Tag Archives: pacifism
WE decide
“We need to decide that we will not go to war, whatever reason is conjured up by the politicians or the media, because war in our time is always indiscriminate, a war against innocents, a war against children.” ~Howard Zinn
Violent Delights
Excerpted from Romeo and Juliet: These violent delights have violent ends, And in their triumph die; like fire and powder, Which as they kiss consume. Romeo and Juliet is in the public domain, as are all of William Shakespeare’s works, and may be downloaded or read online for free at Project Gutenberg, HERE.
The Good War
I worked with a man named Charlie years ago in Houston. I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten his last name. When we met he was nearing retirement age. He was one of the very first Americans into Berlin at the close of World War II. He told me there were dead bodies everywhere; soldiers, civilians, dogs, horses, …
You would think after thirty straight years of daily bombings they would have figured out that violence doesn’t work as a means to solve your problems. The sad thing is, you can’t be sure which side I’m talking about.
“They can easily control that.”
“In a world that wants us to be angry, bitter, selfish and vile, I realized that the truest form of rebellion is uncompromising righteousness. In this day and age, I believe that a true rebel does not run the streets with a weapon yelling stuff. True rebels live the life they believe is right, no …
Enlightenment
“When you stop searching and you calm down and you put your books away, and you confront yourself and see what you are all about, that will bring about bliss faster than anything you can ever imagine or ever do.” ~Robert Adams I used to read parables about Zen monks who would be given a …
Violence
“When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle …
Strategies
“…the Muslim World has a duty to arm the Palestinian nation by all means.” ~Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (source) That won’t work. The Palestinians are closer to victory than they realize- but they’re never going to defeat the US-backed Israeli military. Fortunately, they don’t need to. If I may digress for a moment: one dirty little …
Shenanigans
“Please stop! I ask you with all my heart, it’s time to stop. Stop, please! Brothers and sisters, never war, never war! I am thinking above all of children, who are deprived of the hope of a worthwhile life, of a future; dead children, injured children, mutilated children, orphaned children, children whose toys are things …
The Fugs
For a very long time, our peace plan (and everybody else’s) has been to kill all the bad guys- every single one of them- thinking that once they’re all dead, then we’ll have peace. That hasn’t worked so far. But we keep trying.
Corbett
It’s hard to find much information on Corbett Bishop (1906-1961), which is a shame because I think we would have gotten along famously. This story is copied from a website devoted to documenting the Civilian Public Service (CPS), which administered the Conscientious Objector program during WWII: “Corbett Bishop was a totally unorthodox CPSer. Eventually he …
Pacifism
A conversation with Michael R. Ziglar, excerpted from We Have Just Begun to Not Fight, An Oral History of Conscientious Objectors in Civilian Public Service During World War II, by Heather Frazer and John O’Sullivan ©1996: You base your pacifism on the Sermon on the Mount. Is that correct? Well, “Thou shalt not kill” comes …
Abbie's Tree House 