Tag Archives: Civil disobedience
Worried Occupation Blues: Peace Song for 11/27/2011
Worried Occupation Blues is the Peace Song of the Day for Sunday, November 27, 2011. This song is based on the traditional song, Worried Man Blues. Kimberly added new lyrics. Then, Kimberly and Ian sang it on Youtube as a kind of teaching tape. We are hoping that some more polished singers will pick up the idea, and maybe make their own videos.
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“I will not fight your war,” said the child and he stood: Peace Song for 11/10/2011
“The Bell” by Stephan Said (aka Stephan Smith) is the Peace Song of the Day for November 10th. This song was created back in 2002, in response to the Iraq War. Unfortunately, it is still relevant today, on a variety of levels.
The video below includes vocals by Stephan Said and Pete Seeger.
Continue reading “I will not fight your war,” said the child and he stood: Peace Song for 11/10/2011
I Think As I Please: Peace Song for 10/19/2011
“Die Gedanken Sind Frei”, “I Think As I Please”, is the Peace Song for Wednesday, October 19, 2011. Duchess Susanna would like to dedicate this song about freedom of expression to author Naomi Wolf, and everyone else who has been arrested for their activism during the occupations.
You can find English words to “Die Gedanken Sind Frei” by Arthur Kevess at Rise Up Singing (available for purchase: here). I stumbled upon the song in a library book, “Songs That Changed The World” by Wanda Willson Whitman. The words at the bottom of this post are based on a Pete Seeger version of the song.
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Power of Nonviolence Thoreau CD: Peace Book Chapter 4 10/10/11
The fourth chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace brings us to Henry David Thoreau‘s seminal 1849 essay on Civil Disobedience. This is the essay that turned words into action. It turned the future into right now. This essay educated two of the most powerful leaders of the 20th century, Gandhi and King. It provided the foundations for their nonviolent movements.
Like many of his fellow transcendentalists, Thoreau was an abolitionist. He reacted strongly to President Polk’s incitement of the Mexican War in 1846. The war was intended to annex territory for slavery. Congressman Abraham Lincoln’s outspoken opposition to the war essentially ended his political career for 8 years.
Thoreau took it a step further. He saw that living in a the the free state of Massachusetts and speaking out against slavery did not absolve him of involvement in the war, and in furthering slavery. Thoreau saw that his support of the government — his payment of taxes — made him complicit. Despite having coined the phrase in the beginning of this essay that teeters between libertarian and anarchist: Continue reading Power of Nonviolence Thoreau CD: Peace Book Chapter 4 10/10/11