One smart way to deflate the egos of egocentric persons and entities is to RIDICULE them with humor and satire. In our current crisis — actually our MULTIPLE CRISES — we have many opportunities to disempower them through humor and satire. Watch this short video, which encourages this: https://trlib.kanopy.com/video/send-clowns-humor-weapon
Since the 1960s I have devoted all of my adult life to working for peace, nonviolence, social justice, and related issues. Sometimes people ask me how I started in this. Here is a bit of information about my spiritual and ethical grounding for peace. I grew up in a mainstream Lutheran church. Although it taught the usual middle-of-the-road theology, I recognized that underneath was the very radical message of Jesus and his early followers. Jesus and his early followers were promoting a new society that would be radically nonviolent, radically inclusive, and radically egalitarian. Mainstream theology missed this larger, more […]
The Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action (www.gzcenter.org) is located immediately next to the Trident Nuclear Submarine base at Bangor in Kitsap County, WA. Ground Zero has been practicing profound nonviolent and courageous efforts to stop these nuclear weapons since the late 1970s. In July and August 2020 GZ has installed four billboards in the Seattle area. See this information from GZ’s website: On July 13, and continuing for four weeks, four billboards will display the following paid advertisement: Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor… Base with largest concentration of deployed nuclear weapons in the U.S., Remembering the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, […]
The July 2020 episode of “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” TV series (on cable channel 22 in Thurston County WA and on this blog) provides fresh information and insights that will be interesting to people whether or not they are Christians. We live in a society where Christianity is the dominant religion, but most people – including most Christians – do not adequately understand that Jesus taught and practiced profound nonviolence. The July 2020 episode of “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” TV series helps Christians and non-Christians alike to see the radical, practical Jesus that Jesus taught and practiced. Dave Bellefeuille-Rice shares his interesting […]
It is well established that nuclear weapons violate international law. An international court affirmed that in 1996. Actually, even preparing for nuclear war violates the Nuremberg principles that the U.S. and the other victors in World War II established. But the U.S. and eight other countries own nuclear weapons anyway. And the U.S. has installed them in some of our NATO allies, including Germany, where Germany’s Buchel Air Force Base maintains several of the U.S.’s nuclear bombs and prepares constantly to drop them on Russia or another nation if the U.S. orders that. For a number of years Europeans and […]
Please see this attachment and consider using it yourself – or, better yet, with a small group of people – to devise smart strategies to reduce racism in our society: Spectrum of Allies — RACIAL JUSTICE
Much of our nation – across the entire political spectrum – is very angry right now. This is a reality. Instead of escalating in back-and-forth escalations (or circular firing squads), we can recognize the reality that much anger exists. If we recognize that reality we can harness our own anger and move toward solving the underlying problems. See the practical information below. (FULL DISCLOSURE: I myself have been angry about political matters for more than half a century. But instead of wallowing in anger and cynicism, I keep learning, keep sharpening my analysis, and work with other people to actually […]
Governments are the LAST to figure things out. (Mainstream news media are the next-to-last.) They will do what we want ONLY WHEN a strong nonviolent grassroots movement forces them to do what is needed. Recent history has proved this a number of times. (In the 1960s Congress passed civil rights legislation only because the Civil Rights Movement forced them to. President Obama opposed LGBTQ rights to marriage until the grassroots movement forced him to support equal rights. The list goes on and on.) Our local community includes a number of people who want to protect the environment – and protect […]
Near the end of my July 2020 TV interview, I present the information at the link below. But this information fits neatly into a short article (1 1/2 pages) that I’m attaching it at the link below. We live in a society where Christianity is the dominant religion. Most people – including most Christians – do not adequately understand what Jesus taught and what he did nonviolently to promote social justice. Instead, most Christians put Jesus into a comfortable role (about saving people from sins), but they do not adequately understand or value his very bold teachings actions about nonviolence […]
For more information about Liz McAlister and the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, see www.kingsbayplowshares7.org The following news came out on June 8, 2020, from Ralph Hutchison, a great leader in a nonviolent grassroots group opposing nuclear weapons, the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA, www.orepa.org). The peace movement has been waiting anxiously for the sentencing of Elizabeth McAlister, who has long history as a Catholic nun, and who was held in prison pending the sentence. Now the sentence came out: basically, time served with no additional prison time, and a huge financial penalty that she can pay out slowly. Here […]
On March 23, 2020, during the Coronavirus pandemic, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said this: “The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war. That is why today I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world. It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.” SEE THIS ARTICLE about this: https://www.psr.org/blog/2020/04/23/un-secretary-general-calls-for-a-global-ceasefire/?emci=346b1ed8-7085-ea11-a94c-00155d03b1e8&emdi=ad7b151a-8f89-ea11-86e9-00155d03b5dd&ceid=135885 A number of peace organizations are calling for a GLOBAL GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT to pressure our national governments to join this GLOBAL CEASEFIRE movement! They include World Beyond War (www.worldbeyondwar.org) […]
I enjoyed reading the article by Jon Katz that I am linking below. We need to maintain this article’s perspective of nonviolence. Too much anti-Trump hatred only reinforces Trump’s hatreds. This article is a remedy for the toxicity that is poisoning our nation now. Someone who took my 6 workshops about “Nonviolent Grassroots Organizing” said she is using what she learned in those workshops. She sent me this article and wrote, “Iwanted to share a piece by Jon Katz, who speaks about the power of love, the futility of hate at this time in our collective human history. It echoes […]
This elected member of Congress was a refugee from Somalia. She understands first-hand the need for PEACE. Her progressive political values also led her to propose this TRULY EXCELLENT plan to revolutionize U.S. foreign policy. See this: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/ilhan-omar-has-a-plan-to-revolutionize-u-s-foreign-policy/
Wow! The world really needs this! https://www.psr.org/blog/2020/04/23/un-secretary-general-calls-for-a-global-ceasefire/?emci=346b1ed8-7085-ea11-a94c-00155d03b1e8&emdi=ad7b151a-8f89-ea11-86e9-00155d03b5dd&ceid=135885
Recently a man sent this anti-Muslim tweet: You think COVID-19 is bad? Give me a break. Wait until Mislims hit critical mass in America. You’ll look back on these times fondly. A Muslim woman replied with this tweet: Sweetie everyone’s already washing their hands five+ times a day, covering their face, not shaking hands + avoiding bars. Not only are we already here, you’re all Muslim. Salam brother.
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