Marching Disasters

On March 2, 2012 damaging tornadoes came to Kentucky. (See here and here.) Twenty-three people have died. More than 300 have been injured. More than 2,200 homes have sustained damages. Of those, more than 650 were destroyed.

The photo is of the small eastern Kentucky town of West Liberty. When Governor Steve Beshear visited the town, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that he said  it looked like a bomb had been dropped in the middle of town. "It was a war zone," he said.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/03/04/2095081/officials-confirm-21st-death-from.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

A year before--on March 3, 2011--an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster took place in northeastern Japan. At least, 15,854 people died. At least 26,992 were injured. The photo is from Iwaki, Fukushima. The recovery has been very slow. 

In the current war in Afghanistan, 1,913 U.S. military fatalities have occurred and 15,322 have been wounded. There have been 35 military fatalities from Kentucky. In the war in Iraq that began in "Shock and Awe" on March 19, 2003, there have been 4,486 U.S. military fatalities and 32,223 wounded. There have been 70 military fatalities from Kentucky. (The numbers are from icasualties.org.) Many, many Afghans, Iraqis, and others, militant and civilian, have died, been wounded, and/or displaced. Much damage has been done.

Natural disasters do occur. Climate change and human actions seem to be increasing and magnifying some of them. We need to accept that they happen and tend to them. Wars are disasters, too, but they do not happen naturally and probably are not inevitable. (See the article/interview: Why War Isn't Inevitable.)

I do not want to see a war with Iran--by either Israel or the United States. I do not believe that war is the answer. Iran has historical grievances with the U.S. and it knows that Israel  is nuclear. We need relationship building. We need to think of the Iranian people--human beings all. Let's take stock. Breathe. Think.

March 20 was the Persian feast of Norwuz, the celebration of Spring and the Persian New Year. You can read about it here. May Peace Prevail in Iran! 

I Declare World Peace.

WWJD?

In my early adulthood, I read books on Saint Francis of Assissi (1181/1182 -1226). I was especially impressed by his living his life in imitation of Christ (imitatio Christi) and that set me on a  certain path. Later, in the 1980's, I encountered the book, In His Steps by Charles Sheldon, that portrayed late nineteenth century imitatio Christi in light of the Social Gospel. In the late 1990's and early 2000's, I read books by Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan on the Historical Jesus that further widened my path.

The subtitle of In His Steps is What Would Jesus Do? In the 1990's this phrase became popular with Christian youth and they used the letters WWJD.

In the lead up to the Iraq War, this question, "What would Jesus do?", kept coming to my mind. I knew the answer in that regard and I became quite distressed when my local church and local churches in general would not stand up for Jesus as the old song said. The heads of the major denominations, though,  including my own, had come out in opposition to the war. I took to the street in protest.

Recently, I was interested in the remarks of President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on February 2. I was impressed at how he spoke of the role that faith, his Christian faith, plays in his job as President. He spoke of not leaving our values at the door. He spoke of the importance of the Golden Rule, treating others as we wish to be treated. He spoke of the financial difficulties of many Americans today. He spoke of treating people fairly and providing opportunities for all. He even mentioned the most vulnerable among us. He did have some good words.

There is a question, though, that I would like to ask our President. I have posted previously on our use of drones in warfare. The President has spoken of how few civilian casualties have come from our drone attacks.  However, in August of 2011, the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism produced a study that said at least 385 civilians had been killed by our drones in Pakistan in the last seven years and that at least 168 of these were children. Now my question is: Who Would Jesus Drone?

____________
As a postcript, I would like to link to a  very recent blog post-sermon by the Rev. Chuck Queen that speaks to WWJD. I believe it is quite worth reading.

The Beginning of ...

October 6 was the beginning of the Afghanistan War ten years ago. Do I hear the word revenge? It also marked the beginning of our demise.

The total cost of our “security” since 9-11has been $7.6 trillion, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,
homeland security, nuclear weapons, and the Pentagon base-budget.

According to costofwar.com, taxpayers in Kentucky's 6th Congressional District that includes my home  have paid $2.3 billion for total war spending (Iraq + Afghanistan) since FY01. For the same amount of money, the following could be provided:

• 991,000 Children Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
• 39,000 Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
• 334,000 Head Start Slots for Children for One Year OR
• 287,000 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
• 420,000 Students receiving Pell Grants of $5550 OR
•  1.1 million One Year Worth of Groceries for an Individual OR
• 472,000 People Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
• 332,000 Fair Market Rent for One Bedroom Apartment for One Year OR
• 311,000 Military Veterans Receiving VA Medical Care for One Year.
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Regarding Afghanistan, its future depends on Afghans, not American soldiers. Immediately withdrawing all U.S. troops and contractors from Afghanistan will make Afghans, including its women safer by removing the funding source and legitimization of war lords and drug lords. The people of Afghanistan should determine their own future. 


Moreover, American national security depends on a less militarized foreign policy. It would not be naive and irresponsible to have a foreign policy based on what is called the Golden Rule. We should not do to others what we would not want done to ourselves. Violence begets violence.


“A decade of occupying Iraq and Afghanistan, expending thousands of our soldiers lives and trillions of our taxdollars, has left us bankrupt. It's time to stop occupying other nations and instead occupy our own city squares, demanding an end to these wars,” explained CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin. Said CODEPINK organizer C.J. Minster, “We are standing up and demanding an immediate end to war and the beginning of a sustainable, renewable economy.” 


By ending the wars and taxing the rich and corporations, the U.S. can afford to create jobs, fund education, support healthcare, and create a sustainable, renewable economy.


I support the Occupations--not of Afghanistan, Iraq, or the Palestinian Territories, but the ones of Wall Street and American public squares.

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9-11!

9-11!

Wake up!

Help!

Er, not now!

Change!

Repent!

Who--me?

Who--US?

Like most Americans I remember where I was on 9-11-01. The only other time and event as such I remember where I was and what I was doing was November 22, 1963--the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I was in high school, in algebra class. We heard a radio announcement through the school’s public address system.

9-11-01 was a beautiful sunshiny warm day here in Frankfort, KY, my hometown, as it was in New York City and Washington, D.C.

I left my sick teenage daughter home watching TV while I took off for a walk. When I came back I found that the first plane had hit the World Trade Center. My daughter and I watched TV off and on throughout the day.

I watched a lot of TV after that--especially CNN and PBS. I have always appreciated the PBS coverage and follow-up--analytical, thoughtful, informative, educational, in-depth programming.

I also read a lot--both in print and online. I learned a lot about Islam, Afghanistan, American foreign policy, etc. I had already been learning and praying about the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. I knew there was a connection.

I was devastated by the American all-out military response of the Global War on Terror and I still am. I was horrified by the U.S. invasion of Iraq, especially knowing there was no connection there.

Following 9-11, I joined a monthly prayer vigil for peace. I took prayer walks in my neighborhood that included around the Kentucky Capitol Building. I helped organize a community celebration of the International Day of Peace on September 21.

Leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, I stood at first alone and then with my husband weekly before Frankfort’s Federal Building to protest. I stood with a sign in front of Kentucky’s Old Capitol, next to the Federal Building during a holiday celebration. With a friend, I organized a large MoveOn.org candlelight vigil before the New Captiol.

I gave up when the invasion of Iraq actually happened. When I found out that the war was not going to be the cakewalk as promised I began protesting again.

I really do not have the exact timeline of protests and events. I will say that a few joined me in my protests, that we had had a few events, including observances of the International Day of Peace and Mother’s Day for Peace. In the process we became a chapter of CODEPINK: Women for Peace.

After weekly protest vigils for sometime, especially after President Obama was inaugurated, people began leaving the vigil and I finally became unable to do so. I still maintain a listserv for CODEPINK Frankfort with announcements, news, and e-actions.

I have been blogging for peace and I have written occasional Letters to the Editor on the matter of peace. I participate in online activism.  I have also joined and am now on the board of the Frankfort Chapter of the United Nations Association.

9-11 was my wake-up call. I have dedicated my life to peace. I try to live for peace and in peace. I pray for peace. I use the prayer and affirmation of the World Peace Prayer Society, May Peace Prevail On Earth! In fact, I Declare World Peace. I have also signed the Charter for Compassion believing that compassion and peace itself, not war, is the way to peace.

Along the way I have acquired a new faith--Unitarian Universalism (See here and here).

I am still reading and I am still learning, too. (See some of my reading at my Beautiful Books page. Also check out my Lilting Links page as well as the Links in the Sidebar.)  I wish I could do more in the active mode, but I am limited because of circumstances.

I do encourage others to join the work of peace. I wish my own country would do so, too.

According to CostofWar.com of the National Priorities Project, the United States has spent 1.3 trillion dollars in total war spending since fiscal year 2001.

That same amount of money, the Website says, could have provided for

• 646.0 million Children Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
• 18.6 million Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
• 122.0 million Fair Market Rent for One Bedroom Apartment for One Year OR
• 165.8 million Head Start Slots for Children for One Year OR
• 602.2 million One Year Worth of Groceries for an Individual OR
• 259.2 million People Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
• 159.9 million Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
• 227.1 million Students receiving Pell Grants of $5550.

Something is wrong here. Instead of bombing and making war on others, the United States needs to invest in its own. Yes, we can and must help others abroad, but war is not the way. We must also not neglect our own people. We must Bring Our War $$ Home!

9-11!

Wake-up!

Help!

An Atrocious Annivesary

March 19 marks the eighth anniversary of the uncalled for* U.S. invasion of the sovereign Middle Eastern nation of Iraq.

As a response, I post this of the The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Buddhist Order of Interbeing founded by the Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. The Mindfulness Trainings are also known as Political Precepts.

The Twelfth Mindfulness Training: Reverence for Life

 Aware that much suffering is caused by war and conflict, I am determined to cultivate non-violence, understanding and compassion in my daily life, to promote peace education, mindful mediation and reconciliation, within families, communities, nations and in the world. I am determined not to kill and not to let others kill. I will diligently practice deep looking with my Sangha [religious community] to discover better ways to protect life and prevent war.

This training or precept is not just for members of the Order of Interbeing but for every one of us who desires a more preaceful world and can enable us to say, "Never Again!"


______
*See the CODEPINK articles,  The U.S. War and Occupation of Iraq: What We Know, What We Don't Know and From 'Liberation' to Occupation: 10 Reasons Iraq Was No Cakewalk.

Religions for Peace

I recently discovered an organization called, Religions for Peace. The organization was founded in 1970 and claims that it is the largest international coalition of representatives from the world’s great religions dedicated to promoting peace. The organization dedicates itself to stopping war, ending poverty and protecting the earth. Based  in New York City, the organization has Dr. William F. Vendley as its Secretary General.


Religions for Peace is currently furthering a campaign for shared security called, Arms Down! The campaign has the three goals of 1) abolishing nuclear weapons, 2) stopping the proliferation and misuse of conventional weapons, and 3) redirecting 10% of military expenditure to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. At its campaign page, signers can petition to ask all governments to make an official pledge to cut their military budgets by 10% and to re-allocate those funds toward development.


Recently, Religions for Peace sent a letter to Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, on behalf of Middle East peace. The letter called for the inclusion of the Abrahamic faiths in the peace process:



We believe that seeds of genuine peace can be found within the elements of a vision of peace shared by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We further believe that these seeds need to be watered by principled multi-religious cooperation. We are convinced that such multi-religious cooperation is an irreplaceable dimension of the genuine search for a just and comprehensive peace, and therefore must be appropriately linked to the diplomatic peace process.


In response to the attacks on Christians gathered in church for prayer and those on Muslims on pilgrimage in the nation of Iraq, Religions for Peace expressed its deep sorrow about the violence against the religious communities. "We extend our sympathy to Christians and Muslims in Iraq who have suffered violent attacks, grieving with them for those who have died and suffering with them for those who have been wounded," they said.

Peaceful Rhymes

There once was a girl from Kentucky
Who was really not very lucky.
“I Declare World Peace,”
She sneezed
And then she became not yucky.




I Declare World Peace,
A word spoken to please
The world all --
Really a call:
I Declare World Peace.




I Declare World Peace
In Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., so please --
No war,
No more.
I Declare World Peace.




For what’s up with these
And for others by authors free,
Click here
For mere
I Declare World Peace.

Water!

Note: The Peace Advocate is participating in the Blog Action Day of October 15 that is focusing on the issue of water. This is being posted a bit early.


On July 28, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing access to clean water and sanitation as a human right.  According to the press release: The Assembly expressed deep concern that some 884 million people were without access to safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion lacked access to basic sanitation.  Bearing in mind the commitment to fully achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it expressed alarm that 1.5 million children under five years old died each year as a result of water- and sanitation-related diseases, acknowledging that safe, clean drinking water and sanitation were integral to the realization of all human rights. (For more on the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and water go here.)


On October 1, 2010, the United Nations Human Rights Council confirmed that the right to water and sanitation is contained in international human rights treaties and is, therefore, legally binding.


In June, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting wrote about a water crisis in Iraq. It noted that a UNESCO report found that 100,000 Iraqis have fled their native communities since 2005 due to water shortages and it further noted that another United Nations report claimed the water levels in the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, Iraq’s primary sources of water, have fallen by more than two-thirds cautioning that they could completely dry up by 2040.


In July, the UK Guardian reported on a joint UK/US study echoing an Oxfam one showing  that Kabul, Afghanistan and its surrounding area are facing a sever water crisis. The Oxfam policy officer, Ashley Jackson, said: ‘Thirty years of war has left sources of water co-opted, stolen and contaminated. ‘Oxfam research has found that water is now a major cause of local conflicts. Disputes over these scarce resources lead to violence and even, in some instances, fuel the greater conflict.’


Closer to home, central Kentucky, where I live, has been in pretty much of a drought since mid-summer and eastern Kentucky faces water problems due to its primary resource: coal.


The Environmental Protection Agency has said about the method of coal mining known as mountaintop removal including that often used in eastern Kentucky: Mining dries up an average of 100 wells a year and contaminates water in others. In many coalfield communities, the purity and availability of drinking water are keen concerns.


On October 6, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is blocking nearly a dozen water discharge permits sought by coal mines in Kentucky, saying they fail to protect eastern Kentucky waterways.”


On October 8, four groups ( Kentucky Riverkeeper, Appalachian Voices, the Waterkeeper Alliance and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth [KTFC] ) filed 60-day “notice of intent” letters alleging that three eastern Kentucky coal companies may have committed more than 20,000 Clean Water Act violations over the past few years. KFTC has a blog entry on this matter here as does Scott Edwards of the Waterkeeper Alliance have one on the Huffington Post.


Water is a precious and valuable resource. It is a gift of God and human life, as well as all life, is dependent on it. However, water can be at the root of conflicts and can escalate them. Military activities can worsen water as can industrial and mining activities. We often think of water scarcity and the unavailability of clean water as far away problems in undeveloped countries. However, as can be seen above there can be problems closer to home.


Please go to the widget in the sidebar of The Peace Advocate and sign Change.org's petition to Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in support of the UN's work to supply clean, safe drinkinng water especially to children. By 2015, the hope is to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.