We must replace the paradigm that
war is an acceptable national endeavor with the understanding
that peacemaking is patriotic. In November 2005, I
organized the first Bring
Their Buddies Home Vigil as a non-confrontational
way to show people the tragic consequences of
war. As an Act of Art, this creation is meant
to give viewers and participants a powerful visual
message that allows them to draw their
own conclusions about the choices
we
can
make
between
violence
and non-violence
in resolving our differences – between
individuals, groups or nations. Hundreds of people
turned out for that first event in Carlsbad,
CA. The following January, we held a smaller
vigil in Temecula. On February 19, 2007,
we held another vigil in Carlsbad and other locations
throughout the country. Find out more at the
website: www.BringTheirBuddiesHome.com.
In August 2006 I was part of a peace delegation
that went to Amman, Jordan to meet with members of
the Iraqi Parliament. Our goal was to hear, first-hand,
from the Iraqi leaders their perspective on the U.S.
occupation of Iraq and their ideas for ending it
and to bring that back home for the American people.
Throughout history human beings have been trying
to solve their problems with force using physical,
verbal and psychological violence. Now we find ourselves
in a world where the weapons we have developed are
capable of annihilating all life on our fragile planet.
The military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower
warned us about, has taken control of our economy,
our government and our future. I am convinced that
our only hope to overcome that stranglehold and the
bleak future it offers, is for each of us, as individuals,
to choose non-violence as a way of life.
I begin each day with the prayer of
St. Francis, and everything I do throughout the day,
in my work and play, in my friendships and business
associations, and in the
myriad of choices I make each day,
I strive to act in a way that is congruent with my
commitment to peace and non-violence.
I am an avid student of Marshall Rosenberg’s
non-violence communication techniques as well as
a follower of the example of Gandhi and Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. in using civil disobedience as a
method of bringing about change without violence.
Throughout history human beings have been trying
to solve their problems with force using physical,
verbal and psychological violence. Now we find ourselves
in a world where the weapons we have developed are
capable of annihilating all life on our fragile planet.
The military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower
warned us about, has taken control of our economy,
our government and our future. I am convinced that
our only hope to overcome that stranglehold and the
bleak future it offers, is for each of us, as individuals,
to choose non-violence as a way of life.