Replacing Missoula’s Peace Sign

Dear friends,
Last week we discovered that the peace sign in our park on Waterworks Hill had been torn down. We have received many expressions of sadness in response to its disappearance, a reminder of the passion for peace in Missoula. We also discovered that someone has stolen the signs we had marking the park entrances, and identifying the park as a gift to the community.

On Tuesday, about a dozen people hiked up to the park with sheets and towels — some even making multiple trips – to restore the peace sign. Initially we all had questions, thoughts of blame and even anger, but as we worked, the group reminded each other that those thoughts were not only not helpful – they were counter to what we were doing.

Acts of violence and vandalism are reported around the world. On the hill, we were reminded that our power lies in finding the small ways we each can respond by building peace. So we restored Missoula’s peace sign – in peace and forgiveness; We stand in solidarity with the people of Iran in the hopes of giving them the support and encouragement to protest another day; we write letters to our legislators and talk to our neighbors to give voice to our hopes. So let it continue to be – we teach peace, and peace teaches us. The expense of replacing the signs is a hardship for us as we struggle to make ends meet just as everyone else in this economy. But we will find a way.

We appreciate all of your thoughts and efforts.
With thanks and peace,
Betsy

Tyler Boudreau’s Bicycle Tour

Dear Friends,

This weekend our country will celebrate its 233rd “Independence Day” with fireworks and flag-waving. While there is much to celebrate in the birth of our nation and the ideals of liberty and freedom that are the foundation of our constitution, much of the celebrating has become an exercise in glorifying war – the songs, the rolling tanks and armored vehicles on parade, the military shows of strength and glory. War is unfortunately a part of our heritage as a nation, but there is so much more to celebrate, and rather than glorifying war, we must be realistic about its financial and human costs. I think of the indigenous Americans who were displaced by the “birth” of the US, the thousands killed in our wars, and all the veterans who carry the ghosts of war with them.

This weekend, Missoula will be hosting Tyler Boudreau as he rides through on his cross-country bicycle tour. Tyler is a 12-year Marine veteran and he has written an amazing book about his experience in Iraq, his insights into the realities of war and his personal journey coming to terms with those realities in an attempt to heal and rediscover himself. His bike tour, called “the other side” is about the journey veterans – and communities — go through in getting to the other side of healing. He hopes to connect with communities across the country to broaden the discourse and figure out how to re-integrate and strengthen our democracy. I’ve talked with him several times and am impressed by his ability to both love the Marine Corps for the training and camaraderie he was a part of while also seeing realistically the tragedy and destruction our service men and women have been forced to be part of in Iraq. I am saddened that the veteran groups in town are not willing to join me in welcoming him, because I believe his voice could serve as a bridge to understanding. His reality is a threat to their vision of war as glorious service and humbling sacrifice. But it is a reality we all must know – for it is as much a part of our nation’s heritage now as the flags waving on porches this weekend. If we are to truly honor our veterans and celebrate our nation, we must look clearly at all the versions of the story. I hope that many of you will join me at a potluck welcome on Saturday evening (see below) to pause and consider how and what we celebrate. I can promise a provocative discussion with a remarkable veteran.

In celebration and honor,

Betsy

In support of the Iranian activists

Dear Peace Community,

The world has witnessed an astounding Iranian insurrection against the theocratic government of Iran since its presidential election on June 12, 2009.  Prior to the election, the Iranian Labour News Agency conducted the largest opinion poll in Iran, interviewing 300,000 people nationwide, which put the former prime minister of Iran and reformist candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi ahead of the politically conservative incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by 20 percentage points.  The election resulted in an unprecedented 85% turnout.  In a suspicious turn of events, however, Ahmadinejad won the election with 63% of the popular vote.  Almost immediately, Mousavi denounced the results.  He accused the government of election fraud due to several abnormal findings, including:   uniform percentages by which Mousavi lost in all Iranian districts (including his home town); 50 Iranian municipalities reporting a larger number of votes than eligible voters (more than 100% voter turnout); the claims of several ex-government bureaucrats who said they were purged because they refused to participate in the planned fraud; and the suspicious rapidity of the vote-count.  Massive protests have been taking place on the streets of Tehran, Iran’s capital, since June 13^th.       Demonstrations of this scale haven’t been seen since the Iranian revolution of 1979.  The power structure of Iran has been shaken to its foundation.  This is the first time Iran’s Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been openly defied by the populace on such a scale.  Khamenei’s government has been cracking down on non-violent protestors with deadly force, arrests and censorship.

In the U.S., President Obama has wisely avoided officially endorsing the uprising, while denouncing the violent crackdown against protestors.  Iranians have been wary of U.S. interference, ever since we overthrew their democratically elected leader, Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, in 1953, after he tried to nationalize the Iranian oil industry.  Any official endorsement by the U.S. might carry historical undertones that would undermine the pro-democracy movement in Iran.  Individually, however, we should all support the Iranian people’s right to protest and denounce the iron-fist tactics used by the Iranian government.  The following link provides six options for supporting Iranian activists:  http://matadorchange.com/6-ways-the-western-world-can-support-iranian-activists/

Yours in Peace,

Sean Gibbons, coordinating council member

Working for Peace

Dear peace activists,

Assuming all recipients of the JRPC e-news community seek peace, does that make you all peace activists?   Do your actions carry out your desire and words for peace?  While it is admirable to seek peace within yourself and peaceful relationships in your immediate circle of contacts, is that enough to consider yourself a peace activist?  Or do you prefer not to be called an activist?  Was your vote in 2008 a peace action?

On November 4, 2008, voters for peace rejoiced.  Tears, hugs, shouts, laughter were the outward signs of the tremendous relief shared that finally there was hope we would soon extricate ourselves as honorably as possible from Iraq and change our foreign policy to work for peace and justice instead of corporations and imperialism.  Some change has occurred, but not enough.

Now, as Jeremy Scahill’s article (below) portrays so well, President Obama and the Democrats are following in the footsteps of the previous administration in funding more war. Yesterday’s vote in the House simply repeated what had happened in the Senate earlier with only a few Democrats courageously voting against Obama’s war funding bill.  Many Republicans opposed it, further demonstrating that it’s all politics, not peace.  It’s hard not to fall into total cynicism.

So what to do?  Meditate?  Pray?  In my view, that’s simply not enough.  We have to use our voices, pens, computers, feet, and bodies to visibly and audibly demand peace from those who were elected to bring peace!  Can we join activists like Medea Benjamin of Code Pink and Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Non-Violence who are always “out there” and never quit?   As always, this e-news contains many links to peace actions you can take, and I urge you to take at least one step for peace daily.   However, what we really need is that magic answer to how we can reach those in power.  Do you have an idea?  Can we come together to explore possibilities through JRPC?

At the same time, to help sustain inner peace, you might like to join the didgeridoo meditation Sunday evening (see below) at the Peace Park.  Or if you like to work while you meditate, please visit our Peace Park any time and pull some toadflax (looks like a yellow snapdragon; needs pulling now while it’s blooming!) or knapweed.  Call me (Ethel) at 549-9722 if you have questions. You can also be inspired by seeing the progress being made on our rock sitting wall, but please don’t “help” without supervision.  Call Betsy at 543-3955 to be placed on the e-mail list for work sessions.

May we each act for peace as we can, sustain ourselves and encourage each other, and stay strong!

Ethel MacDonald, JRPC Coordinating Council member

PRIDE Celebration June 19 – 21st in Kalispell

Dear Peace Community,

Many of you may have read the article in the Missoulian about Barry Brubaker and his efforts to stop the PRIDE Celebration that will take place June 19-21 in Kalispell, Montana.  Mr. Brubaker asserts that the parade and accompanying events will “further erode morality and set precedence for future lasciviousness and lewd displays that other communities have experienced with allowing such activities.”  He describes himself as “not very educated”, but he “[knows] the word of God” and believes that “the end is coming and there’s going to be fire, earthquakes…these are the final days, and we have to speak truth.”  Mr. Brubaker’s open hostility towards the LGBTI community and his petition to stop the PRIDE Celebration (which has accumulated a few hundred signatures) underscore the need for all of us who are able to attend MT PRIDE in Kalispell.  These kinds of superstitious, bigoted, insecurity-induced opinions are more pervasive that we’d like to believe.  The LGBTI community and its allies need have a strong showing in the Flathead this month in order to demonstrate our firm presence in Montana and give a human face to the LGBTI movement here.  Let’s banish ignorance by reaching out with compassion and non-violent self expression.

Peace,

Sean Gibbons, JRPC Coordinating Council member

Celebrate Diversity

Dear people of peace,

We have spent many years in this country struggling for civil and human rights– for women, people of color, workers, the GLBTIQ community and victims of crime to name just a very few.  In the peace community we often talk about appreciating diversity as one of the tenets of social justice.  The PRIDE celebration in Kalispell next week has the tagline – “Celebrate Diversity”, and so I’ve been reflecting on what that means and how we do it?  It is easy to understand what it is not.  Surely Barry Brubaker is not celebrating diversity in his attempt to stop the gay pride parade because it is against his definition of God’s will.  The same can be said for the person or persons who murdered Dr. George Tiller last weekend for providing abortions to women.  And there is no cause for celebration when women, people of color – including Montana’s indigenous population — or those in the LGBTIQ community are fired, attacked or hated for being who they are.  But likewise, it is not enough to accept that there are folks in the world who do not agree with us or look like us or think like us. True celebration must go beyond merely appreciating or tolerating others.  To truly celebrate what is different, we must actively seek it out, embrace it and welcome it into our lives, our conversations and our attitudes.  President Obama’s address to Notre Dame last month (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/chi-barack-obama-notre-dame-speech,0,2951798.story) was a beautiful expression of what is possible when we overcome the division of difference.  But even knowing this, it is far too easy for me to react negatively to a new idea because it is unfamiliar to my own or to find myself judging someone else because they don’t think and act like me.   As people of peace, our celebration of diversity must include making room at the table for what is different, truly looking forward to understanding that difference and agreeing to work together through the human urges to judge and react.  It is about all the people who stand up and speak out and do so repeatedly despite the costs, and about those who come to their aid.  Diverse perspectives are essential for balanced decision-making, so I hope that I will welcome them even if I don’t want to hear them.  And I also hope that I will be willing to speak up when I’m the one who is different.  Our new Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sotomayor herself said, “I wonder whether by ignoring our differences as women or men of color we do a disservice both to the law and society?”  And finally, I propose that our celebration of diversity must also be about forgiveness.  It is not easy to invite Mr. Brubaker or Dr. Tiller’s murderer to the table, but we must.  They represent diversity as well.  Consider coming to Kalispell next week and practicing this celebration of our rich human tapestry.  I want to close with this poem called Forgiveness written by one of this century’s great defenders of human rights and a six-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, Leonard Peltier.

Let us forgive the worst among us
because the worst is in ourselves,
the worst lives in each of us,
along with the best.

Let us forgive the worst
in each of us
and all of us
so that the best
in each of us
and all of us
may be free.

from PRISON WRITINGS: My Life Is My Sun Dance
Published by St. Martins Press, NYC; 1999

Support the Employee Free Choice Act & PRIDE

Dear Friends,

When asked about her vote against entering WWII, Jeannette Rankin talked about working to prevent situations of injustice from becoming conflict. She said we had done great injustice when we turned a blind eye to what was happening in Germany before the question of war ever came up.  She worked for the rights of women, workers and children with the same passion that she worked for world peace.

Happy, healthy people whose needs are met are more able to engage in working for a better world for others, a lesson we should remember as we face some critical issues of justice — brave struggles for workers rights, health care for all and marriage equality.  While wars may not be fought over these issues, make no mistake about the importance they play in whether or not our country lives up to its founding vision, and whether or not we learn to live in peace.  Audre Lord said, “there is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not live single-issue lives.”

Affordable, accessible health care for all of us is related to making sure that workers are free to form unions and protect their rights and interests. And both are impacted by the arbitrary walls that deny the rights of marriage to some and dictate who and how to love.  These issues are your issues – whether directly or indirectly. They call you to not be a bystander.

Get involved in these debates. Show up today to support the Employee Free Choice Act, and make plans to be an LGBTI ally in Kalispell at the PRIDE celebration June 19 and 20. Let’s make Jeannette proud and make this country stronger.

Betsy

Memorial Day and al Nakba

Dear Friends,

This last week was the 61st commemoration of “al Nakba”, Arabic for “the catastrophe”. It refers to the time in 1948 when the state of Israel was founded. In Palestine, the Nakba is viewed as their holocaust, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians to make room for Israel and they lament as they commemorate because the displacement and the killing continue. Not surprisingly, some parts of the Israeli government want to ban any commemoration or even mention of the Palestinian Nakba, in the same way, ironically, some people deny that a Jewish holocaust occurred.

It is not easy to look and really see people whose opinions differ from ours. But we must try to see each side’s reality. Denying either perspective will not bring peace. I recently sent out an email to local veteran organizations to see if we could organize a joint event with an Iraq veteran who will be in Missoula in July on an anti-war bicycle tour. The sad responses I am getting indicate the veteran groups would rather not know or acknowledge the existence of anti-war veterans. We cannot hope or wish the opposition opinion away – it is equally real. To be helpful, we must create a safe place for both “sides” to co-exist and then begin the work of building bridges. The tendency for humans to create conflict and war is not over. It exists in every corner of every land around the world – even Missoula.

Please do not let your efforts to create peace go silent or be put on hold as other issues become important. Do not become complacent and believe your voice is not important. And do not ever let the possibility of disagreement from someone else stop you from speaking up. We cannot deny that people around the world are struggling for survival under conditions of dispossession, apartheid, poverty, disease and occupation. Our silence is a denial of sorts, and a bridge to peace will never be possible. We must, as peacemakers, take advantage of every opportunity we have to build a bridge, however small or large.

Next Monday, Memorial Day, we must all remember the real tragedies of war – all of them. But as we remember, let us also act! This is a most critical time in our country for us to be in dialog with our elected officials about funding the future – whether that is diplomacy rather than war or health care rather than bailouts. Let our memories and our dialogs have room for every different perspective and, rather than denying other ways exist, let us reflect on how we can all seek a more peaceful way.

In hope and memory,

Betsy

Avoiding Fear

Dear peace community,

It seems you wake up every day to be presented a question. What would you like to fear today? With so much to fear, had it been a stock, it would have been up multiple times this decade. Take the case of Dick Cheney! He spent most of his 8 years in an undisclosed location. When he shows up, he predicts ominous future or ominous things he allowed to “safeguard” our future. For him it is a ground hog “doomsday” everyday! Present VP seems to be playing his part with flu. Some think Al Gore had his own “warm up” session and Dan Quayle was his own hot “potato”! Do VP’s play a part in fear propaganda? The main reason we have this office is to soothe us from a different kind of fear! So far our “fear” strides made tame wars, depression, colonialism, polio, flu, and inflation of last century. Should we call this a fear century or a decade of great fear? Afghanistan makes 90% of the opium used. We generate that much in fear and consume both in copious amounts! Our politicians and 24 hour news cycles want us to be fear addicts. They want us to cower instead of analyzing the big picture. There is always someone or something to blame. We have 5% of world population, but 25% of world prisoners. Guns and ammunition are selling at a brisk pace and stores are out of stock. With our frayed nerves, paranoia has no limits!

Take this recent example and our excessive preoccupation with it. The swine flu (or its new name influenza H1N1) has a few thousand confirmed cases in the world. The total number of deaths in US is three so far. We will find more, but most are recovering fine. While three is still tragic, if you compare that with 36,000 American deaths a year from regular flu, this new “pandemic” is nowhere near as scary in comparison. Should we be taking precautions (wash hands) or panic? With our limited attention span and expert imagination from the media, we take normal dangers and convert them to extreme fears. It sounds cliché, but once again we have to fear the fear itself. Otherwise, we cannot come up with proper solutions.

Here in Missoula look at the positive side. Enjoy spring blossoms, hike, go to the farmers market, meet friends, take your kids camping, help someone or do something you like to do. Ignore the constant doom and gloom. Come see us build a stone amphitheater at the Peace Park. Find ways to bury this draining emotion and live normal, happy and peaceful lives.

Srini Mondava

Coordinating Council chair

World Fair Trade Day

Dear peace community,
May 9 is World Fair Trade Day (WFTD).  Fair Trade is about social and corporate responsibility – a way of guaranteeing justice for all around the world.  There are suppliers, wholesalers, and producers practicing the demanding values that structure the forefront of fair trade, even in this volatile economy.  Take a few minutes during your daily buying practices and ask yourself the following: How are the items I am buying being produced? Whose hands produced this item and how did it come to be in my hands — for only $4.99? What does the facility look like where this item was produced?  If you can’t answer any of these questions or simply answer “I don’t know” then exercise your power as a consumer and find out.  Then ask yourself these questions:   Do I want to support goods where the producers are seen as a vital branch of the business? …where business practices have a transparency? …where people are willing to put the producer first? …where the culture is preserved? …where sustaining the land is a principle of the production practices and of the culture?    If your answers are “yes” to these questions then you’re ready to take the next step toward fair trade.  Please ask your local merchants to carry more Fair Trade goods. If you don’t know where to start, you can email Katie@jrpc.org or call 406-543-3955.  You the consumer have the power to make this change. It is your demands that drive the market place. If you demand Fair Trade it will come. Please understand this power and take your turn to make a difference in this world.

And as always, you can find lots of fair trade goods at JRPC.  We’ll be kicking off the World Fair Trade Day party Friday, May 8 from 1 to 4 pm in the JRPC Library with a Fair Trade Peace Crane Party:  a day of discussion about Fair Trade, Peace Crane making using recycled magazines and Bead For Life Fair Trade Beads.  We’ll be serving Fair Trade Chocolate, Tea, and Coffee.    Come make the world a little fairer.  Then, on Saturday, May 9th enjoy a free sample of fair trade coffee break at one of the Missoula coffee vendors who are donating their coffee for the day – see the list below in the calendar listing!  And remember, everything is better when it’s fair!

Thanks for doing your part,

Betsy and Katie