Blessed are the peacemakers

Lewis Randa, Rededication ceremony, Peace Abbey, July 29, 2018

By Kathie MM

They will be called children of God, by whatever name God is known.

Blessed are the peacemakers for confronting violence with nonviolence, for speaking truth to power, for persisting with limited resources against the forces of greed and destruction, for joining hands in sister and brotherhood when so many others spew hatred and harm, for being brave beacons of peace while cutthroat cowards promote war for profit,  for honoring and preserving life on earth while all around them lives are being destroyed with arrogant disregard.

This past Sunday, the Peace Abbey, in Sherborn, Massachusetts—one of the thousands if not millions of local peace and social justice organizations around the world–had a rededication ceremony at the Peace Memorial. In particular, they honored Muhammad Ali, Howard Zinn, Maya Angelou, Daniel Berrigan, Betsy Sawyer, Jeanette Rankin, Rachel Corrie, Corbett Bishop and Kenneth and Elise Boulding—courageous peacemakers, bless them all.

 

Please enjoy some photos from the event and the Abbey, and excerpts from the dedication poem by Stefan Schindler, a frequent contributor to engaging peace. If you would like a copy of the whole poem, please submit your request as a comment on this post.

 

 

 

A PRAYER POEM

by Stefan Schindler

I know that freedom is a slippery slope.

I know that children give us hope.

 

I know that rainbows bless the sky.

I know that Gandhi is the reason why

the bells of freedom ring

in the echoes of the voice of Martin Luther King.

 

And, yes, the saints and sages of the ages … will long sing praises

to the extraordinary story … of Rachel Corrie.

 

 

Hence we now recall that noble soul … whose goal was peace;

she gave her life so that war should cease.

 

Ah, Rachel, you died too young; just barely beyond

the age of 21; your life’s song … just barely sung.

 

Long indeed may your story be told; your bravery so bold.

You showed courage of conscience beyond measure.

Your life, and example, we shall always treasure.

Thus we promise to pause, every now and then,

to think of you … alongside Daniel … in the lions den.

With holy courage and conscience you took a stance,

and gave your life … to give peace a chance….

 

 

Green fields and forests the fruit of our toil;

nourished we are by earth’s rich soil.

 

With kindred spirit of animals and friends,

we trek the valleys and round the bends

of the river of time that never ends.

 

Yes, we too are pilgrims on Abbey Road.

Say, brother, let me carry that load.

 

 

United by Buddha’s Dharma-Gate tether, we frolic

in strawberry fields forever; with one who knows a love supreme,

the voice resounding: “I have a dream.”

 

Final note from KMM: if you want peace, value peace, hope and pray for peace for your children and granschildren, then work for peace and give to peace.  Please support local peace organizations like Engaging Peace and the Peace Abbey.  Volunteers and activists earn their way to Heaven, but donations help their work on earth.

 

 

100 new peace activists, Part 1

By Kathie Malley-Morrison & Anthony J. Marsella

Be not afraid!  You are not alone! There are thousands of advocates and activists across the world who are bringing conscience to the struggle for peace and justice. They are willing to endure the dangers of speaking for peace and justice, wherever human and legal rights are violated by people in power.

In the face of abuses and oppression, we recall the iconic peace and justice leaders of the past, including Mohatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Samuel Gompers, Caesar Chavez, Larry Itliong, Rachel Corrie, Philip & Daniel Berrigan, Glenn Paige, Hedy Epstein, and Malcom X. Peace advocates like these are testimony to the enduring human quest to resist oppression and to claim liberty, even when the cost is life itself.

This is the second list of living peace and justice advocates and activists we have compiled and published to celebrate Reverend Martin Luther King’s enduring contributions to peace and justice.

We are eternally grateful for Rev King’s efforts to free people and nations from the brutal oppressions of governments, nations, societies, organizations, and individuals who support racism, prejudice, violence, and war.

We have chosen to demonstrate our responsibilities and commitment to Rev King by identifying another 100 living peace and social justice leaders and models, starting with 50 new names. You will recognize many of the names, while others have not yet received the  attention they deserve. 

Please help us make the lists grow. The list will include emerging local community activists as well as some who have already attracted media attention. Although our current lists include mostly journalists and academics, we welcome people from other disciplines.  Please use the comment section at the end of this post to nominate a wider range of peace and justice activists.

  1. Abu-Nimr: Mohammad Abu-Nimr 
  2. Adams: Glenn Adams 
  3. Arbuthnot: Felicity Arbuthnot
  4. Arrigo: Jean Marie Arrigo
  5. Arredondo: Patricia Arredondo
  6. Awad: Murbarak Awad
  7. Baez: Joan Baez 
  8. Barber: Reverend William Barber 
  9. Barnat: Ilyad Barnat 
  10. Bassett: Larry Bassett
  11. Belle: Deborah Belle
  12. Bigombe: Betty Oyella Bigombe
  13. Blackmon-Lowery: Lynda Blackmon-Lowery
  14. Blume: Art Blume
  15. Bowen: Kevin Bowen
  16. Bretherton: Diane Bretherton
  17. Bryant: Brandon Bryant
  18. Burghardt: Tom Burghardt
  19. Cacciatori: Joanne Cacciatori
  20. Campos: Pam Campos
  21. Caputi: Ross Caputi
  22. Carruthers: Charlene Carruthers
  23. Chappell: Paul Chappell
  24. Chomsky: Avi Chomsky
  25. Chossudovsky: Michael Chossudovsky
  26. Christie: Daniel Christie
  27. Clark: Ramsey Clark
  28. Connolly: David Connelly
  29. Cox: Lynell Cox
  30. D’Andrea: Michael D’Andrea
  31. Dunbar: Edward Dunbar
  32. Correia: Antone De’Jaun Correia  
  33. Degirmencioglu: Serdar Degirmencioglu
  34. Drake: Thomas A. Drake
  35. FihnBeatrice Fihn
  36. Finklestein: Norman Finklestein
  37. Flowers: Margaret Flowers
  38. Fox: Matthew Fox
  39. Furtado: Michael Furtado
  40. Gagnon: Bruce K. Gagnon
  41. Giffords: Gabrielle Giffords
  42. Gillotti, Michael Gillotti
  43. Goldberg: Whoopi Goldberg
  44. Green: Paula Green
  45. Hall: Mitchell K. Hall
  46. Handwerker: Steven E. Handwerker
  47. Haney: Craig Haney
  48. Hazare: Anna Hazare
  49. Hines: Denise Hines 
  50. Jackson-Lowman: Huberta Jackson-Lowman

This is a somewhat condensed version of a post that appeared today on Transcend Media Services.  Part 2 will appear 2/19/2018 on this blog.

Pursuing nonviolent protest in Palestine

People have asked, “Where is the Palestinian Gandhi?” One response has been Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who created the documentary Five Broken Cameras. Another good example is the young woman in our opening video who stood up to Israeli troops who were destroying Palestinian homes. This video should become an icon for nonviolence like the Tank Man in Tiananmen Square, or like Rachel Corrie, the young American woman who was killed by Israeli tank drivers for engaging in nonviolent resistance to the destruction of Palestinian homes.

A well-kept secret–perhaps because it is not as “newsworthy” as violence–is the substantial efforts of many Palestinians and Israelis to engage in nonviolence to resolve their rival claims to lands that the United Nations assigned to Palestine.

If you click on this link, you will see a long list of organizations that are working for nonviolence on the part of Israelis, Palestinians, or both.

A helpful article in The Economist about Palestinian efforts at nonviolence challenges Americans to support them in their quest.

Also inspiring is a brief documentary regarding Just Vision, a group founded by an American Jewish woman, Ronit Avi, working to promote nonviolence between Israelis and Palestinians through films such as Budrus.

To learn more about the many different examples of nonviolent resistance that Palestinians have adopted in response to Israeli occupation and what former President Jimmy Carter called the Israeli policy of apartheid, watch this video.

Many Israelis and Jews elsewhere in the world have supported the Palestinian cause. I believe that together these two waves of nonviolent protest against illegal occupation of Palestinian lands can bring about peace. You can join them.

March 16 was the tenthanniversary of the killing of Rachel Corrie in Gaza. Read her story on Engaging Peace and consider how you can join the worldwide observances to honor her nonviolent efforts at promoting peace.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

A good day to learn about Palestine

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (UN poster)Today, November 29, 2012, is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (sometimes known simply as Solidarity Day). This day of observance has been celebrated on or around November 29 since a resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 2, 1977.

To understand why we should ALL observe solidarity today and tomorrow and all tomorrows until peace is achieved,  see this video from the Jewish Voice for Peace. It is the best summation of the issues in Palestine that I have seen.

In 1977, the General Assembly took the position that peace in the Middle East could not be accomplished “without the achievement, inter alia, of a just solution of the problem of Palestine on the basis of the attainment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of return and the right to national independence and sovereignty in Palestine, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.”

While some people may assume the “two-state” solution for Israel is new or revolutionary, it was in 1947 that the United Nations passed a resolution providing for the establishment in Palestine of a “Jewish State” and an “Arab State.” As most people know, only one state, Israel, has emerged, and the Palestinians have been kept in a condition that former President Jimmy Carter called apartheid. To gain a better sense of their situation, see this video made in Gaza on Solidarity Day in 2010.

Seeking solidarity with Palestinians and recognizing that they have rights is not anti-Israel or anti-Jewish. What is often lost in the media stories and political rhetoric is the strength of support for the Palestinian people offered by many Jewish Israelis and others around the world. We have featured some of their stories in earlier posts—for example,

We have also shared the story of Rachel Corrie, an idealistic American college student who went to Palestine and was killed while participating in a non-violent protest of the bulldozing of Palestinian homes.

Today is a good day for everyone to learn more about Palestine. Again, I urge you to view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y58njT2oXfE&feature=youtu.be. It has facts and suggestions for resolution of the problems. YOU can help.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology