by Kathie MM & Pat Daniel
Yes! We shall overcome. Vote! And help every vote in your community count..
Category: Champions of peace
Honoring a truly great man, deserving of peace prizes
by Stefan Schindler
There are many things we could say about this leader and the respect he has earned–for his courage, his values, his integrity. But he says it best himself.
“I ain’t draft dodging. I ain’t burning no flag. I ain’t running to Canada. I’m staying right here. You want to send me to jail? Fine, you go right ahead. I’ve been in jail for 400 years. I could be there for 4 or 5 more, but I ain’t going no 10,000 miles to help murder and kill other poor people. If I want to die, I’ll die right here, right now, fightin’ you, if I want to die. You my enemy, not no Chinese, no Vietcong, no Japanese. You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. Want me to go somewhere and fight for you? You won’t even stand up for me right here in America, for my rights and my religious beliefs. You won’t even stand up for my right here at home. “ — Muhammad Ali (nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the US Gandhi Foundation, 2007)
That quote says it all. Which is why we honored Ali with The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award (“we” being The Life Experience School and Peace Abbey family and friends), and why we were equally honored to have his presence and his words at the unveiling of The Memorial Stone for Unknown Civilians Killed in War — Ali reminding all of us gathered there that nine out of ten casualties in modern war are civilians, and more than half of these are children.
Stefan Schindler is a philosopher, teacher, and poet. He is co-author with Lewis Randa, the founder of The Life Experience School and Peace Abbey, of The National Registry for Conscientious Objection. Stefan is a frequent contributor to Engaging Peace; a Board Member of The Life Experience School and Peace Abbey; author of The Courage of Conscience Awards for John Lennon and Howard Zinn; and author of Space is Grace, Discoursing with the Gods, The Tao of Socrates, and America’s Indochina Holocaust, and Buddha’s Political Philosophy.
Cartoon: Farewell Justice Ginsburg
by Joe Kandra, Kathie Malley-Morrison, Pat Daniel
Militarism and COVID-19
by Michael D. Knox
After six months of enduring this tragic but preventable COVID-19 pandemic, there is still no national leadership. More than 200,000 Americans will die, and hundreds of thousands will suffer through the disease process, and then continue to have debilitating symptoms long after. Compare the response to how quickly our nation mobilized for war after less than 3000 died on 9/11; war that we continue to fight in the Middle East and Africa.
The inadequacies of our healthcare and public health systems and the persistent shortages of equipment, supplies, hospital beds and timely testing underscore the fact that military-related activities are the highest priority of the U.S. government. Its 2020 military budget is $738 billion. That’s over $84 million an hour for war. That’s where our tax dollars go and that’s where the resources are—spread around the world to intimidate and do harm, rather than good.
The President’s recent extravagant patriotic speeches and ceremonies ignore the pandemic and instead, extol the virtues of “law and order” and the largest military budget ever. Flyovers of fighter jets, used as a way of showing appreciation to healthcare workers treating COVID-19, demonstrates an effort to tie all aspects of our life, even this most desperate public health situation, into the U.S. war culture. Obviously, the cost of these nationwide military tributes and ceremonies, which is significant, could have provided medicine, testing, facemasks, and other items that are still desperately needed to help stem the spread of this disease. Perhaps these expensive public relations stunts were an effort to distract us from the government’s continuing failed leadership in handling the COVID-19 crisis.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if war was deemed a non-essential activity, and our country focused instead on eliminating healthcare disparities, systemic racism, aggressive policing, poverty, and this heartbreaking pandemic. These are the things that are terrorizing Americans.
Michael D. Knox, PhD is the founder and chair of the US Peace Memorial Foundation and Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, University of South Florida. @DrMichaelDKnox knox@uspeac
More articles by:MICHAEL D. KNOX
This article was originally published on CounterPunch, July 22, 2020. Reposted with permission.