There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of A. J. Muste. Who was this, you ask? (at least I did.) Ah, the internet is wonderful. A.J. Muste was a peacemaker. He (and sometimes Gandhi) is credited with this:

There is no way to peace -- peace is the way.

That is why I call my blog Let's MAKE peace. Because it's in what we do, in how we face the world and answer its inhabitants. MAKING peace - here are a few ways that come to me

1. Resolve conflicts in your life
2. Give to the needy
3. Use less
4. Smile
5. Speak out for what is right

That is a simple little list. But a good one.

While browsing online to learn about AJ Muste I found another quote I really like:

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

This was from Albert Pike. You can google him for yourself, and then tell me.

The neat thing about Pike's words is that what we do to the world might be good but is certainly also bad, if we are part of the wasteful mainstream American culture.

Thanks again to Cat Lovers Against the Bomb and the fine people at Nebraskans for Peace, which created this nifty calendar.

Peace (resolve conflicts, use less, give to the needy, smile, use less) y'all

Molly

Peace in my home

I crave it, I value it, I often miss it. My husband and teenage daughter spar a lot. It's part of her adolescence, of course, and he is far from retiring himself. So my nest has prickly things in it.

Here's a nice quote from Oscar Arias, the former president of Costa Rica and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate:

"Peace is not the project of a victory or a comment....Please is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions."

Thanks again, Nebraskans for Peace for your wonderful calendar, Cat Lovers Against the Bomb.

Arias's words fit my home situation these days. Thank you Oscar Arias.

Peace ya'll

Molly

The Cat Lovers Against the Bomb calendar reminds me that today is Epiphany, and in 1941, President FDR gave his "Four Freedoms" speech.

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/workbook/ralprs36b.htm

It's old-fashioned sounding--not sound-bite-ish but the words ring true. If you don't want to click the link, the four freedoms are of

- freedom of speech and expression,
- freedom of every person to worship God in his way
- freedom from want
- freedom from fear

I still think FCNL's mission statement works better--and more concisely, because it relates to the whole planet, not just its human inhabitants.

Peace, y'all

461 years ago today.....

My family's "Cat Lovers Against the Bomb" calendar brings me wonderful facts on peacemakers and cats. The entry for today is that in 1548, Francisco Suarez was born.

Who was Francisco Suarez? I admit I had no idea, but now I do and so will you. He was a pioneer of international law. And a Catholic superstar.

Come to think of it, international law didn't just hatch one day. Someone had to start it.

Suarez entered the Society of Jesuits at age 16. He was ordained in 1572. During his lifetime he was regarded as the greatest living theologian and philosopher. He rejected the divine right of kings. He argued only the Church was established by the Divine, and states were creations of the people.

I can't describe Suarez's legacy in short readable sentences so I'd just say this--Google him yourself if you want to learn more.

Also, think about international law. Do you take it for granted? How does a nation's sovereignty fit with international law? How should international law be enforced?

Peace, y'all

Molly

I am going to Costa Rica

Today I decided to go to Costa Rica this spring on a gonzo birding trip. I like bird-watching, but this is the big leagues. I expect I will love it, with guides and birding pro's to help me find birds and learn what they are. I want to bring my daughter along so we can enjoy each other and experience this together, and she may learn to like birding more--and practice her Spanish!

What has this to do with peace? It's a dividend of peace that we can contemplate such a trip. And one reason Costa Rica is such a mecca for eco-tourism is that it has no military sucking up its budget and terrorizing its own people. Costa Rica is a functioning democracy that lives in peace. No civil wars. Nearly universal literacy, though it's defined fairly liberally.

I am thrilled. I am grateful.

Peace, y'all

Molly

Happy Birthday Lucretia Mott

Lucretia Mott was a mother of the women's rights movement.

On January 3, 1793, Lucretia Coffin Mott was born. She was a Quaker, and back in those days, men and women treated each other far more equally than they did in the larger culture. Lucretia's leadings brought her to forefront of the anti-slavery movement. In that capacity she traveled to England for an anti-slavery convention. But she could not sit with the rest of the delegates because she was a woman!!! This made quite a stir, but that is another story.

It was here she met another Quaker lady, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The women decided they would have a women's rights convention along the lines of the anti-slavery convention, and in 1848 it materialized in Seneca Falls, NY. There she and others penned a "declaration of sentiments" based quite directly on the Declaration of Independence. This is considered the birth of the women's rights movement. But the Civil War loomed, and the larger issue of ending slavery took precedent.

Suffrage for women took a back seat to suffrage for blacks. Suffragists suppressed their pursuit of the vote to pursue basic freedoms for blacks. The fifteenth amendment gave black men the right to vote.

Then suffragists pursued the vote for women. Quaker ladies - Mott, Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul--led these efforts. In college I attended Meeting in Gainesville Fl. The meeting had an old, old man named Roy Anthony. And when he was a boy, he spent time with his cousin (or aunt) Susan B. So I am one person removed from this other great Quaker lady.

I am proud (uh oh! grateful, grateful) of the Quakers of the past. Quakers found the truth of the evils of slavery much sooner than other Americans. They led the anti-slavery movement. They led the suffrage movement. What next?

What can any of us do if we have righteous passion? Then link up with others of the same nature. And move mountains? At least move part of the universe along in the right direction.

Peace, y'all

Molly

United Nation's Conventional Arms Registry

Happy New Year! On this day in 1952, the United Nations established its first conventional arms registry. Hey, they mean well.

But where exactly do the weapons come from that are used on citizens of countries with civil wars or abuses of human rights? Does the republic of Congo make the weapons soldiers use to dominate every element of the economy? Does the former Burma make the weapons its military uses to terrorize citizens and even its Buddhist monks?

The United States' two biggest customers for weapons are....Egypt and Israel. (so I have heard-but maybe my info is out of date or wrong.) Do we have blood on our own hands for the havoc in the Gaza Strip this week? How would we know?

Thanks to the folks at Nebraskans for Peace, who published my family's new "cat lovers against the bomb" 2009 wall calendar, and thanks again to our friend Gene for giving to us.

Peace, y'all

Molly