To Our Community of Peace:Over the last few days, I have received a couple of hundred emails from people who have expressed bafflement, anger, discouragement and, some, even despair with the direction our country has taken. I have to admit that I go in and out of these devastating moods myself. As the leader of this group, however, it is my responsibility to find a beam of light and hope for us to grasp onto as we make our way through the next 4 years, decade, and the rest of the 21st Century. No, I have not lost my mind. No advancement of medical science is going to make me live through the 21st Century! But I am thinking of our children, grandchildren and great grand children… On the sidewalk in front of Fairway on election-day, there were two spirited young girls (around 12) who were yelling at the top of their powerful lungs: "Please vote. Vote for your children's future!" I stopped and thanked them for their wisdom as an old(er) woman yelled back at them to mind their own business! That is the divide we have in this country -- those who think only of themselves and are angry when they feel inconvenienced, and those who see the collective responsibility we have to ourselves and to future generations. Yes, those who see our "moral" responsibility! If we lose hope, we will implicitly endorse an unjust war that is killing our soldiers as well as hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi people; we will encourage our isolation from the international community; we will endorse a policy of silencing dissent; we will mortgage our children's financial future by burdening them with impossible debt; we will put Social Security and other social programs at risk; we will compromise our educational system further; and we will encourage the plunder of our forests, the pollution of our water and air - to name only a few items. Above all, we will sell our souls! I ask you, can we afford to feel hopeless? The Peace Task Force will continue to affirm our values and commitment to peace, justice and the greater good. After our last scheduled program in 2004 (November 11), we will take some 6 weeks to regenerate ourselves, plan for 2005 and return with vigor and energy. To me, "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is a phrase that has great psychological wisdom. Another way of saying it is "You cannot love your neighbor unless you love yourself". To paraphrase further, all those who are active and committed to peace and justice must love themselves enough to take a deep breath, enjoy family and friends over the Holidays, and return to our work having regenerated our spirits, and be ready for action. Have a Good Holiday! Wishing you peace, Please note that we can publish articles on the web site. Should you be interested in submitting an article on a peace related topic, please contact me. |