Illustration of a red barn and silo next to a yellow and brown house with green trees on a blue ground with two yellow and green areas of farmed land

“Farms Not Arms” is an organization formed out of the PeaceRoots Alliance for farmers to help them discuss issues of interest. They are concerned with a variety of issues that pertain to maintaining a healthy environment for humans and animals such as food security, availability of clean water, global warming, non-polluting energy supply, radiation, and more. “Farms Not Arms” want to help people become aware that the Earth needs to be cared for because it is our source for food. They also recruit farming families to offer their farms as a refuge to veterans so they can recover in a quiet place where they can also have steady job doing agricultural work.  

Illustration of a brown hand holding a diploma and with fingers in the shape of a V with black text above and below it on a white background

“Students Yes, Soldiers No!” is a protest slogan that promotes the idea that students should seek an education over military service. Designed by San Diego based organization, the Committee on Militarism & the Draft, which focuses on school demilitarization with counter-recruitment activism. The COMD is an anti-militarism organization committed to community education, direct action, and youth outreach. They challenge the military, its effect on society, its budget, and its role abroad and at home. The COMD is also concerned with the racism, sexism, and homophobia that are inherent in the armed forces and Selective Service System.

Black text over an upside-down pink triangle on a grey background

The pink triangle behind the text on this button is the symbol that was used in Nazi concentration camps to identify male prisoners who were sent there because they were homosexual. The pink triangle marked gay men the way the yellow star was used to identify Jews. Originally intended as a badge of shame, the pink triangle (often inverted from its Nazi usage) has been reclaimed as an international symbol of gay pride and the gay rights movement, and according to Wikipedia, is second in popularity only to the rainbow flag. The text of “End the War Against Gays”  calls for an end to the discrimination and persecution of homosexuals worldwide.

Purple and white text on a white background with a purple stripe across the center

Educate Agitate Organize was a slogan coined by the famous first Minister for Law in free India, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. This slogan was based on Buddhist philosophy.

Illustration of a container with red text on it on a grey background

Toxic waste is waste material that can cause death, injury, or birth defects. It contaminates multiple different areas of land, such as land, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Toxic waste is a poisonous by-product of manufacturing, farming, city septic systems, construction, automotive garages, laboratories, hospitals, and other industries. In oder to safely dispose of toxic waste, organizations must comply to rules and regulations. There have been places created for proper disposal designed to permanently contain the waste to prevent harm. But there is still unsafe disposal of toxic waste. It is costly to properly dispose of toxic waste, and therefore some organizations and companies don't use clean production methods and often produce a lot of toxic waste that is not disposed of properly. 

White text on a blue and purple background

In the 1950s some Americans started protesting nuclear tests and nuclear proliferation. This movement intensified in the early 1960s as the Cold War caused increased concern about nuclear war with the Soviet Union, but faded in the late 1960s and 1970s as anti-Vietnam War protests took the forefront among peace activists. In the 1980s the antinuclear movement was revitalized by concerns about Reagan's talk of nuclear war.

Light green text on a green background

"Culture Wars" refers to a conflict between traditionalists (conservative) values and progressive (liberal) values. The phrase on the button, “The 90's are the 60's” demonstrates that the number 90 is the number 60 “backwards & upside-down turned.” The 90s and the 60s can be comparable in that they both have an era of rebellion. The 90s explored important social issues through music, theater, and literature, just as the 60s had done. During the 60s, there was an anti-establishment cultural event that spread around the world. Because of conflicts of social values, there was widespread social tension concerning cultural issues in both the 60s and the 90s. 

Illustration of an American flag with white and blue text on a white background

Political satirist and folk singer Dave Lippman created the character of George Shrub, a satire of George Bush, who worked for the Committee to Intervene Anywhere (abbreviated CIA). Lippman has been touring and giving performances as Shrub since the 1980s when he launched his "Reagan for Shah" campaign satirizing Reagan's presidential campaign. As Shrub, he satirizes the CIA and U.S. intervention in Latin America and around the world, including both Gulf Wars.

Illustration of paper doll type people in green across the button with blue text above and below on a yellow background

"Child Care not War fare" is a slogan used from the 1980s to the early 2000s in Canada, the United States, and Australia. It was used by Socialist and Feminist peace activists to express opposition to the First and Second Gulf Wars and to request that money spent on war instead be spent on welfare and other social programs to help children and mothers. This slogan helped bring poor people and minorities into the peace movement by pointing out the connection between military spending and absence of social programs, such as childcare for working mothers, which they need.

Grey illustration of a wheel chair next to blue text on a white background

This button is most likely in support of the disability rights movement that really started to gain ground and social awareness in the U.S. during the 1970s and 1980s. The specific goals and demands of the movement are: accessibility and safety in transportation, architecture, and the physical environment; equal opportunities in independent living, employment, education, and housing; and freedom from abuse, neglect, and violations of patients’ rights. The message of this specific button is most closely related to the issue of accessibility, suggesting that instead of the government funding the building of weapons, they should provide more funding for the building of wheelchair ramps.