Independently Peaceful

Dear peace peeps ---

As far as how peace is relevant to Independence Day --- I haven't all peaced (hahaha) that together but some of the thoughts have to do with proclaiming independence from a tyrannical force that would tell me what to think, what to feel, whom and what to respect, whom and what to value, how to live my life, etc., without an equal measure of value and respect in return. There can be little peace in the presence of such injustice.

The very essence of the revolutionary movement was to stand for a greater truth in the face of oppression no matter the risk. It wasn't the battles after the Declaration that defines what we believe as a nation, nor what we value, but it was the Declaration itself which proposes that each person is FREE and INDEPENDENT, and as such, each person's opinion and value is inherently and "self-evidently" equal. It reads in the prologue of the Declaration that we must have, "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind" which is why what follows is all of the reasons why we must proclaim ourselves as independent from England.

The Declaration was not inherently a call to war -- it only became such because of the response of the Crown. And, as there have always been peaceful people who spoke and took action against the wars and battles that this nation has fought - who have believed that no matter the reason, there was inherent "wrong"ness in the picking up of arms against others, there were those who were against provoking England with such a declaration.

If anything, the Declaration and Independence Day itself was a model for our nation that we have rarely followed since, and did not do before (as some have mentioned the decimation of 12 million natives). We do not act rashly just for the sake of provocation. We act with insight, forethought, and deliberation - which is what many of us in the peace movement are simply proposing we continue to do in all situations.

Below is part of a blog that I wrote after last year's DOP Conference... and it's relevant to the question about Patriotism that I also have gone back and forth in my head and heart.

"So the day starts out pretty great. And then it just gets better. Marianne Williamson is the emcee of the conference. She's the founder of the Peace Alliance and she's warm, funny, uplifting, serious and passionate... and so much more. To kick off the morning, we get our first glimmer of what's really in store for us. Deep commitment from all the staff and leadership volunteers, and gratitude for each of us, thankfulness that we picked up the baton - in this marathon of justice, service, community, peace - and are running the race. Jimmy Demers opened up with a song dedicated to each of us... appropriately, "Let there be peace on earth."

"And then... to celebrate the deep love of our country we all share... he took our breath away with an awesome rendition of "America the Beautiful."

"And I want to talk about this for a moment - this idea of love of our country. I cannot speak for everyone, but I know that oftentimes the challenge for us in the peace movement is how to reconcile the accusations of hatred for our country, our leaders, our troops, with the truth that we are peacebuilders because of a deep, committed, mature and relevant love of our country, its flaws, its promise that remains, its ideals. For myself, it is also the wider, deeper view that the United States represents some sort of beacon of hope for the world, and how it will only be able to deliver on that promise if we each do our part.

"My analogy is this - it's like a high school is the U.S., and I think my high school is the best, winning at sports, academic achievement, social commitment, thinking that we that attend this high school are just generally more fun, more cool, etc. However, a deeper part of me realizes that just because I think my high school is great, that doesn't mean that I truly believe my high school gets to be the boss of every other high school. It doesn't mean that my high school deserves all the best, all the attention, all the resources available, and every other high school can just kiss our collective #**. See, I don't think that way about my high school, and I really don't think that way about my country. So we're here, living in a country - the luck of the draw as far as being our birthplace - and we're just part of the greater whole. All a part of the same earth that we all share.

"So, for myself, my commitment to the world, to the global community, is the broader picture of my commitment to my smaller community, my country. And I'll cry when the national anthem is played, I say the pledge of allegiance with sincerity... but who I am doesn't stop there. It can't. Before being a U.S. citizen, I am a world citizen. Just as it is that before being a member of my family, I am a member of the human family."

In peace,Bobbi Jo

If you want peace, work for justice.

PS --- I have an idea that a nonviolent, peaceful, civic disobedience dedication of the peace pole is the ultimate declaration of independence AND of living the model of peace. And how wonderful will it be to stand in respect and love later at others celebrate Independence Day in their way?

“There is nothing wrong with a traffic law which says you have to stop for a red light,” wrote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his book The Trumpet of Conscience. “But when a fire is raging, the fire truck goes right through that red light…"

"Or when a [person] is bleeding to death, the ambulance goes through those red lights at top speed… Disinherited people all over the world are bleeding to death from deep social and economic wounds. They need brigades of ambulance drivers who will have to ignore the red lights of the present system until the emergency is solved. Massive civil disobedience is a strategy for social change which is at least as forceful as an ambulance with its siren on full."

What do y'all think?