TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY EDITION! for Nonviolent Community Re��ectio�� a book of readings the oak ridge environmental peace alliance december 2020 - january 2021 front cover: The day after Honduras became the 50th state to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, OREPA marked the milestone at the Sun- day vigil at the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge. Linda Ewald holds a poster with the flags of all 50 states parties to the Treaty—and a suggestion for filling the blank space! about this booklet This edition of Reflections marks twenty years since we began this project—the first edition was called “Building a nonviolent community: an exploration.” It grew from an intentional exploration of nonviolent community embarked upon by members of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance. We printed 18 copies. It has since expanded, by word of mouth, to include 300 members of our peace community. Some readings in this edition first appeared in the inaugural issue in January 2001 or in the first year. Our intention is to use the booklet to build spiritual community. Those who are using the book are asked to participate by contributing readings to it.‡ The common thread in these reflections is the struggle of human beings to improve the world. In OREPA, our struggle to end bomb production is part of that struggle. In these reflections, we join ourselves with the larger community that works to heal the world. From the outset, the reflection booklet has been provided free of charge. If you are able to make a donation to cover the cost of your booklet, it would be greatly appreciated. A gift of $20 would cover the cost of paper, printing and mailing for one year. If you are unable to make a donation, no worries. Please continue to accept the reflection booklet and use it. Each Thursday, in addition to the reflection, you will find the name of a person who is using this booklet like you are. This is an opportunity to think a little about that person and all those who work for peace on her/his day. ‡ contributions, suggestions, requests can be sent to OREPA, P O Box 5743, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 or by e-mail to [email protected] sources Readings contributed by Linda Ewald, Jim Ullrich, and Mary Dennis Lentsch. Tuesday, December 1 1955 : ROSA PARKS REFUSES TO GIVE UP SEAT ON MONTGOMERY BUS 1969 : US HOLDS FIRST MILITARY DRAFT SINCE WWII There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist fighting for peace by nonviolent methods most easily succumbs—activism and overwork. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence. More than that, it is cooperation in violence. The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his or her work, because it kills the root and inner wisdom which makes work fruitful. ~ Thomas Merton Wednesday, December 2 1942 : FIRST SUSTAINED ATOMIC CHAIN REACTION, CHICAGO 1980 : THREE MARYKNOLL NUNS AND ONE LAY WORKER MURDERED IN EL SALVADOR When people say, “God bless America,” I say, “As opposed to what? God not bless Canada?” It makes no sense to me. This is not a high school football game. We don’t just root for our team. The challenges confronting us from here on out are global and need to be addressed in a global mindset. You can’t build a wall and say, “Desperation here, happy rich people there.” ~ Rick Steves Thursday, December 3 Ken Basavraham If there is going to be a miracle, it will be one that is propelled by courage, a determination to make good choices, selflessness, and love. These qualities, as always, are developed through relentless self-inspection, deep listening, and a fearless exploration of our inner lives. That work and those qualities are what give us the compass we need to make fair and wise decisions. And at this moment in history, we desperately need that compass, because you don’t go into a dark and unknown place without one. ~ H Emerson Blake Friday, December 4 1969 : CHICAGO POLICE MURDER BLACK PANTHERS FRED HAMPTON AND MARK CLARKE Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society. ~ John Lewis Saturday, December 5 You must have the courage to leave the table if respect is no longer being served. ~ Tene Edwards Sunday, December 6 1865 : THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT TO US CONSTITUTION ENDS SLAVERY The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress. ~ Frederick Douglass Monday, December 7 Injustice motivates us to do something, to take risk, knowing that if we don’t, things will remain the same. ~ Digna Ochoa Tuesday, December 8 ENLIGHTENMENT OF BUDDHA CELEBRATED 1886 : DIEGO RIVERA BORN If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh Wednesday, December 9 We have to break with our mental categories, with all that can stand in the way of a real, profound solidarity with those who suffer, in the first place, from misery and injustice. ~ Gustavo Gutierrez Thursday, December 10 Sharon Havelak 1869 : WYOMING PASSES FIRST WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE LAW 1948 : UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2017: ICAN RECEIVES NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR ITS WORK ON THE NUCLEAR BAN TREATY Nine nations still threaten to incinerate entire cities, to destroy life on earth, to make our beautiful world uninhabitable for future generations. The development of nuclear weapons signifies not a country’s elevation to greatness, but its descent to the darkest depths of depravity. These weapons are not a necessary evil; they are the ultimate evil. On the seventh of July this year, I was overwhelmed with joy when a great majority of the world’s nations voted to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Having witnessed humanity at its worst, I witnessed, that day, humanity at its best. We hibakusha had been waiting for the ban for seventy-two years. Let this be the beginning of the end of nuclear weapons. All responsible leaders will sign this treaty. And history will judge harshly those who reject it. No longer shall their abstract theories mask the genocidal reality of their practices. No longer shall “deterrence” be viewed as anything but a deterrent to disarmament. No longer shall we live under a mushroom cloud of fear. To the officials of nuclear-armed nations, and to their accomplices under the so-called nuclear umbrella, I say this: Listen to our testimony. Heed our warning. And know that your actions are consequential. You are each an integral part of a system of violence that is endangering humankind. Let us all be alert to the banality of evil. To every president and prime minister of every nation of the world, I beseech you: Join this treaty; forever eradicate the threat of nuclear annihilation. When I was a 13-year-old girl, trapped in the smouldering rubble, I kept pushing. I kept moving toward the light. And I survived. Our light now is the ban treaty. To all in this hall and all listening around the world, I repeat those words that I heard called to me in the ruins of Hiroshima: “Don’t give up! Keep pushing! See the light? Crawl towards it.” ~ Setsuko Thurlow Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech Oslo, Norway, December 2017 Friday, December 11 It took me a hundred years to figure out I can’t change the world. I can only change Bessie. And, honey, that ain’t easy either. ~ Bessie Delany Saturday, December 12 1870 : JOSPEH RAINEY FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1958 : MAURICE MCCRACKIN SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS IN PRISON FOR WAR TAX RESISTANCE Nonviolence cannot be preached. It has to be practiced. ~ Gandhi Sunday, December 13 In planning for peace, the inventions will arise from our deep longing, our imagination, our hopes, our common sense. We can start building a peaceful future by creating images in our minds. ~ Women’s Peace Presence Monday, December 14 If I heard all the nuclear weapons were being dismantled, I’d do two-hundred cartwheels in a row. ~ Katy, age 9 Tuesday, December 15 1890 : SITTING BULL, SIOUX CHIEF, KILLED BY US SOLDIERS There are things they tell us that are good to hear, but when they have accomplished their purpose, they will go home and will not try to fulfill our agreements with them. ~ Sitting Bull Wednesday, December 16 1770 : BEETHOVEN BORN 1773 : BOSTON TEA PARTY Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity, we shall harness the energies of love. And then, for the second time in the history of the world, we will discover fire. ~ Teilhard de Chardin Thursday, December 17 Alocoque Burger It begins subtly: the maple withdraws an inch from the birch tree. The porcupine wants nothing to do with the skink. Fish unschool, sheep unflock to separately grace. Clouds, meanwhile, declare to the sky they having nothing to do with the sky, which is not visible as they are, nor knows the trick of turning into infant, tumbling pterodactyls. The turtles and moonlight? Their long arrangement is over. As for the humans. Let us not speak of the humans. Let us speak of their language. The first person singular condemns the second person plural for betrayals neither has words left to name.