Interview with Maureen Aumand
by Paul Frazier

Maureen Aumand, a teacher and librarian in the Albany, NY, area, has helped coordinate the upcoming conference: “Confronting the Politics of Fear: A People’s Assembly” (see box). Here are her thoughts about the conference:

“I had not acted in a public way until the September 11 attacks, and then I knew I had to get more involved. The following July I heard Scott Ritter speak, then a friend, Joe Quandt, went to Iraq and I supported him. I worked against the invasion as much as I could, feeling great sorrow and a deep desire to stem the course of a terrible mistake this country was making.”

“It became clear to me that the invasion was not one issue, but that there is a BIG picture, and to understand that big picture it is necessary to join with others to help fellow citizens understand what is going on. There is a core humanity that can be appealed to. We need to find ways to cut through the politics of fear and figure out how to reach that core goodness.”

“I see a very rich panoply of people with deep commitments working for justice, people running parallel who don’t know each other, and who need to create a better network. We need to clarify our common platforms, to make stronger connections with the media, and to forge ahead in crossing class and race lines in developing a unified ‘regime change’.”

If you would like to stay overnight after the Assembly, contact Maureen at <maumand@nycap.rr.com>.