A collection of links and articles related to work being done by activists in Chicago, to nurture peace and nonviolence, as NATO meets in Chicago, on May 20th and 21st.
The big march will be: 5/20/2012 Sunday starting at 2pm from Grant Park/Chicago (with cultural and lead-up activities starting at 11am)
at OccupyWallSt.org #ChicagoSpring: Occupy NATO May 12-21 Full Schedule
The fourteenth chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace contains Thomas Merton‘s 1962 essay The Root of War is Fear. As we have seen in the essays by Muste, Day, Addams, Gandhi, and Penn, religious conviction can be a great motivator to speak out for pacifism. Adopting the contemplative life of a monk, seems to have propelled Merton outward into addressing war and violence.
The title of Merton’s essay remind me of what the Duchess always says, “That which is not love, is fear.” Like Fromm’s essay of the prior week, Merton diagnoses the especially American idea that the only way to peace is through nuclear war as being a form of mental illness.
Merton immediately questions what is a Christian to do in a world where violence is considered to be the only answer. He quickly turns aside the choices of resigning oneself to the inevitability of the situation, using it as a reason to preach Apocalypse, or celebrating a nuclear victory over Atheist Communism. Merton finds there is only one appropriate response for a Christian:
That task is to work for the total abolition of war.
“One Guitar” by singer/songwriter Willie Nile is the Peace Song of the Day for April 30th. Tomorrow, a thousand guitars, marching in the Occupy Guitarmy, will perform song as part of their set list. (There is still time to join. Info, schedule, and set lists at the Occupy Guitarmy website: here.)
“If You Want To Sing Out” by Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) is the Peace Song of the Day for April 29, 2012. A video of this song was posted at OccupyWallSt.org in relation to the upcoming Occupy May Day/General Strike activities. So, we wonder if folks may be singing this one in the streets on Tuesday.
“This Old Hammer“, an African-American work song, is the Peace Song of the Day for April 25th. (See video and lyrics below.)
The song says, “This old hammer, killed John Henry…but it won’t kill me.” Which resonates with the big event coming up…
May Day, May 1, 2012, is a General Strike, called for by many groups, including Occupy Wall Street. To find a detailed post, and links to actions in over 115 cities, go to this post at occupywallst.org.
If you can be in New York City on May 1st, check out the schedule for NYC actions and performances at www.maydaynyc.org
Why strike? The answer given at the occupywallst website, is similar to the words of this hammer song. On the article “Why And How To Strike On May Day“, it says, “You are not a slave, and have the right not to work.” The song “This Old Hammer” is about African American workers, after slavery was outlawed, who were still treated like slaves in many ways.
I love the tension near the end of this song. The worker asks his coworker to take the hammer to the boss or Captain. Though, we discover he is not asking for retaliation, he only asks to tell the boss that he has gone. If only the 99% could tell the 1%: “No, I won’t work for your unjust system.”
The Spring Holidays are a perfect time for sharing and celebrating, as well as for learning and inspiring positive change.
Kimberly and Ian Wilder, the team behind Peace Couple, share interesting holidays. One of us is from a Jewish tradition, and the other is from a Christian tradition. Both of us resonate with Buddhism, and ancient, earth-based celebrations of the seasons.
Both Easter and Passover are Spring Holidays that celebrate renewal. Passover also celebrates Freedom.
We made a list in order to share some ideas and links for inserting peace and nonviolence into the Spring holidays.