Children Can Teach Us What’s Important in Our Lives
It’s always about the children: the children among us, the children in other lands, and the children still to come. Children are the first audience we must be concerned about with all our efforts toward peacemaking. I have learned most of what I teach from the children. They have taught me about their teaching ability, about their natural wisdom, about their innate sense of what’s important in life, about the awfulness of war and violence we adults tolerate and sometimes promote. In this regard, one little girl threw up her hands before me and said with her whole being: “I hate violence and war!” I think she represents most children who speak from their hearts without prompting.
I read the headlines that announce children who are murdered by a single individual—gone berserk, and I look at the headlines which applaud our use of drones doing “collateral” damage when killing children in a house or village where suspected terrorists are living. I ask myself where is the by-far greater crime?
I don’t know many answers, but I know this kind of rationalization is absolutely morally wrong. I wonder if the perpetrators of such violence have ever considered their own children as “collateral” damage.
Vivie’s column continued:
“You should also try to reduce your carbon footprint, because it is very important for the environment. You can go to a carbon footprint calculator online and find out the size of it. A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide and any other harmful gases released into the environment by your actions. This includes transportation, getting new furniture, eating meat, and anything else you buy new that uses fossil fuels to produce, ship or use. To reduce your carbon footprint, you can eat less meat, try to use old things as long as you can so you won’t have to buy them new, try to drive and fly around less, and also it is a lot better buy anything from your area than to buy something produced far, far away. Another thing that produces a lot of gasses is heating and cooling. You can try to reduce your heat in the winter, and your cooling in the summer.”
A HUGE DREAM….to work towards in Action
I have a dream—-that Tiffin will join the list of “Nonviolence Cities” across the nation. Just for a list of hopeful starters, I saw Tiffin working on reconciliation efforts over the last years with e.g. the Court House demolition. There is now a peace studies course at Tiffin University and a Peace Club and peace studies at Tiffin Middle School. How good it would be to receive emails about other efforts in trying to build better relationships through industries, neighborhoods, educational sites, etc. Please do email: pauletteosf@hotmail.com
Pictured back row L to R: Kiki Healy, Chloe Hoover, Madison Hoy, Mayor Aaron Montz, Aiden Lantz…..Front: Mrs. Breena Lofquist, Leah____, Camden ….and Mackenzie ____Catarina___ and sr. Paulette are missing.
Mayor Participates in Peace Club Activities
The Tiffin Middle School Peace Club had a wonderful time meeting with Mayor Montz on April 5. The students discussed anti-bullying efforts and their desire to help build a better world. The Mayor hopes to participate in their Peace parade to be held at the Tiffin Middle School in May. The students will alert you as to the day. Please try to join them in their efforts to lift their voices on behalf of peace at school, in their families and beyond to the larger world. Thank you.
Calling for Anyone Who Believes in the Project Peace Mission:
“Project Peace works to create a culture of peace personally, communally, nationally and internationally. This effort will start by building awareness of justice issues within ourselves and our world. We hope to convey to each person the notion that responsible citizenship is critical for peacemaking.”
Project Peace is looking for:
¨ people who will spread the mission of Project Peace
¨ People who can afford to help finance my teaching classes of nonviolence skills within our school systems or are wanting to help build scholarships to travel to Palestine on a delegation. I have volunteered teaching for 3 yrs. Now.
¨ People who can contribute office supplies.
¨ People who want to host a meeting to hear about Palestine or how to live a nonviolent life more intentionally.
Israeli peace activist and author Jeff Halper will speak in Toledo, May 16, 7 pm, at Monroe St. United Methodist Church, 3613 Monroe St., Toledo.
Dr. Halper is the co-founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Nobel Peace Prize nominee (2006), author and lecturer. He will be discussing his new book: War Against the People: Israel, the Palestinians and Global Pacification. His talk will focus on the current state of affairs in Palestine/Israel as well as his new research about how Israel is exporting the occupation. He shows how Israel uses the West Bank and Gaza as a “laboratory” for the development of weapons, instruments of population control and models of permanent pacification. These are used not only by armies but by internal security agencies and police forces. Halper locates Israel’s system of pacification within the broader project of global “transcapital pacification.”
The event is free and open to public. Donations will be accepted to support Dr. Halper’s work.
Project Peace 