Women, War & Peace on PBS
Dear friends,
Last night I had the privilege of reading about peace and conflict with some of Missoula’s brightest scholars and writers. Many of the readings covered the tragedies of our past: the massacre of Native Americans, the genocide of Rwanda, the hatred and destruction of 911 and its aftermath and the systemic rape and torture of women in the Congo as a part of the war that rages there. While there were many heavy passages and disturbing pictures brought to mind, there was also hope.
Many people see hope as a passive waiting for things to get better. But last night, hope was felt in the stories of people who refused to be anesthetized into distraction, people who followed weblinks to places they could contribute, people who wept with victims they had never seen and raged at a system that sees lives as collateral damage, and people who spread peace through a song or a poem that lifts a soul and awakens a mind as it travels from friend to friend.
Last night’s readings are part of a 5-part series on PBS, titled ‘Women, War & Peace’ (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/). Watch for it on KUFM’s The Write Question, and also on MCAT. If you are moved to take action, go to http://athousandsisters.org/ or http://www.runforcongowomen.org/ or call JRPC to see how we can work together. Meanwhile, do whatever local, particular thing you can do…sing a song, read a story, write a poem, share an inspiration, change your mind and change the world…Betsy
