Category: Peace

Change Course

There’s no doubt we’re in for a ride as the chaotic upheaval of the government continues. Certainly, there’ll be people in need and hopefully we’ll find a way around failing systems to help. If you’re still falling in line with Republican or Democrat talking points, it may be time to consider the talking point that suffered the most in both parties’ rhetoric: our humanity.

When a government abdicates its responsibility to protect the welfare of its people by choosing instead to build wealth through military industry and resource theft, that government is not worthy of its people’s allegiance. Since October 2023, we have witnessed a government unyielding in its support of genocide. The hand off from Biden to Trump was seamless and now we are expected to complete the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by a single decree of our president / king. 

And just as South Africa and others accused Israel of genocide, there is now a request for the International Criminal Court to investigate Biden, Blinken and Lloyd for their complicity in genocide by “aiding and abetting” Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

European nations are uniting in fierce opposition to Trump’s erroneous statements on Ukraine. And we must reckon with what appears to be another US resource grab in disregard for the sovereignty of Ukrainians – and what it could mean for other nations if Putin’s aggression continues with US approval.

As the United States wealth gap increases and countless marginalized people face the terror of hatred unleashed and run amuck, we shouldn’t ask, “How did we get here?” In a country whose entire history has been one of attempted genocide of Indigenous people, cruelty of enslaved people and the scapegoating of anyone who challenged the normalcy of the “divine right of kings” – the question should be: “How do we emerge from this horror?” 

It’s beyond time for us to acknowledge, challenge and change the storyline of empire that has been our history. Yes, we have been led by high ideals but time and again we have surrendered those ideals. Whether out of fear of the powerful or the desire to climb the ladder, we have squandered beloved community. We have sacrificed our humanity, our individuality and our human family and for what? Changing course is still an option. It will require a commitment toward peace and peace building. It will require a truth telling and courage to face the backlash that will surely, is surely, coming. It will require a restoration of each individual’s humanity and the reinvigoring of community. It is possible and it is happening for some of us. We can remain frozen in the fear of this moment of violence and repression or rekindle and support the ideals of liberty and equity for all. Choose. 

Graceful Defiance

Twenty-three years ago, I took on coexisting with some land, and gratefully I’m still learning. You recognize that where human footprints have trod the earth becomes less pliant. You learn that every season has a new story to tell and every plant, tree and animal that abides with you is eager to teach. 

Areas that were disturbed by human touch quickly give way to so called invasives. And left unchecked some plants will crowd and eventually weaken others. You find that your good intentions imposed on the land are often unnecessary and unfulfilling.

And you hold the trees close to your heart as friends. The old heirloom orchard holds amazing lessons in diversity and I am certain the ciders we make are among the best anywhere. 

One tree captures my heart. Often ignored, it’s adjacent to the road and I am certain has endured horrible toxicity from asphalt and salt. But still it remains. I’m sure they tore through its life veins as they lay telephone lines. But still it remains.

This tower of the ages, this testament to the will of life is a white pine. And I’m guessing it was planted when the original house was built over 170 years ago, when the road was nothing more than a one lane pass, next to a sweet little stream.

The white pine is a symbol of strength, protection, and longevity. It was under a white pine that five nations of the Haudenosaunee forged an alliance through the Great Law of Peace. That Great Law still guides People towards unity and to the consensus decision making essential to the benefit of all. 

In graceful defiance, we are urged to learn what remains possible. In unity and in Peace within ourselves, with one another and the Earth.

Pursuing Peace

For people of various beliefs this season carries a singular message: peace on earth, goodwill to all. For many the lip service ends with the season and we are left in a swirl of hopelessness and indecision. Yet before our time here, and I imagine long after we’re gone, there have been persistent and passionate voices that have stood and will stand for humanity and peace. They inspire us with wisdom borne of effort, and paths forged by determination and choice. 

We honor the memory of these people and stand on the shoulders of the countless nameless whose work towards peace lives on in us. We seldom realize the torch is being passed.  And, we the living are the bearers of that torch, if we accept it and as we understand it.

The 1948, United Nations Declaration of Human Rights was an achievement of great significance as it was drafted and ratified by people from different cultures and countries. It was the first time a universally recognized understanding of the rights of humankind was proclaimed. Say what you will about the UN, but this effort to inspire and uplift all of us has been the cornerstone of over 70 human rights treaties. This in a world seemingly hell bent on self-destruction.

So, in this moment as we begin to look to the new year with apprehension and hope, it is incumbent upon us to consider where we stand as torchbearers of peace.

Have we understood and accepted peace in our own lives? Surely, we cannot establish peace around us if we remain in turmoil and confusion.

Most recently an esteemed member of the Global Peace Education Network passed on. Federico Mayor Zaragoza‘s words to all people of peace echo on, “We cannot remain silent anymore”. “Do not be a spectator”, he warned.

Now, it’s up to us to answer that request in any and every way we can.

Call for a United Nations 
Global Peace Education Day

Please read our petition and add your name if you share our goal for a UN day of peace education.Since peace is central to the mission of the United Nations, we are urging the General Assembly to declare an official UN Global Peace Education Day. The United Nations has more than 150 international days for different humanitarian themes, but there is no day dedicated solely to the theme of Peace Education

Israel Must Stop

No War with Iran. Let Palestinians live in dignity. 

I wake in the night and listen to BBC. It’s their morning and I hope, as I have hoped for the past year, that the new day will deliver humanity from insanity. I long for an end to the nightmare, I am weary of the lies and excuses used to continue genocide and land theft. I’m bored with political arguments that offer no relief; only more distraction from this precipice of horror.

And I wonder what it will take for people to Remember.

I heard a chicken farmer speak of how he could not let his chickens starve to death. That had been the solution afforded him by his buyers. Instead, he took out a loan to save them. “They’re good chickens”, he said. Juxtapose that with news from Israel. Palestinians are told to leave their makeshift shelters once more or they will be starved. They will be starved. Intentionally deprived of food and water. Men, women, children. Human beings who have been tortured and witness to atrocities for the past year. And so much longer.

I’m horrified. But I refuse to be numb. Our government has, without reservation, supported the madmen of Israel. Our leaders have been bought by pro-Israel organizations and our media has forced fed us Oct 7th and antisemitic storylines, hiding the genocide. 

The new lie is that Pro-Palestinian organizations are terrorists. This, as the “Right” is bolstered by an unhinged authoritarian, the “Middle” is lost by a President who refuses to stop the military industrial complex, and the “Left” who are scattered and divided over an election.

The Nobel Peace Prize was given to Japanese survivors of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

And I wonder what it will take for people to Remember.

Two Wings, Same Bird

If you have not realized that the United States is completely backing Israel’s crimes against humanity that began with Gaza, moved to the West Bank and now extends to Lebanon, then I ask you to wake from slumber.

The United Nations has been consistent in its condemnation of Israel and the Biden administration has continued to use “defense” as a cover for Israel’s brutal destruction of communities and all-out murders. It has been nearly one year that we have been witness to this genocide. It has been nearly one year that the United States has given diplomatic cover and billions of dollars to the terrorist nation which Israel has become.

As we remain divided between the two wings of the same bird, we are unable to stand united against crimes against humanity. In this case, the two wings are the GOP and the Dems, and the bird is militarism. The winds that keep the wings afloat are the lobbying dollars of the war industry and of the nations who benefit from the wars of resource and land theft.

Our politicians are bought and sold while our humanity wallows in moral decay.

The political arena is a circus with celebrated clowns, including the so – called third parties that emerge every four years adding confusion to an already broken system. And if you look closely, you can see that international players choose our election cycles to wreak havoc on innocent human beings – as we willingly comply by ignoring the essential for the macabre.

And what is the essential? Essential is the recognition of the primary needs of every human being: clean food, water, air, shelter and the possibility of peace. 

Polls show the majority of us want a ceasefire. It’s time we demand it.

Let us fly on the wings of peace.

The United Nations has repeatedly called for Ceasefire which the US has blocked. Now as we witness Israel’s unchecked bombing of Lebanon, the US and “allies” are calling for a three week ceasefire. We must ensure that Biden does not tell us again how “tirelessly” he is working for ceasefire. We must demand it.

“Lebanese Civilians Are Paying the Price” https://www.democracynow.org/2024/9/25/lebanon_aya_majzoub

Cutting Our Ties to Terror

A new terror has descended on the world as Israel unleashed the simultaneous explosions of pagers followed by a second day of explosions of walkie talkies in Lebanon.

Israel’s defense minister claims this is a “new era” in Israel’s war effort. The simultaneous pager explosions on Hezbollah fighters killed at least thirty-seven and wounded 3400. Hospitals were overwhelmed by amputees, eye injuries and more. The second day of attacks came through walkie talkies and killed at least 20 and injured 450. And while Israel is not claiming the second round of explosions, this new form of terror and dominance is rocking Lebanon, the region and the world.

The United Nations Human Rights chief said this, “Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings… violates international human rights law and… international humanitarian law.”

And now the question falls to us, the citizens of the United States, whose government has for the past eleven months supplied Israel with war machines and money to carry out what is being denounced world-wide as crimes against humanity, what will we do?

Will we continue to allow our government free reign in support of the terrorist regime that Israel has become? Or will we demand peace? If we believe the story line that Israel needs our help in self – defense, then when do we acknowledge the need of those who are being illegally attacked as needing the same kind of defense?

The entire argument is insane. War will never bring peace. Supporting violence will only beget violence. The Biden administration would do well to cut ties with terror.

And we would be wise to ensure it.

By Al Jazeera English – Growing Up in Gaza, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17512081

Listen to Bernie and learn why we need to stop sending Israel supporters he introduces a resolution to block another $20 billion arms sale to Israel. He says, “We must end our complicity in the immoral & illegal war against Palestinians.”

I agree.

Where Are the Voices for Peace

Thousands of dead, millions displaced and stalled peace talks. These are the headlines out of Sudan. Aid trucks are not given adequate passage to reach innocent women and children and the story of war repeats itself ad nauseum.

The same story plays out as Israel now invades the West Bank. Palestinians refer to this as another Nakba.  And the cries for ceasefire continue to be ignored and the world continues to watch and the United States continues to fund this genocide. Some watch in horror, some with disregard.

Most disconcerting are the proclamations of the leaders. In Sudan’s case, Al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese army refuses to attend peace talks and has said that the fighting will continue for 100 years and there will be no forgiving the Rapid Support Forces as the civil war wages on. 

Israel’s Foreign Minister Katz calls for the mass displacement of Palestinians in what had been the more secure West Bank. He wrote, “We need to deal with the threat exactly as we deal with terror infrastructure in Gaza…This is a war for everything and we must win it,”.

Somewhere, somehow, someone must find a way to stand for peace. People are following these ruthless leaders. Soldiers willingly give their time, bodies and lives for senseless power grabbing greed.

Somewhere, somehow, someone must stand for peace.

The United States has been among the many powers who have led by force. We have touted war as a means of achieving peace. There can be nothing more ridiculous and insane. 

Sudanese and Palestinian people are the latest victims in the human history of conquest and violence. When we finally work as hard for peace as we do for war, this dynamic will change. 

Check out these voices for peace:

The Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice – a network of over eighty organizations advancing a sustainable world free from violence and injustice.

The Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine – a coalition of over eighty organizations working towards ceasefire in Palestine and a US arms embargo to Israel.

And for a personal dive into our humanity and peace: The Prem Rawat Foundation’s Peace Education Program

You can listen to my conversation with Palestinian American Muhammad Kharbush, “And Still They Survive.” Born in 1948, the year of the Nakba, Muhammad gives his oral history of the past 76 years. Thanks to WDRT studio.

Liberal Ambivalence

People take great pride in espousing what they believe to be true. “Hear it, repeat it, swear by it” should be our national motto.

People ask me what I believe and I say, “You don’t want to know what I believe. Beliefs change like clothing. Ask me what I know.”

I get a few sideways glances but few dare to ask. I understand why. Very few take the time required to delve into the realm of knowing. Comforted by belief, however ludicrous, we accept what we have been told as gospel. 

The annihilation of Palestine is peppered with belief. Belief in Zionism, belief in Rapture, belief that our leaders have our best interest at heart. I heard someone tell Tammy Baldwin that what is happening in Gaza is genocide. She replied, “We don’t use that word.” Why Tammy?

Does it have something to do with who finances campaigns?  Or do you really believe that what is occurring for the past eight months – and truly much longer – is not genocide? Cutting off food and water, bombing crowded markets, hospitals, schools…all with United States tax dollars and your support. Let’s call it what it is.

We are so into belief that we no longer push for what is right. Our beliefs keep us from any meaningful dialogue towards peace. Instead, we “save” four hostages by killing a few hundred civilians. And it is “we” since it is our money and weaponry so cavalierly being used to kill.

But, mustn’t say genocide. 

But I can’t blame you alone, Tammy. For every one of you there are countless numbers of people who shrug their shoulders and mumble something inane like, both sides are wrong (or are they right?). Ah, the delusion of ambivalence. How well we wear it. 

Ignorance must indeed be bliss. We can all do much more.

Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine – Learn more. Take action. Talk to people.

Weary of War

The United States will again hinder the course of international justice and challenge universal standards of morality. Biden has denounced the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for top Israeli officials and Hamas leaders. 

Since its inception, the International Criminal Court has strived to establish rules of engagement for war and peace – a monumental undertaking given the diversity of thought that exists in the world.  Driven by a desire for human dignity to prevail, the court seeks to create a system of justice that would offer solace to victims and direct the course of human interactions towards peace.

The United States is a non-member of the ICC, and has supported the International Court when the Court has sought to employ justice against its foes, but has balked when the same Court has attempted to enact jurisdiction over the United States or its allies. Perhaps it’s time we evaluate our relationship to power and militarism and attempt peace keeping through diplomacy.  

The United Nation’s effort to establish peace among nations is repeatedly hindered by the United States. We’re often the first to veto efforts to rein in aggression. This we have seen throughout Israel’s inhuman assault on Gaza. Even our allies are turning toward peacebuilding and away from supporting arms sales to Israel.

And in a major turn of events, Norway, Ireland and Spain have begun to recognize the statehood of Palestine. As the three countries united in this action, they expressed it as a step towards peace – for both sides of the conflict. 

Many of us are weary of the normalization of war and the devastation of human life and the environment. Polls are bearing this out. 

Those fearing Biden will lose the election would do well to push him towards peace. 

Countries that recognize the statehood of Palestine.

Study Peace

The hope for peace has been around a long time. Pete Seeger’s song “Study War No More” came from a Negro spiritual and its often thought the words “Down by the Riverside” referred to the Ohio River. The song encouraged and pointed the way for slaves to escape to freedom.

A “Mother’s Day for Peace”* was promoted by suffragette Julia Ward Howe in 1870. In her Mother’s Day Proclamation, she beckoned mothers, the world over, to ask that their husbands and sons would no longer be killed in wars. She called upon mothers to band together to promote the “amicable settlement of international questions, (with) the great and general interests of peace.”

And one might ask what ever happened to Armistice Day? Armistice is Latin for “to stand (still) arms”. It was celebrated on Nov 11 to celebrate the end of WWI. In 1938, it became known as a day dedicated to world peace and became an official holiday. But war is such an integral part of our culture, it served our militarism to honor the lives lost and Armistice became Veterans Day and peace again took a back seat in 1954.

As someone who has understood the intrinsic need we all have to feel peace, I am often perplexed at the silence from those who, by default, continually support war. I understand our economy is now based in militarism with the sales of arms to friends and foe. I get that women have lost their voices to Hallmark, and that false rationales and reasonings dictate the need for war, but seriously, what will it take for the majority of us to recognize that peace is not only possible but is truly our only way out?  

We’ve studied war. It’s time we study peace.

Path to Peace
Guidance towards inner peace without dogma. Study peace.

The original Mothers’ Day Proclamation, Julia Ward Howe, 1870:

Arise, then… women of this day!

Arise, all women who have hearts, whether our baptism be that of water or of tears! Say firmly: We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.

From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says: Disarm, Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence vindicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of council.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them then solemnly take council with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own kind the sacred impress, not of Caesar, but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women, without limit of nationality, may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient, and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.

Study War No More / Down By the Riverside – Pete Seeger