue.If you would like good facts, quotes, and ideas to use for your post, check out our resources section on Afghanistan.
• This is a great place to encourage people to take some kind of action.
  • You can link to this action alert to call representatives and urge them to oppose the escalation and fully fund nonmilitary tools.
  • You can also encourage them to sign up as an Afghanistan Witness, so they can take urgent actions to create debate around Afghanistan policy and push for better solutions.

Once you have written your post, follow these instructions to post your entry on Monday:

Registering at Firedoglake

For our day of blogging on April 6th, we're asking ordinary Americans to speak out against escalation in Afghanistan. Firedoglake provides an easy way to publish your own blog posts. Here are the steps you need to create and use an account:

1. Click here to register. You'll need an active email account, a username, and a password. Remember that usernames can only have letters and numbers – that means no spaces.

2. You will receive an email from Firedoglake at the email address you signed up with. Click on the link they provide to activate your FDL account.

3. Login with your username and password.

4. In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, click on Oxdown Gazette (or follow this link).

5. Scroll down to the "Toolbox" on the lower right. Click on "post diary." Now you're ready to get started!

If you decide to post something on Monday, please leave the link to your piece in the comments here so we can all share!