“Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” – Matthew 5:9, New Testament, Holy Bible.
“Why all the missiles called ‘Peacekeepers’ when they’re aimed to kill?” – Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964)
[Sources: My copy of the Holy Bible. Song lyric from “Why?” Tracy Chapman (1988). Biographical information from Wikipedia].
Peacemaking is hard work. It requires vast amounts of energy and commitment.
We can revisit the life and example of Peace Pilgrim who “walked the talk” and literally walked most of her life on a pilgrimage – one which she vowed to continue until mankind gave up warmaking. She did. Ironically, she died in a car accident while she was being driven to a speaking engagement.
What can we do to work for peace?
We can work on being at peace with ourselves. We can take a course in mediation. We can take a seminar on nonviolent conflict resolution. We can resist fear-mongering and hate- mongering.
We can call on governments – including our own – to settle disputes peacefully. We can contact our elected representatives. We can resist perpetual war.
We can write op-ed pieces. We can write letters to the editors of our local and regional newspapers. We can support independent media outlets.
We can support a wide variety of organizations such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, The Carter Center, American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International, and Doctors Without Borders. Here in Bellingham, Washington State, we can support the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center.
These groups and many others are working on various aspects of peace building and peace maintenance. Peace is tied to achieving human rights, justice, and medical care for all peoples.
Andrew Shattuck McBride, Writer's Blog 