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

Send Aid Not Arms

Growing up in a Christian household, I took the benevolent teachings of Jesus Christ to heart. “Love they neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39) was instilled in me. Fortunately, there were models of kindness and people of faith to counter the hypocrisy that too often accompanies religion.  

Today the stark divisions of faith versus belief have brought us to a grotesque masquerade of power which has nothing to do with “Love thy neighbor.” If that basic teaching were understood and practiced, those of Christian faith would be rallying behind an end to the Palestinian genocide, not remaining silent. Or even worse, there are those who champion the slaughter as the forerunner that beckons the “next coming”.

Zionism, the belief of the divine right to kill and displace people, has no place in humanity. Whether Christian Zionism or Jewish Zionism, those who harbor ill will and use God as their excuse to plunder and murder are not in keeping with the great possibility of being human.

Love thy neighbor as thyself. If we have not discovered our rich essence as human beings, we cannot love. We must know, not simply believe, that we are sparks of the divine clothed in temporary bodies and given this one opportunity to love.

It’s been over one year. People are being starved. The United Nations has denounced the Israeli tactics as violations of human rights and on December 12, 2024 passed a resolution demanding immediate ceasefire and expressed support of UNRWA. South Africa and most nations of the world have declared that Israeli leadership is conducting genocide. We, in the United States, are complicit in war crimes as our dollars, weaponry and intelligence continues to support the inhuman slaughter of Palestinians. And once again, the US and Israel voted against the resolution, which passed with 158 votes of the 193 member assembly. Nine votes against and 13 abstentions

Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/12/un-general-assembly-demands-immediate-ceasefire-in-gaza-supports-unrwa#ixzz8uA7lIMYF

Soon we will be led by Christian Zionists chosen by Donald Trump.

The silence of Christians who are not Zionist must end. We need your voice to end this madness. Let us chose to send aid not arms. Let love of humanity win.

Support of UNRWA. Support of Human Rights.

photo of child – “Growing up in Gaza” – from Al Jazerra.

The Potter’s Hands

There’s a story about a potter’s wheel. As the potter spins the wheel, she lays her hand into the clay to hold it steady while with the other hand she slaps and shapes the outside of the clay into the vessel she chooses. This analogy is to our lives. We are the clay on the potter’s wheel. And on the outside, we are tempered in ways we cannot imagine. Yet it is the firm and steadfast grip that holds us from within that is as important to the shaping of our lives. 

Fear these days is palpable. Governments are struggling and militarism and violence have become the human go-to. Systems that we have relied upon, however ill equipped, are proving unworthy of our trust. And fledgling testaments to the possibility of human greatness, such as the United Nation’s Geneva Conventions of War, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are being challenged and sidelined by power grabs and our collective inability to change course.

In this chaotic moment, the distinction of what is happening to us on the outside versus the strength and sureness of the inside is worthy of our attention. We may not be able to stop the downward spiral that seems to be gripping humanity, but we can begin to slow it down. We can lean into the internal hand that holds us and recognize it as universal. We can remember our interconnectedness to all of life and begin again to remake our world from the inside, out. We can allow the outside to reflect the strength and vision of that internal hand. We can allow the wisdom of the potter lead, not the fates of ill-will and inhumanity. 

It’s our choice.

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photo by Ahmed Kassem : Pottery hand made craft by young girl in Tunis village in Fayoum Egypt

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Don’t Throw Away Giving Thanks

ODE TO ALL THE QUEER AND TRANS FOLKS WHO ARE FIGHTING TO BE SEEN THIS HOLIDAY AND TO ALL OF MY INDIGENOUS FRIENDS WHO REMEMBER HOW TO CELEBRATE.

Forget the hype and all the lies about the first Thanksgiving. If you’re still believing in the good old Pilgrims’ story, it’s doubtful facts will sway you. No, this is not for you. This is for the ones who have forsaken giving thanks, because they refuse to partake in that story. It’s for people who have suffered through enough of these come together holidays and are rewarded with tense family moments. And so, they say, “No thanks.”

This is for the ones who haven’t reconciled the hatred and bigotry disguised as piety; and they haven’t found a way to hide their disgust.

I’m with you. Hypocrisy drove me from that good old religion long ago and I’ve never looked back.

But here is truth. Giving thanks for abundance or even the meager goodness that winds through our lives is an art. Feeling appreciation for the gifts that do come our way: the friendships, the sweet animals that grace our time here, the amazing beauty of this land we call home, the sincere and earnest people who find ways to care. All of it is worthy of our thanks. 

And that giving thanks can replace the hollow emptiness of isolation that haunts so many of us. The news these days are full of mean spirited and jarring inhumanities. Whole swaths of people are targeted and the cruelty is way beyond anything that I remember from childhood meanness.

You can abandon Thanksgiving, but not giving thanks. Give thanks for your heart that refuses to be diminished. Give thanks for the courage to continue to be your true self. Give thanks for those who came before you and endured. Give thanks for your life, because you are not an accident.

You are a jewel on the thread of Life. Never doubt that.

A New Day is Upon Us

Black youth in ten different states received personalized messages telling them they will be taken to plantations to pick cotton. If you want to learn more about this check news outlets for details – while you still can, of course. News agencies, who challenge the incoming administration, are preparing for cuts in funding and diminished licensing. 

Married gay couples are seeking legal advice to protect their union, and trans people, the prime escape goats for heterosexual fear, are being bullied and far worse.  Calls to suicide hot lines for LGBTQ+ youth are up as much as 700%.  And let’s not forget about the round up of our neighbors and friends as deportations begin.

And maybe you didn’t see this coming. Maybe you feel safe in a white and sanitized world. Maybe you believed no one could be “chosen” and cause so much harm. But here we are. 

Because a “promise made is a promise kept” says the incoming 47th president. So, let’s see what else has been promised that will unite us and help the healing of this country. As the divide and conquer continues unchecked and the majority of the MAGA world seems content with prayers, I doubt many will speak up when they come for our neighbors. Just like old time Germany and how did that poem go? First they came for the Catholics, but I wasn’t Catholic, so I did nothing. They came for the gays, but I wasn’t gay, so I did nothing. I wasn’t Jewish, so when they came for them, I did nothing. And there was no one to help when they came for me. 

There are consequences when we give away empathy and compassion; consequences when leaders are permitted to act out of vendetta; and there are consequences when our humanity and individual sovereignty are relinquished.

It might all be hyperbole. The rantings of an old man drunk with power. But what about us? What choices will we make in this new day? Our choices or lack thereof brought us here. It will be our choices – and our humanity – that will save us.

Elections Are Over

And now we begin…

Elections are over. And God will be given the credit or the blame. That’s the way we play it.

We prefer not taking responsibility; and accountability is out of the question.

The Democratic leadership shut the door on Arab Americans and others demanding our government stop arming Israel’s genocide. They turned their backs on the working class. These were fatal errors.

Trump played his hand quite well, convincing people he doesn’t mean them when he speaks of deportations and making people forget about his Muslim bans. Got to give it to him, he’s slick. Now we get Elon slashing experts from the government and, Kennedy in charge of our health.

But don’t, please don’t tell me it’s because you prayed or didn’t pray hard enough.

Don’t blame your God for your ignorance.

You have a brain. and in you there is a heart still beating, so compassion and empathy must be there somewhere. Find them.

We had choice, many choices for many years and we squandered them away.

We had the choice to end racism. We threw gasoline on that fire. Signs read “Back the Blue”; they do not read “Stop Killing Black People”.  And after 500 years, Biden apologizes for Federal Indian Boarding Schools – while remaining complicit in Israel’s genocide. Jimmy Carter warned us to walk away from fossil fuels, but greed got in the way. Now it’s “Drill baby drill”.

We have been selfish. Now we will see where our selfishness leads.

We can still choose a way out – learning from one another, caring for one another, celebrating the preciousness of life and protecting this incredible home we call Earth – could do it. 

Our humanity must become our resistance. Unity our strength.

The Days Ahead

Pundits and pollsters are busy. People are expressing election fatigue and far too many are feeling hopeless. And regardless of outcome, there’s always more that we can do. 

We can extract from the news what is relevant and stop believing every word as truth. We can fact check all of it and challenge the sources that seek to divide us. We can stop listening to the voices that demand our attention and our allegiance and instead demand their accountability. The media creates and destroys heroes. And we have allowed it.

We can face the historical facts of how militarism and expansion of empire have always been with us; and bring an end to this barbaric story.

We can stop waiting on elected officials to do the right thing. We elect representatives, not kings. We must demand accountability. To do that we must pay attention. And above all we must care.

For the past year our tax dollars have gone to a country that has gone beyond “the right to defend itself” and engineered a genocide. For decades, the media kept from us the plight of Palestinians who are forced to live under Israeli occupation and are now being slaughtered. And today the same media minimizes the tragedy of Sudan. We must ask who is being served? It is clearly not humanity.

We must realize and care that our police forces are armed with military equipment and that people of color are often targeted and killed.

There is so very much that we can understand and challenge.

The earth is in critical states of flux and people are migrating to safety.  Our borders need human approaches, not more militarism. And when we are told “drill baby drill” we must demand a return to love of the earth and kindness to Nature, not conquering her.

In the chaotic days ahead, we will be asked to be human, to be kind, to share and to re -envision a better way for all.  This is not an impossible request. It is what we can do.

Restoring Our Greatest Strength

Somehow, we’ve wandered away from our humanity. Somehow, we must find our way back. Here are some thoughts on restoring our greatest strength:

Go quickly to those things that broaden your vision and extend your ability to love. Don’t become burdened by the ignorance in the world; and don’t pretend it doesn’t exist.

There’s dignity in empathy and compassion. These are our allies. Honor them.

Stop accepting the answers of others and dig for your own treasures within.

There are questions left unanswered because we have not found the right words to ask. Find the words and ask yourself the questions that you have forgotten. Those questions matter. The answers matter. You matter.

These are a few steps to take in becoming human, our greatest strength. Discover for yourself what is needed. The biggest strides are made by those who rediscover and reassert their humanity.  It’s time for big strides.

Be mindful of your surroundings and appreciate the Beauty of the Earth even as it is disappearing before us. It was meant for your appreciation, your care and your enjoyment. Revel in it.

If you must be silent, let silence be a statement of a depth of feeling; not of your acquiescence to the evil and fear that seems so very powerful in this moment. And if you’re ready to speak, be sure your words are piercing and precise. Hone your skills of humor and clarity. You will need both. And above all let your words be sourced by Love.

In all the complexity, there remains simple truth. Fear does not live there. 

I know many people are afraid right now. Personal lives are upended; communities divided; and we exist in a world seemingly hell bent on self-destruction. 

Becoming human is our way out.

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.

We Are The Greatest Resistance

We always have choice. In this cacophony of endless dribble we endure, we still have choice. I don’t advocate hiding one’s head in the sand. I think it’s wiser to know what is about to kick me from behind. So, I make the choice to wade into the maya or illusion as it has been called. Into the pseudo reality that appears before me as vitally important and desperately urgent. Into this fleeting moment of time that I am given, I wander. I choose to bear witness to the glory and the ignorance of living life as a human being on this magnificent gift of a planet.

I choose to discover what are the secrets of my heart and in whose hand my heart rests.

This is no easy task. It’s a solitary journey. No one can reside in our soul. No one can know the ease or the difficulties we’ve faced or how often we’ve failed or how frequently we’ve touched the divine. The outside can easily mask the joy or the sorrow these vessels carry. It’s better that way. I don’t take this journey lightly; I know the risks. One slip and you forget who you are; and we are not brought into life to doubt it. 

No one is here by chance, but we must know that. The belief that we are insignificant is the greatest lie. Life is a precious gift. We live in a time when that has been forgotten and lives are disregarded. It is up to each of us to upend that lie.

This, then, is the task at hand: to walk consciously and with gratitude for the moment we have been given. And to know that in that singular act we are the greatest resistance. 

Be the lit candle.

Hats off to those who are upending the lie of human insignificance. Enjoy this WDRT Conversation from a Veterans for Peace, Brad Geyer as we speak about the unnecessary costs of war to humans and the planet. Peace is possible.