Tag: Valentine’s Day

Lewis Randa: Inspiring a socialist alternative

Posted on by kathiemm

 

Stone memorial to civilians killed in war. Courtesy of the Peace Abbey.

by Kathie MM

In a chart in a recent post entitled 100 Living Peace and Justice Leaders, the characteristics attributed to peace and justice leaders and models included:

nonviolence,

inspiration,

tolerating struggle,

empathy & compassion,

integrity,

courage,

and a purpose-driven life.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, 2018, I want to honor one man who exemplifies all those characteristics: Lewis Randa, founder of the Life Experience School  and the Peace Abbey

Here are brief examples of each of those characteristics in Lewis’s life:

Nonviolence: Lewis explains, “Martin Luther King said, ‘If you haven’t found something worth dying for you’re not fit to live.’ Nonviolence is something I’d be willing to die for. I don’t torture myself over whether I’ve done a good job or bad job.” (verdict:superb job)

 Inspiration: From the founding of The Life Experience School for special needs children and young adults in 1972 (his alternative service as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War) to his current nonviolent resistance to any governmental move to use nuclear weapons against North Korea, Lewis has inspired multitudes.

Tolerating struggle: The nonviolent civil resistance in which Lewis has engaged his entire life has consistently demanded tolerating struggle; add to that his engagement in the stone walk— the project involving hauling a one-ton granite stone memorializing civilians 500 miles in the US, many miles in Ireland, and then later, under the able leadership of Dot Walsh, substantial distances in Japan and Korea.

Empathy & compassion: Because of  empathy and compassion for all living creatures,  Lewis is a vegetarian—as is the rest of his family — and a proponent of animal rights   (You just have to read Emily the cow’s story!)

Courage: Being a conscientious objector in wartime, promoting conscientious objection to war, advocating for interfaith harmony in a nation that is increasingly intolerant of non-Christian faiths,  and his willingness to speak out for peace and peacemakers to a government embroiled in violence testifies to his courage.

To learn more about a purpose-driven life, just watch this inspiring video,  and add meaning to your own life by joining Lewis’s peace-seeking letter-writing campaign to Chairman Kim Jung-un.

 

Valentine’s Day messages for peace

Posted on by kathiemm

Today is Valentine’s Day, a day to embrace love over hate, non-violence over death and destruction, peace over war.

Many groups that embrace an ethic of peace and social justice focus some of their creative energy and dedication to Valentine’s Day messages, and these are particularly appropriate during the Season of Nonviolence.

The V-Day movement, an international effort to end violence against women, began in 1998 with one event and this year involves more than 1500 events in at least 140 countries. Working with other organizations dedicated to non-violent social change, they are the sponsors of One Billion Rising.

One Billion Rising is urging “ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to violence against women” today and every day.

United to End Genocide plans to deliver a valentine to the National Rifle Association (NRA) saying, “Have a heart: Don’t Kill the Arms Trade Treaty.” My name will be on that valentine. How about yours?  You can learn more about United to End Genocide by watching this video.

United to End Genocide is joined in this Valentine’s Day Plan by the Win Without War Coalition, which includes groups such as the American Friends Service Committee, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Council for a Livable World, Greenpeace,  the NAACP, NOW, and Psychologists for Social Responsibility.

The Women’s Human Rights Program of Amnesty International USA plans to deliver a Valentine’s Day message to Congress, reminding them that all women deserve to live a life free from violence. So do all men.

Enjoy the day, spread love, and find a way to join the singing and dancing of the One Billion Rising movement.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

What is V-Day?

Posted on by kathiemm

You probably know what V-E  Day and V-J Day are—they commemorate victory in Europe and victory in Japan at the end of World War II. But it is simply V-Day that may prove to be more important in the long run.

V-Day represents a global movement to end violence against women and girls. It works on a grassroots level to raise consciousness, change laws, fund rape crisis centers and domestic violence shelters, and educate people in more than 140 countries from A (America) to Z (Zambia).

You can help. Plan ahead. February 14, 2013, is not just Valentine’s Day. It is the 15th anniversary of the V-Day movement. Organizers are asking one billion women and girls—and those who love them–to participate in One Billion Rising.

Check out their site and this video to learn more and become involved.

The theme for February 14 is “Strike, dance, rise in your community, and demand an end to violence.” In our January 21, 2013, post, we provided some facts and figures regarding violence against women. There’s lots more to learn and lots to do.

Also available in our January 21 post was a link to a video featuring the anthem,“Break the chain,” of the One Billion Rising movement. If you would like to learn the Break the Chain dance, you can do so. Invite some friends over, clear away the furniture, and click on “Learn the steps to break the chain.”  It will get your endorphins going and it will be a great way to participate in the Season of Nonviolence.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

A bouquet of stories: Valentines for peace

Posted on by patdaniel
Malbin peace sculpture
"Vista of Peace" sculpture by Ursula Malbin. Photo by Guillaume Paumier / Wikimedia Commons, CC-by-3.0.

For the second Valentine’s day in the life of Engaging Peace, we want to re-share some posts that have been among the wonderful gifts our readers have given us.  The following selection focuses on messages of peace and love.

(1) A few years ago I joined “Checkpoint Watch,” an Israeli human rights organization of women who monitor and report human rights violations towards Palestinians who move from the occupied territories of Palestine to Israel.  Continue reading →   (Dalit Yassour-Borochowitz, October 21, 2010)

(2) It has been a privilege for the Paraclete Foundation to bring the Benebikira Sisters to Boston and to tell their story of courage and love during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide that claimed over 800,000 lives in 100 days.  Continue reading →   (Sister Ann Fox , November 8, 2010)

(3) In a way that only being physically present in this country could convey, I’ve realized that the genocide is a very difficult thing for Rwandans to talk about. If people do speak about the horrors they have encountered, it is only under very hushed circumstances or around people they trust.  Continue reading →   (Andrew Potter, June 23, 2011)

(4) The framework for my reflections is constructed from Dr. Martin Luther King’s Speech delivered at Riverside Church in April, 1967 (a year before his assassination).  Continue reading →   (Dean Hammer,  July 21, 2011)

(5) My father was born and raised in Basra, Iraq. Graduating from Baghdad University, he earned a government scholarship to study in the United States. He completed his graduate studies at Georgetown University. While in DC, he met and married my mom, a nice Jewish girl from New York. Her parents had fled their homeland … Continue reading →   (Dahlia Wasfi, September 19, 2011)

(6) I have just returned from the demonstration to support Occupy Boston (10-10-11) and can happily report that it was a successful march of probably two or more thousand people.  Continue reading →  (John Hess, October 17, 2011)

(7) Over the past few weeks we have heard stories of bravery, courage, hope, happiness, and grief from Palestine. The stories accompanied the news that just over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners would be freed in exchange for … Continue reading →   (San’aa Sultan, November 3, 2011)

(8) Eva Mozes Kor, a “Mengele Twin” who survived the genetic experiments at Auschwitz, chose the non-standard route to recovery: forgiveness.  Continue reading →  (Elina Tochilnikova, December 26, 2011)

(9) From the time of… Moses, who helped guide the Israelis out of slavery and oppression to freedom, to Jesus, who preached equality and love and changed the whole human understanding of power structures, to … Continue reading →   (Majed Ashy, January 12, 2012)

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology, and Pat Daniel, Managing Editor of Engaging Peace