http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13115.htm
Make Me an Instrument of Peace
Address to the Spiritual Activism Conference, Washington, DC. 05/18/06
By Cindy Sheehan
05/19/06 --- Not too long ago, I was listening to Air America when a
caller to the religious right of war supporter/evangelist Pat Robertson said
it didn't bother him that George Bush doesn't follow the law of our land
because when we have a man who is a "Christian" in office, we don't need the
rule of law! I am afraid too many more people in America are saved from the
responsibility of democracy because they believe that George follows a
higher law than our Constitution. The person who called in really meant
that. I found that call disturbing for several reasons, but to think that a
man who kills his pretend enemies and is a warmaker with wanton disregard
for the teachings of Jesus Christ is a Christian flies in the face of
everything that I was taught about Jesus of Nazareth and about the Christian
faith.
Thinking about how unloving, punitive and unjust the brand of
Christianity that George Bush practices is reminded me of an experience that
I had in Assisi the first time I visited Italy in January of this year. The
Franciscan model of Christianity is totally the opposite of Bushianity.
On that sunny but cold January day, when I awakened in the back seat
of the silver BMW that picked me up from the airport in Rome, I was in a
charming plaza in front of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. The
Basilica was heavily damaged in an earthquake in 1997 but is now almost
entirely restored.
My hotel room overlooked the same magnificent view of Italy's "Green
Heart" in Umbria as the plaza of the Basilica. In the distance I could see
all the way to the hills of Perugia, where I would visit next. Breathtaking
is merely a word that cannot adequately describe the views!
After cleaning up from a 15-hour trip, my traveling companion and
fellow Gold Star Families for Peace member Beatriz Saldivar (nephew, Daniel
Torres, KIA in Iraq in 2005) and I were taken to lunch by the peace
coalition that invited us to Italy. After lunch we toured the Basilica.
Walking through the Basilica and looking at the amazing architecture
and medieval icons and appreciating the historicity of the building reminded
me that in my pre-April 2004 life, I used to be a faithful, practicing Roman
Catholic who went to mass every Sunday and worked for the church as a
Catholic Youth Minister.
The entire time I was in Assisi, I was also reminded that before Casey
went into the Army and was killed in George's immoral war, he had traveled
to Assisi as part of the World Youth Day 2000 celebrations. Every step I
took, I wondered if Casey's feet had walked those steps. I know that Casey
would have been filled with reverence and love when he was there and, in
fact, he spoke very respectfully and reverently about his trip to Italy, but
especially Assisi.
Many people who knew Casey well always said that he reminded them of a
young St. Francis, who said: "Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary,
use words." That was how sweet Casey lived his life and that is why it is so
ironic that George in his exploitation of the Gospels and of the religious
right claims that God tells him to invade innocent countries, while he is
using wedge issues like abortion rights and gay marriage to energize the
base, when anyone who really cares about a right to life knows he is an
amazing hypocrite who couldn't care less about preserving life or insuring a
basic standard of living for the born.
George W., the self-proclaimed born-again Christian, has said in
reaction to being accused of breaking the FISA law: "That's an old law, it
was made back in 1978, and the world is a different place now." Well,
similarly, I guess he believes that the 5th Commandment,"Thou shalt not
kill," is also a quaint law that was made a long time ago when the world was
a far different place. One that he can disregard while claiming to be
"pro-life." The Bush regime tramples and makes a mockery of the
commandments, but what is more important is that as a secular leader of a
country founded on religious freedom, he shreds the constitution to tiny
pieces and calls it "an old piece of paper." He is not a pope, bishop,
priest, prelate, minister, deacon, or even an acolyte. He is a president who
is bound by our country's rule of law and is not above the law.
I left the Roman Catholic Church permanently after the 2004 elections,
when many Roman Catholic Bishops and priests encouraged their flocks to vote
for George W. Bush because he was "pro-life." I am disappointed with many
Christian traditions and other institutional religions that don't loudly and
with great moral authority, based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the
saints about peace, love, and forgiveness, denounce George W. and his
immoral war against humanity. People don't see the hypocrisy of George
killing tens of thousands of innocent people in the Middle East and
executing a record number of people in Texas (including minors and mentally
challenged people) and then voting for him because he is "pro-life!" What
about Casey's life? What about Daniel's life? What about the lives of the
babies and innocent citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan? George is definitely
not "pro-life," he is "pro-birth." Anyway, I digress.
I was starting to recall my Roman Catholic roots more and more while
in the Basilica, when those same roots were brought back sharply into focus
as I came to the "Tomba di San Francesco," the Tomb of St. Francis. I walked
into the chapel and stood in front of the Saint's remains and was struck by
the fact that I was in a holy place. A sacred spot that has been sanctified
not by the sprinkling of holy water or the sometimes empty chanting of the
faithful, but by the life of one person who preached a message of
simplicity, peace, love, hope, joy, faith, forgiveness and the light of
goodness. Good people have followed in the tradition of St. Francis, and one
does not have to be a practicing Catholic, or a practicing anything, to
appreciate the words of St. Francis. I think the Peace Community who takes
Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Henry David Thoreau rightly as its icons
can also look to St. Francis for guidance and inspiration.
One of St. Francis's most simple yet important and meaningful works is
the "Peace Prayer of St. Francis" . which I assume wasn't his title for it,
because he wasn't yet a Saint when he wrote it. The first stanza reads:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, Where there is hatred, let
me sow love, Where there is injury, pardon, Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope, Where there is darkness, light, Where there is
sadness, joy!
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Being an instrument of peace is immensely more important than working
for peace. Our entire lives must radiate this peace. We must be peace to
have peace. I am coming into an understanding of this as I strive for true
and lasting peace. Being anti-war is not enough. If we are solely anti-war,
when the war is over the movement will be over. While we are congratulating
ourselves on our victories for bringing the troops home, our government, in
cahoots with the war machine (I am also beginning to understand that the war
machine and the government are two different sides of the same worthless
coin), is already planning the next war and the next way to kill our
children and spread death and destruction for profit!
Non-violence should always be the means we use to solve problems, from
our nuclear family life all the way up to the office of the most powerful
person in the world. Peace is not an absence of conflict, but resolving
conflict non-violently.
Where there is hatred let me show love.
Hatred and frustration are the fuels of violence and terrorism. Our
mis-leaders exploited the tragedy and devastation of 9/11 to attack two
innocent countries that didn't attack the US. After 9/11, if our so-called
president had taken a course of action that reflected what he claims to
believe in, he would have evaluated our policies towards the people of the
Middle East and seen how he could have solved them intelligently and
non-violently. Of course, we needed to bring the perpetrators of the 9/11
crimes against humanity to justice, but not commit crimes against humanity
of our own. Jesus said: "It is written, an eye for an eye, but I say, turn
the other cheek." I have never believed that Jesus meant for us to let
ourselves be slapped silly for peace, but I believe that he meant for us to
put on an attitude of understanding and compassion for the slapper that
transcends our humanness and forces us to look inwards and pull out of us
all of our humanity and love that solves problems non-violently and with
courage and integrity.
I also am convinced that religious fundamentalism is the root and
cause of much of the violence throughout history and even up until today.
The leaders of our world know and exploit the fact that humans will blindly
and brainlessly follow a religious symbol into war more quickly and readily
than we will follow a flag or standard. If we espouse or claim a doctrine,
then we must also deeply know in our minds and hearts the teachings of the
prophets of that religion: Whether the prophet was Jesus, Mohammed or Moses.
We should never allow ourselves to follow false prophets to doom: Especially
false prophets who claim that the Universal Creator has told him to ravage a
country and kill its people.
Where there is injury, pardon.
I always wondered how I would handle a situation regarding pardon and
forgiveness if one of my children were murdered. I can never sit in judgment
of anyone until I have walked in their shoes, but I sure hoped that if one
of my children were murdered, I would not call for the death of his/her
murderer to attain some measure of "closure" or vengeance. I didn't know how
I would handle that, though, until I was forced to walk in those shoes by
the murderous policies of the neo-cons. Am I angry that the neo-cons lied us
into this war and that Casey and countless others are dead for their lies?
Yes! Do I want to see the people responsible for his murder held accountable
for that murder? Yes! Do I want the killers executed for it? No! I believe
that capital punishment is as barbaric as war. Have I forgiven his killers
for murdering Casey and so many more of our brothers and sisters in the
world? I can't say I am fully there yet, but I know I will be there
eventually, because I don't hate his killers. Hate is a wasted emotion that
just hurts the hater, not the hatee. For the person that actually pulled the
trigger that killed Casey, I have nothing but compassion, and I would like
to tell the people of Iraq that I am sorry that my country is destroying
their country and murdering so many innocents.
Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there
is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. Hope and faith are the
truths that get me out of bed in the morning. People always ask me, "Cindy,
will your campaign for peace be successful?" My answer is: "Of course!" If I
didn't truly believe that the efforts of the progressive peace movement
would not prevail over the darkness of the blatant disregard for truth,
justice, and all human life that George and his fellow criminals spread, I
would lie in bed all day staring at the walls in grief and depression!
Yes I am sad. I am always sad and I will always be sad. I thought one
of the lights of my life was extinguished on 04/04/04. We also know from the
teachings of Jesus Christ that darkness can never overcome the light. But
with the sadness of eternal loss and pain comes the joy of knowing that
Casey's sacrifice for his buddies blossomed into a movement of light against
the darkness that is saving and will save many more of his buddies and
innocent Iraqis. I am filled with joy that my son's death will not be wasted
and used to justify more violence and death.
The second stanza is self-explanatory:
Oh master grant that I may never seek So much to be consoled as to
console, To be understood as to understand, To be loved as to love with all
my soul. Casey's light will shine always as long as there are people working
for peace.
Cindy Sheehan is a co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace and
the mother of Casey Sheehan, who was killed in Iraq.
Voters for Peace is a joint project of Gold Star Families for
Peace, Democracy Rising, Peace Action, Code Pink, United For Peace and
Justice, and more, working to bring the peace movement together to think and
act as voters this election year. Please join me and sign the Voters Pledge
and spread the word far and wide. Our goal is to get 2 million voters to
sign the pledge - so we can go back to these legislators and candidates and
say "We will no longer tolerate your wars!"
***
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/20/opinion/20sat2.html?th&emc=th
Press One for English
NY Times Editorial: Saturday, May 20th 2005
The immigration debate in Congress has hit several low points of
mean-spirited dimness, and could go lower still, but on Thursday it came
pretty close to rock bottom. By a vote of 63 to 34, the Senate tacked onto
its immigration bill an amendment from Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma that
declares English to be "the national language of the United States." If you
thought otherwise, or weren't sure, well, now you know: We speak English
here. None of that "Oprima número dos."
If the amendment merely stated the achingly obvious, it might be nothing to
get upset about. Senator Ken Salazar, Democrat of Colorado, offered an
amendment asserting, nonbindingly, that English is the language that unites
us all. That one was passed, too. But Mr. Inhofe and his allies weren't
looking to make a statement about our shared heritage.
They made another point - one that is exclusionary, potentially
discriminatory and embarrassingly hostile to the rest of the world.
"Unless otherwise authorized or provided by law," the Inhofe amendment says,
"no person has a right, entitlement or claim to have the government of the
United States or any of its officials or representatives act, communicate,
perform or provide services, or provide materials in any language other than
English." It goes on to insist that new citizens be tested for knowledge of
English and of certain pillars of American civics, like the Federalist
Papers and "The Star-Spangled Banner."
People who struggle with the language don't need to be told how important
English fluency is in America. If Mr. Inhofe wanted to lavish federal money
on English-language classes, now overwhelmed with immigrants on waiting
lists, such a step would do more to advance the cause of English and
assimilation than any xenophobic amendment.
Mr. Inhofe flubbed the national anthem a little in the Senate debate (it's
"our flag" that was still there, not "the flag"). And he would have done
well to require knowledge of other important aspects of American history,
too, like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing
movement and the Ku Klux Klan.
This country has always come to regret official actions that exclude and
alienate large populations of newcomers. It has never stood prouder than
when it greeted them with openness and confidence, in the spirit behind the
motto "E pluribus unum." Sorry - make that "Out of many, one."
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