All posts by Augustus

Occupy Congress in 2012

occupy congress 3This lesson from 2011 has been that we must reach beyond our comfort zones and participate directly in democracy.  Now that the 2011 elections are over, let’s talk about the 2012 elections where all of the House of Representatives and a 1/3 of the US Senate are up for re-election.

We have talked about how Congress is currently occupied by corporations It’s time to take it back.  Congress needs to by occupied by real people.  Congress needs to be occupied by YOU!!  

I am not talking about bring a sleeping bag or tent to your local Congressional office.  You must think of a more permanent occupation.  Sitting behind the desk that says Representative (or Senator) for a full term.  Imagine the changes you can make as a representative of the 99%.   Continue reading Occupy Congress in 2012

APEC World Leaders Hear Hawaiian Occupy Song: Peace Song for 11/13

“We Are the Many” by Makana is The Peace Song of the Day for November 13th.  We are doing something a little different for the song of the day today.  Below is the press release for this brand new occupy song that World Leaders unexpectedly got to hear premiered:

APEC World Leaders Dinner Gets Occupied

Within secure zone, musician sings on behalf of the many

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-M07v8N_eU&feature=player_embedded]
A change in the programmed entertainment at last night’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gala left a few world leaders slack-jawed, though most seemed not to notice that anything was amiss.

During the gala dinner, renowned Hawaiian guitarist Makana, who performed at the White House in 2009, opened his suit jacket to reveal a home-made “Occupy with Aloha” T-shirt. Then, instead of playing the expected instrumental background music, he spent almost 45 minutes repeatedly singing his protest ballad released earlier that day. The ballad, called “We Are the Many,” includes lines such as “The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw…. And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw,” and ends with the refrain: “We’ll occupy the streets, we’ll occupy the courts, we’ll occupy the offices of you, till you do the bidding of the many, not the few.”  Continue reading APEC World Leaders Hear Hawaiian Occupy Song: Peace Song for 11/13

Dorothy Day’s Pacifism

The Power of Nonviolence Writings by Advocates of PeaceThe eighth chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace contains Dorothy Days short 1936 essay Pacifism. This essay was written three years after she co-founded the pacifist Catholic Worker newspaper, and two years after Hitler was appointed Fuhrer.

Just as the newspaper was founded in response to the constant threat of war breaking out in Europe, the essay made a direct argument against US involvement in European military matters. She starts the essay with a pronouncement:

The Catholic Worker is sincerely a pacifist paper.

Continue reading Dorothy Day’s Pacifism

Gandhi’s Faith in Nonviolence

The Power of Nonviolence Writings by Advocates of PeaceThe seventh chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace contains  Thoreau’s essay of the same name that we earlier discussed.

In this short 2-page essay on Gandhi’s Faith in Nonviolence.  He starts out from the universal concept of the “law of love” is the solution to the “law of destruction”.  He then applies it India by explaining how phenomenally successful nonviolence has been, and how quickly and widely it spread through the country.  Continue reading Gandhi’s Faith in Nonviolence

Sweet Alternative to War: Peace Song for 10/31/11

Sweet Cherry Wine” by Tommy James & The Shondells, is the Peace Song of the Day for October 31th.  I have come to appreciate Tommy James  mixture of pop and mesage more.  It’s not enough to just oppose things.  We need to stand for something.  Listen to the 1st stanza.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARdlyyP8f4A]  Continue reading Sweet Alternative to War: Peace Song for 10/31/11

Nearing’s Defense of the Constitutional Right to Dissent 10/24/11

The Power of Nonviolence Writings by Advocates of PeaceThe sixth chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace contains Scott Nearing‘s 1919 closing argument in defense against criminal charges under the Espionage Act for printing pamphlets that were allegedly in “obstruction to the recruiting and enlistment service of the United States.” during World War I.  The speech is re-printed from his book The Trial of Scott Nearing and the American Socialist Society.

Nearing starts out by defining his pacifism in opposition to the District Attorney’s attempt to define him as a proponent of violence.  He sees pacifism — his opposition to all wars  — as a natural human impulse that he shares with the majority of citizens.  He describes WWI as a waste of “twenty million lives and a hundred and eighty billions of wealth.”  Nearing explains that the danger of war is that it is built on forces that are destructive to civilization: “fear and hate“.  civilization is destroyed because causing one person to kill another destroys “a man’s soul.”

Nearing makes clear that he is not indicted for his being””a student of public affairs“, a Socialist nor a pacifist.  He insists that the judge will charge the jury with the information that Nearing has the right to speak out against a law he considers wrong. And that is what he bases his defense upon:

I may be wrong, utterly wrong, and nobody listen to me, nobody pay attention to me. I have a right to express my opinion.

The judge in the case dismissed the conspiracy charges.  The jury found Nearing “not guilty” of the other two charges against him.  The Socialist Society was found guilty of two charges and fined $3000.  Continue reading Nearing’s Defense of the Constitutional Right to Dissent 10/24/11

#AfghanistanTuesday ITRW 24/7

Janeaddams1
Image via Wikipedia

While I was researching Jane Addams last week, I was fascinated by her attendance at a series of international peace conferences a century ago.  I wondered  if reviving the concept of international peace conferences was the missing piece in opposing all the US oil wars.  It seemed to me that we needed to make the peace movement more solid, the way the #OccupyWallStreet had done for the warping of our political system by a wealthy few.

Scarry Thoughts seemed to be thinking along the same track in proposing a  Virtual Antiwar University to provide continual education about peace.  He writes:  Continue reading #AfghanistanTuesday ITRW 24/7