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The Voice of Reason

Submitted by Susan Livingston on July 16, 2007 - 4:05pm.
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Below is an excerpt from a post to the Appalachian Peace Education Center list-serve that illustrates "evolving from anti-war to propeace." The author is Kitty Hegemann.

Peace can only come when I become at peace. With that in mind, let me recommend two books. The Anatomy of Peace is from the Arbinger Institute and has a step by step way to help bring ourselves and others to peace. It goes from the individual to the group. The second book is Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chodron, a Buddhist nun. This is from a retreat she lead and still leads. There is also a CD of her talks. Her main point is we are at war within ourselves and until we find peace within, there will be no peace without.

I believed in the late 60s and all during the 70s that mankind is on the verge of a great leap forward. I lost that vision, but now I see it happening again. I read about people all over the world doing small and big things to make a difference. I read about groups that promote peace, love and compassion beginning to come together. These groups are very diverse and are located all over the world. The internet has made a difference. I have friends in Iraq, Austria, Chile that I've never met in person, but we talk and share stories. We build relationships. I have become active in my community to affect real change. I still write legislative and corporate leaders to facilitate change. I hope it makes a difference when I write, and sometimes I actually see positive change. We are going through a terrible period in the US. BushCo makes Nixon look like an amateur. But this too will pass. The country is awake to the lawlessness and the destruction of our Constitution and our American dreams of freedom and expanding civil liberties.

I don't have the answers, but I do have hope. Humanity has been here before and survived. Empires have risen and collapsed. If we could look forward a hundred years, there's no telling what we would see. All we can do it try to make today more peaceful. We can make ourselves a picture of peace. It's catching after all.

You go, girl!

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continuous partial attention

Submitted by Jason White on July 16, 2007 - 9:01pm.

Susan Livingston wrote:
I would remind all of us that, in this age of instantaneous mass communication, we all find more issues than we can possibly address in a meaningful and effective way, so it is imperative that we choose our battles carefully. At the same time, we can stay open to supporting those who have chosen different battles. We can focus on the idea that we are all allies. We can form meaningful partnerships and coalitions.

There's even a name for the problem you indicate here. Continuous Partial Attention. Check this out:

http://www.politicsofhope.com/main/images/stories/POH_Ezine_June_2007.pd...

My Two Cents

Submitted by Susan Livingston on July 16, 2007 - 5:55pm.

I'm putting in my two cents worth to provide some context for the above. The discussion at the Appalachian Peace Education Center started about a week ago when one of the men was trying to organize a state-wide "action" against Senator Warner of VA because he thought this Republican leader's out-of-Iraq legislation was "tepid" and that perhaps we could shame him into taking a stronger stand by reminding him of the mess he made 30 years ago when he delayed withdrawal from Viet Nam.

I shared that I was much more interested in celebrating that there is bipartisan interest in a new direction in Iraq and expressing gratitude to Senator Warner for showing up to the left of his Democratic colleague, Senator Webb. What I didn't share is that I'm not convinced that Warner's motivations are any different than ours - he just wanted to write legislation that had half a chance of passing.

Under it all is the fact that I'm tired of angry faces and fist-shaking and Bush-bashing on the part of people who call themselves peace activists. And I get downright annoyed when they turn on each other and finger-point about who's not carrying their weight and who's flakey. I don't think demonstrating has much potential to effect social change. At the same time, I'm glad that others continue to gain satisfaction and meet their need for self-expression by demonstrating because I think demonstrations are an important reflection of public opinion.

I would remind all of us that, in this age of instantaneous mass communication, we all find more issues than we can possibly address in a meaningful and effective way, so it is imperative that we choose our battles carefully. At the same time, we can stay open to supporting those who have chosen different battles. We can focus on the idea that we are all allies. We can form meaningful partnerships and coalitions.

Marshall Rosenberg says that in order to effect social change, we must harness the energy of celebration. I've noticed that activists often run from one worthy cause to another without taking the time to celebrate and congratulate each other on the peace that we DO manage to build in the world. So I'm founding an organization devoted to celebration! And I don't even have to be much of a spin doctor to find things to celebrate.

What we focus on, expands. If we focus on peace, gratitude, and celebration, then peace, gratitude, and celebration will expand. Keep your eye on PANinA.org, and go to groups.yahoo.com/group/PANinA and join the discussion there.