In Honor of Those Who Suffered in the Past, Work for Peace NOW!

by Shane Claiborne

"One of my favorite Veterans (other than my dad of course) is Charlie Liteky.

In 1968 Charlie Liteky was given the highest award in the US, the Medal of Honor by President Lyndon Johnson. In the movie, "Forrest Gump", they dub over Charlie to put Tom Hanks in as he is given the award.

What is not as well known is that in 1986 Charlie joined some of the most decorated veterans in the US as they returned their Medals of Honor and renounced all war.

Charlie and I got to be in Iraq together in 2003 with the Iraq Peace Team.

One of the things he taught me is that veterans often know the horrors of war better than anyone. We can see it in the suicide rate (one a day for soldiers, 22 a day for veterans) and in the rate of homelessness and addiction of vets (there are 50,000 homeless veterans).

When we fight for peace, we are fighting for them. We honor the men and women in uniform by trying to put an end to war. In Iraq, I remember Charlie holding a sign while we were there that said:
"I hate war as only a Veteran can."

It reminded me of the words of Ernest Hemingway: "Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime. Ask the infantry and ask the dead."

Let's commit ourselves today, as many folks celebrate "Veterans Day" -- to honor the infantry and the dead by committing to build a world without war.

In the name of the Prince of Peace. Amen."

by Shane Claiborne

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My response:
May we all remember that the best honor we can do for those who suffered in wars of the past is to work for peace NOW. Vote for candidates who will stop funding Islamic rebels, stop supporting undemocratic governments, stop sending our young adults into quagmires where every side is doing wrong.

For instance, why are we supporting the Islamic government of Afghanistan which supports Sharia Law? Just this week, Afghans stoned a young woman to death again! Most government leaders there oppress women, support punishment of Afghans who reject Islam.

Let's start a new movement in support of Martin Luther King's ideals. Be a peacemaker, not a warmaker.

And give and help those veterans who are still suffering from the past.

http://civilianpublicservice.org/storycontinues/hotline

In the Light,

Daniel Wilcox

Be a Peacemaker Today. Reach Out to Syrians.

Please write President Obama and your senators to prioritize a diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis. Also, request the defunding of all Islamic rebels. Millions of dollars have gone to them which has only increased the bloodshed, killed civilians, and furthered the cause of Islamic jihad.

Then go to World Vision, or some other aid agency, and donate funds to help lessen the tragic circumstances of millions of Syrians. 11 million Syrians have been displaced! Millions are living in other countries as unwanted refugees.

If you have more time, please stop by Amnesty International's website and write a letter or email for prisoners of conscience.

Join us in this peace movement today.

In the Light,

Daniel

Rescue the Perishing, Care for the Dying...The Best Way to Help Syrian Refugees

Read the Vox article “The Best Way the US Could Help Syrians: Open the Borders”

By Dylan Matthews

“Bombing is rarely the best way to help people.”

“Morality in foreign policy isn't about bombing bad guys. It's about helping people. And usually, the best way to do that won't involve bombings at all.”

Here’s a brief excerpt:

“Ultimately, the choice was whether to commit tens of billions of dollars, and tens of thousands of US ground troops, to implement a strategy that might have toppled Assad and saved thousands of lives, but which also might have made the conflict even more brutal than it's been. The latter was probably more likely, in fact. The cost would have been considerable in any case, and the benefit very uncertain. Compared with the benefits of letting Syrian refugees into the US, which we know are great, and the costs, which we know are small, that's not a very attractive proposition.

The best humanitarian interventions don't involve the military.

Cash transfers are an extremely effective humanitarian intervention that doesn't involve the military at all.

But [military bombing] enables a strange hypocrisy. The humanitarian interventionists who would've attacked Syria, and now mourn our failure to do so, aren't [increasing our] foreign aid budget in general, perhaps to 1 percent of gross national income, like Sweden, from merely 0.2 percent.

They're not calling for reforms that make it easier for USAID and other aid agencies to spend on highly effective projects that reduce child and maternal mortality. They're not calling on the US to eliminate all quotas and tariffs on goods from poor countries, as well as farm subsidies that make it harder for poor farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to export their goods. They're certainly not calling for a massive expansion in levels of immigration to the US from...the world's absolute poorest countries.
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Plenty of people in Washington like restricting immigration, especially low-skilled immigration from poor countries. Plenty of people in Washington like the idea of cutting the foreign aid budget, or perhaps eliminating it altogether.

But it's not too late to help refugees. The boats are still sailing, and sinking. Children are still dying. People are still suffering. It's not too late for the US to heed the International Rescue Committee's call for us to resettle 65,000 refugees, not the paltry 1,434 we've resettled so far. It's not too late to do the International Rescue Committee one better and let in 200,000, 500,000, 1 million even. It's not too late to make Syrian refugees' lives dramatically better.
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Morality in foreign policy isn't about bombing bad guys. It's about helping people. And usually, the best way to do that won't involve bombings at all."

by Dylan Matthews

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/4/9258149/syria-refugee-humanitarian-intervention
END OF EXCERPT

Yes, what if the U.S. and many other wealthy countries such as Saudi Arabia, Germany, Iran, and many others drastically reduced their weapons and bombs budgets and funneled that money into restoration, reconciliation, development, and in the short-term immigration and refugee rescue?

In the Light,

Daniel Wilcox