5/25/2007

The Peace Tree

The Peace Tree
I recently discovered The Peace Tree after my hiatus (I know, y'all think I must have been under a blog rock) and I was pleasantly surprised to see affiliation with many bloggers that I am already familiar with like ThePoetryMan, Betmo, Sumo, and others. I am glad to be part of it, too. I am also glad to see that people are still keeping up with their efforts to use words and community to call attention to the current state of things.
I am glad that people are finding new ways to organize, spread ideas, and become engaged- maybe even active- politically. The internet has become a new way for people to find one another, and that's pretty cool.
Memorial Day
I have seen alot of writing about the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, and alot of arguing. Is it a time to protest, or honor? Do we honor, or partly blame? Do people "on the left" support the troops, and why is there so much defense regarding patriotism? And why is it still such a common strategy for attack? Is it a time for silent reflection, to honor the dead- or to speak out? Is there a difference in our actions between Veteran's Day...and Memorial Day? Should it involve action at all? These are obviously questions that people have a broad range of opinions about, and strong feelings. It tests our ability to hear one another.
What I wrote last year was that I feel violence and war must be a last resort. I do see a place for DEFENSE and I do see a link between defense and our freedom. But defending our country from attack is not the same as using the military to inititiate aggression. We can respect and honor defense, and condemn preemptive force without justification. I hope that we can look to the future where we can articulate as a nation what our standards are for war and hold those accountable that violate the public trust. That's all I want to say about it, that I want to see us come together to establish a criteria for war- which can already be found in many religions and in many cultures. A Catholic, for example, would be aware that there is a defined set of circumstances that must be met for war to be moral or for killing in the name of war to be justified. Scholars of these "rules" say that they outline the distinctions between defense, and murder. I think it's time for all of us to look at MANY views with a mindset toward preventing power abuses which make EVERYONE (uniform and civilian) victims. We can answer the concerns about defense while working toward the establishment of legal standards.

4 comments:

Lew Scannon said...

Memorial day is not about honoring those who sacrificed their lives defending our country, at least not any more. It is another chance for capitalism to suck dollars from the pockets of hard working Americans, especially on the part of oil companies, who seize upon this weekend to jack up gas prices knowing most people honor those who died "defending our freedom" by going out and actually trying to enjoy it.

Anonymous said...

Well its a choice whether or not to buy into the definitions imposed by the corporate elements. Like Mother's Day, the original proclamation dealt with peace for children and not cards and roses. We know society will distort everything into a material obligation but we have to give permission to be part of that. Some of us choose not to be part of that.

And the price gouging of gas- well, thats true. But thats why we have to look at reducing USE not just at finding more gas. If we aren't willing to give it up we will have more of the same and it will never get cheaper. If we show that we will pay 3.50, why would the price of gas come down? They see that demand is unfazed.

Many people are at an economic place where an extra twenty a week is not going to change their habits, their vehicle is too tied to what they do. Its the low income people who really feel an extra thirty cents a gallow. Not a suburban yuppie that spends fifty a week on fake fingernails. MAYBE it might mean one less lunch at Applebee's.

sumo said...

Well said and I agree heartily with you here. OT...but the graphic for The Peace Tree is gorgeous isn't it?

Anonymous said...

I LOVE that graphic, its beautiful.

And I saw ya over there too, Sumo!

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