Progressive Wednesday

Clergyman Charlie: On waging peace

I was spending the night in the home of one of our Hispanic pastors in the Bronx.  Suddenly he asked me, “Can you stay up late tonight?– I said I could.  So around midnight we got into his car and he said he wanted me to have an interesting experience.  We drove to the local precinct station of the New York Police Department (the NYPD).

When we entered, it was obvious that everyone knew him.  We went into a room near the back where a group of 25 or so police had gathered.  He read a Scripture to them and then offered a short prayer.  The prayer went something like this: “Lord, be with these men and women as they go out into the streets tonight and keep them safe.  Help them as they try to keep our community safe.  We thank you for them and ask you to guide them in all that they do.  Amen.– The police said “Amen– too.  Some crossed themselves.  Then they went to work.

I was quite impressed and asked him how this had come about.  He said, “Well, as you know, we've demonstrated a lot recently against police brutality, and there have been some cases of that.  But then I started meditation on the Scriptures that tell us to pray for those in authority and I realized we hadn't done that.  So I came over and asked the police captain if I could lead a short worship service for the police before their shift began. He said that I could, but reminded me that there were three shifts: at midnight, at 8:00 in the morning, and at 4:00 in the afternoon.”

“I knew I couldn't do that three times a day myself, with all my other duties.  So I asked the lay leaders in my church if they would take some of the shifts too.   I reminded them that these were not very convenient times.  8:00am was pretty early; 4:00pm was when children were coming home from school.  But I said we shouldn't start it if we weren't going to carry through. They said they would do it, and we've been doing this for several months now.”

“One day the police chief told me it was making him nervous; he hadn't believed we would continue for so long.  After all, some of the police were Muslim or people of no faith. I told him it was completely voluntary, only for those who wished to participate.  He seemed to think that was ok.”

“And you know what?  The attitude on the street has changed!  Police used to gaze at us with hostility.  We avoided them and considered them in many cases to be our enemies.  Now they wave at us. Recently one saw me in a store and said, – ˜Oh, Hi. You're that praying pastor.

“Maybe I shouldn't tell this part, but one stopped me for speeding the other day and when he recognized me wouldn't give me a ticket.  The whole attitude in this community is different now.–

Why am I telling you this story?  (It is true, by the way; I can tell you the pastor's name and address if you're interested.)  The reason, I hope, is obvious.  Peace making is what we are called to do.  Not war making.  Jesus told us that those who take the sword will perish by the sword. Violence leads to more and more violence.  He also told us to do good to those who persecute us, and to love our enemies.

Some people say that is naïve.  I would suggest that the path of violence hasn't worked too well so far. Some say Jesus' method wouldn't work.  I would suggest it has never been tried in a consistent way.

Years ago the Church developed criteria for a “just war.–   Some of those standards included items such as sparing civilians, making sure that every other method to solve a problem had been tried first, making sure that more good than harm would be done by the war, etc. Our occupation of Iraq violates all of those standards.

Our country has several institutions that teach the art of warfare: West Point, Annapolis, etc.  We don't have even one “Peace Academy.–

The humble story of one Hispanic pastor, whose prayers and outreaching love changed a community, can be a parable of what nations could do if they engaged in peacemaking, if they put as much money and energy into spreading compassion as they do into warfare.

If we spent the money we have spent on weapons into a type of “Marshal Plan– for the Third World, and people could feel hope as medical clinics were built, good education provided, and agriculture enhanced, they would not easily listen to terrorists who tell them that the U.S. is an evil country.

Many years ago I was going to seminary and serving a small church on weekends.  One member of the church was not highly educated but he was a very wise man.  He rarely attended services, but I visited him often.  He would say to me, “What are you preaching about, Boy?–   I'd tell him.

He would say, “Preach about Peace!  That's what we need to hear.–

I'm still trying to take that advice through this column today.

Thank you for the picture, officer.

“The only alternative to coexistence is co-destruction.”

We recently expressed our concerns about the potential for a war in Iran – the feds seem to be drumming it up with their “all options on the table” language about what they’d do to prevent Iran from creating nuclear weapons. (If you haven’t already, please join us and sign this petition from StopIranWar.com, which is sponsored by VoteVets.org and Wesley Clark.) And we’ve also addressed our desire for the Congress to de-authorize the occupation of Iraq. So what do the two have to do with each other? We’re terrified of what would happen, both there and here, if we were to, in any way, attack another sovereign nation when we’re unprovoked, creating another “war” of choice through preemptive strikes.

This one of the reasons we’ve already touted the efforts of groups like Iraq Veterans Against the War: they know, firsthand, what’s going on in Iraq; we, the prime-time-news-viewing public, do not. So we were impressed by this kind of powerful, in-your-face performance, c/o the Utne Reader:

Four years after the US invaded Iraq, a group of the war’s veterans invaded the streets of New York. In a Memorial Day exercise, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) donned their gear and reenacted military scenarios commonplace in the streets of Iraq. Using their hands as rifles, they shouted commands and crept around corners. Some scoured the streets for “Iraqi citizens,” forcing them to the ground, cuffing, and hooding them.

And here’s the video of the performance — imagine if this actually happened in the United States, imagine how you’d feel:

.

.

And here’s our modest two-part proposal:

1. Let’s stop the Iran War in it’s horrific tracks. We’re going to beat this one home, so you might as well go sign the petition pronto. And please consider sending this letter to your members of Congress. Combined, you’ll spend about 120 seconds. That seems like a commercial break well spent.
2. Check your wallet or purse. Do you have a fiver? Good. Let’s donate that Lincoln, that half of a movie, that combo McMeal — let’s donate those bucks to Iraq Veterans Against the War. They’ll put it to good use. Trust us.

- – - – -

Editor’s Note, Part I: To see the videos we’ve previously recommended to better understand what our troops are going through, click here and here.

.

Editor’s Note, Part II: The title of this entry comes to us from Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the Republic of India. He was mentored by Mahatma Gandhi.

War is over stopped, if you want it.

We’ve dedicated two Wednesdays to the occupation of Iraq and the War in Afghanistan. One covered ways to support our troops in the field and those who have returned (see “Truly Supporting Our Troops“). The other firmly addressed ending the occupation of Iraq as soon as possible (see “Memorial Day, Everyday“). We’ve also shared the story of Bryan Anderson, a triple-amputee veteran, and the accessible and powerful poetry of Iraq vet Brian Turner.

So today we’re going to tackle a war that doesn’t exist yet, but unfortunately could. There are increasing reports that the feds are seriously considering attacking Iran if they attempt to develop nuclear weapons. We’ll file that one under “Worst Ideas of 2007.” Here’s how StopIranWar.com puts it:

All Americans want to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and interfering on the ground inside Iraq. Yet President Bush's saber rattling gives the US little additional leverage to engage and dissuade Iran, and, more than likely, simply accelerates a dangerous slide into war. The United States can do better than this.

Whatever the pace of Iran's nuclear efforts, in the give and take of the Administration's rhetoric ["All options on the table."] and accusations, we are approaching the last moments to head off looming conflict.

We’ve noticed several of the politicians running for President using the rhetoric of violence, but there’s clearly a political solution: as with Iraq, we don’t need to use force. So we’re going to do our small part at Progressive Wednesday. You’ll notice there’s a new side-bar “ad,” this one linking you to StopIranWar.com, a website launched in conjunction with Wes Clark (and his PAC, Securing America’s Future) and VoteVets.org. By clicking the blog-ad, you’ll be taken to a page where you can become the co-signer of a petition to President Bush, urging him to make every effort possible to avoid another very avoidable conflict.

If you click this sentence, you’ll be taken to a page where you can write to media outlets, write to your Representatives and Senators, and write to your pals about this important effort for peace. To sign the petition, you can simply click the image above. And why do we believe in StopIranWar.com’s mission? Because as progressives, we have to believe in peace whenever it’s possible.