Advice for US peacemakers by Carol Wolman

ADVICE FOR US PEACEMAKERS

 

1) Recognize our importance.  The Bush war machine can only be stopped by a peace movement within the US.  Our ability to mobilize may well decide the future of the planet.

 

2)  Keep Isaiah's vision of peace always in mind:  Isaiah 2: 4- they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.  This vision is enshrined on the wall of the UN General Assembly building, and can only be realized by fully empowering the community of nations.

 

As peacemakers, we must keep pressure on Bush to honor all US treaties, especially the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and the Geneva convention, and to join other treaties that will contribute to world peace and stability, such as Kyoto and the landmine treaty.  We must work to ban weaponry from space.  We must also insist that the US place itself under the jurisdiction of international legal bodies such as the International Criminal Court, and give up being an outlaw, rogue nation.

 

3) The US peace movement must recognize that we received a double shock on November 2, 2005.  Many of us believed that Kerry had a good chance of being elected.  We have to face the fact that Bush appeared to win by a comfortable margin, and that the voting fraud was so widespread and cleverly concealed that his "victory" appeared indisputable. 

 

Then there was Kerry's final flipflop, his refusal to mount a serious challenge to the vote, despite his pre-election rhetoric.  I personally am left with a bitter sense of betrayal. 

 

We must acknowledge the full implications of this disaster.  Not only does it mean at least 4 more years of GW Bush, but this time he has bought enough semblance of legitimacy to make him much harder to challenge.  He also has a more Republican Congress.  We have to face the fact that thousands of people colluded with the voting fraud, whether for a bribe or out of cultish zeal.  Corruption of our electoral process is deep and wide.

 

Kerry's behavior proves what many of us suspected, that the main purpose of his campaign was not to win- he knew as well as anyone that the machines were rigged- but to deflect the peace movement.  Alas, the Democratic party, whose bosses are in favor of war for profit just as Bush is, succeeded in rerouting the energy of the anti-Iraq war movement into a meaningless political campaign- just for show.  We MUST face this, and be realistic about what we are up against.

 

4) We must shift gears.  During the election, many of us in the peace movement went into overdrive, throwing our energy into the effort to defeat Bush.  This frenetic energy continued through the recount effort, which was very encouraging.  Now it is time to stop and assess, and regroup.  We have to reclaim our identity as a peace movement outside of the electoral process, and seek to influence not just through politics, but also by moral persuasion.

 

5) We need to reclaim our movement from the liberal Democrats, and rebuild from the ground up.  The peace movement needs to have a visible presence in every community, with meetings, tabling at events, floats in local parades, and fostering of anti-campus recruitment drives, outreach to returning veterans, and constant lobbying for peace.

 

6) We must maintain high visibility, despite fears of fascism, and not allow ourselves to be intimidated.  Wear peace jewelry and buttons, put peace bumper stickers on your vehicles and signs in your windows.  Flash the peace sign to strangers.  Encourage one another.

 

7)  We must reclaim the Bible and the Prince of Peace.  God promises peace, wishes us peace, sent us His son to help us make peace.  The warmongers in power have hijacked the Bible, just as they have hijacked the voting process, the media, the US military.  Let us never forget that God is on our side, and we have a special blessing from God:

 

 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."

             Matthew 5: 9

 

We are the army of the Prince of Peace, fighting the spiritual battle of Armageddon against the warmongers.  Let us remember our high calling, and rely on Him who called us.

 

In the name of the Prince of Peace,   Carol Wolman