Thanksgiving Day: JFK, Israel, Vanunu, Tom Paine and Doing Something
On a Friday afternoon in Levittown, Long Island my fourth grade best friend, Kat and I took our time getting home on November 22, 1963.
It was eerily quiet and calm in the streets and not until Phil passed us by on his bicycle and yelled, "Kennedy has been shot!"
Did I even have a clue as to why nobody else was outside.
Six days later after that day that changed the world as I had known it, on Thanksgiving Day, LBJ took the oath of office standing next to a very distressed widow and announced that Florida's NASA Launch Operation Center would be renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center and he asked the public to remain "determined that from this midnight of tragedy we shall move toward a new American greatness."
I was already overfilled three days prior with the repetitive images of JFK being shot and John-John during the motorcade funeral procession. Forty-four years later and I still cannot get that little guy in his short coat with his knees exposed out of my head. John-John saluted the casket as it rolled by, but nobody knew why it had to be that way and life as I had known it all changed.
President Kennedy in his Inaugural Speech inspired this little one of Levittown, Long Island when he challenged my generation and our Nation and I offer but an excerpt:
"I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.
"The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe - the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.
"We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage - and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of LIBERTY.
"…we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny….we shall always hope…to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
"…this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbours know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere…our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support - to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective - to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak…we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
"…So let us begin anew - remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof…let us never fear to negotiate.
"Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belabouring those problems which divide us. Let both sides…formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms - and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.
"Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah - to "undo the heavy burdens -. and to let the oppressed go free."
"…let both sides join in creating a new endeavour…a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
"In your hands, my fellow citizens…each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty…Now the trumpet summons us again - not as a call to bear arms…not as a call to battle…rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation…a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty…and war itself.
"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger…The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world."
http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/John_F_Kennedy/5.htm
When THAT DAY we call 9/11 happened, I didn’t want to go shop as President Bush instructed we the people to do if we wanted to help. I was also frustrated that the media wasn’t asking my questions.
I wanted to know WHY did a few-and back then it was but a few-people in the world hated Americans so much that they could cold bloodedly murder innocent people.
Bush's refrains that it was our freedom they hated, did not ring true for me, for evil that can target and murder innocent people has deep roots indeed!
I also wanted to do some good in the world and that lead me to the Interfaith Olive Trees Foundation for Peace/OTFFP and that lead me to journey five times into Israel Palestine.
Through a supporter and friend of OTFFP, I was shown a photo of George of Beit Jala/West Bethlehem, taken in 2000, by photographer Debbie Hill.
It is George who adorns the banner of my website.
George was captured the morning after the Israeli army destroyed his bedroom in retaliation for a few hopeless militants who had infiltrated his once peaceful Christian village to snipe across the way into the illegal settlement/colony of Gilo about a mile away.
The shrapnel that pierced the wall of George’s sanctuary read:
“Made in USA”
It was delivered via American made Apache helicopters.
The second I saw George’s eyes, in that photo that was first published by the Florida Catholic, my heart said:
“DO SOMETHING!”
What could I possibly do I wondered, but I did make a copy of the photo, put it in a frame and placed it upon the altar [a bar high table] in the upper room of my home.
Dozens of times a day, I would stop and gaze into the eyes of that little boy of The Little town of Bethlehem: OCCUPIED TERRITORY and beg God to end the insane cycle of violence in the Holy Land for the sake of all the children who live there and free me from the incessant voice that demands I, this little one who came of age in Levittown and now live in Florida :
“DO SOMETHING!”
All these years later, every time I look at George’s eyes-or even think about him-the persistent voice continues the incessant refrain:
“DO SOMETHING!”
When I met George for the first time in June 2005, I vowed to him that the rest of my life will be dedicated to doing all I could to help bring about the end of the occupation of Palestine, which has now entered its 40th year.
In April 2005, two months before my first trip to Israel Palestine, I tuned the TV on and the History channel appeared.
They were broadcasting a show called, “Sexpionage” all about Russian female spies and one from the Mossad.
The very clip that ran before my eyes was of Mordecahi Vanunu being transported to his closed door trial capturing his inspired move to write upon his palm: “HIJACKED” and the Rome flight number he had been on.
It was the first time I had seen that historic clip and also of Shimon Perez in 1986 stating that Israel would never be the first in the Mid East to possess nuclear weapons.
When a black and white photo of a bearded, unkempt and disheveled Vanunu filled the TV screen, I thought his eyes looked just like George’s of Beit Jala’s, and I heard in my heart:
“Do Something!”
Vanunu’s eyes are nothing like George’s, and I met him for the first time six days before my flight home to Florida from my first of five journeys to Israel Palestine.
The night before my flight back to Florida, Vanunu and I had dinner on the roof top of a restaurant in the Old City of Jerusalem, where they serve the fish with skeleton and head in tact, and fries on the side. That was when Vanunu blew my mind for I had never heard what he alluded to:
“Did you know that President Kennedy tried to stop Israel from building atomic weapons? In 1963 he forced Prime Minister Ben Gurion to admit the Dimona was not a textile plant as the sign outside proclaimed but a nuclear plant. The Prime Minister said, ‘The nuclear reactor is only for peace.’
“Kennedy insisted on an open internal inspection. He wrote letters demanding Ben Gurion to open up the Dimona for inspection. The French were responsible for the actual building of the Dimona. The Germans gave the money; they were feeling guilty for the holocaust and tried to pay their way out. Everything inside was written in French when I was there, almost twenty years ago. Back then the Dimona descended 7 floors underground.
“In 1955 Perez and Gurion met with the French to agree they would get a nuclear reactor if they fought against Egypt to control the Sinai and Suez Canal. That was the war of 1956. Eisenhower demanded that Israel leave the Sinai but the reactor plant deal continued on. Kennedy demanded inspections. When Johnson became president he made an agreement with Israel that two senators would come every year to inspect. Before the senators would visit the Israeli’s would build a wall to block the underground elevators and stairways. From 1963 to ‘69, the senators came but they never knew about the wall that hid the rest of the Dimona from them. Nixon stopped the inspections and agreed to ignore the situation. As a result, Israel increased production. In 1986 there were over 200 bombs. Today they may have enough plutonium for 10 bombs a year. Who knows?”
Not until now have I written that Vanunu also told me:
"Israel was behind the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, because he was exerting pressure on Ben-Gurion to open up the Dimona nuclear plant."
I do not know if this is true and I wonder if we the people ever will, but i do believe with all my heart, soul and mind that what our most radical of all of America's Founding Fathers Thomas Paine proclaimed is the very essence of what is America:
"Soon after I had published the pamphlet "Common Sense" [on Feb. 14, 1776] in America, I saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion... The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion."
May God Bless America indeed with Common Sense and that we would all do something for our country and our world.
"...ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."-President John F. Kennedy
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Practical, Obtainable Peace and One Concrete Action
Be a part of the change we all want to see in the world; a stable and peaceful Middle East with one concrete action: A FAX to President Bush.
Make a copy of the following it you agree, add your name and FAX it to President Bush:
WHITE HOUSE FAX: 202-456-2461
International Statement for a Middle East free of all Weapons of Mass Destruction,
Despite the unfolding tragedy in Iraq and the dangerously spiraling crises in the Middle East, another war of an unprecedented scale, this time against Iran, is looming. The environmental and human cost of this war would, by comparison, dwarf the suffering in Iraq; it would engulf the region and have serious and unforeseen global consequences.
Terrifyingly, even "pre-emptive" nuclear strikes on Iran have not been ruled out. The introduction of the notion of limited "surgical strikes" involving tactical nuclear bunker busters, has not only increased such possibility, it has brought the morally unthinkable into the realm of debatable. By the introduction of the idea itself, it has begun the process of desensitising the public to such a horror. The logical outcome of the nuclear threat is undoubtedly a drive to nuclear proliferation in the region, which would then increase the likelihood of its eventual use. In this eventuality, there will be no winners.
At this perilous time, let us be reminded of the joint Manifesto by Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein of July 1955, at the height of the Cold War: "We are speaking on this occasion, not as members of this or that nation, continent, or creed, but as human beings, members of the species, Man, whose continued existence is in doubt ... We shall try to say no single word which should appeal to one group rather than to another. All, equally, are in peril, and, if the peril is understood, there is hope that they may collectively avert it. ... The question we have to ask ourselves is: what steps can be taken to prevent a military conflict of which the issue must be disastrous to all species?"
The stakes now are at least equally high. It is with this same spirit of shared humanity that we reach out to all peace loving people in the world to subscribe to the following steps to reduce the risk of a nuclear confrontation.
With this aim in mind, we, the undersigned:
1. Call for the Middle East to be a zone free from nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.
2. Call upon Israel, as the only Middle Eastern state suspected of possession of nuclear weapons, to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and become fully transparent by opening its clandestine nuclear facilities to international inspections and supervision by International Atomic Energy Agency. Any nuclear weapons or programme and facility in abrogation of the guidelines of the NPT to be dismantled and removed.
3. Call for the dispute about Iran’s nuclear programme, to be resolved through peaceful means, through negotiations and dialogue with the representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and through such measures deemed necessary by the IAEA, in accordance with the guidelines of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which Iran is a current signatory.
4. Welcome Iran’s declaration of the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme, but urge Iran’s full co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to avoid suspicion and misunderstanding.
5. Strongly condemn the Israeli government for its continued harassment, conviction and now prison sentence imposed on Mordechai Vanunu, for simply talking to foreign journalists. We call upon the Israeli authorities to lift all restrictions on Vanunu and allow him to go free.
Signed:
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (UK and USA)
Campaign for a Nuclear Free Middle East (UK)
The Israeli Committee for a Middle East Free from Atomic, Biological and Chemical Weapons
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK)
Code Pink (USA)
Fellowship of Reconciliation (USA)
Global Exchange (USA)
Islamic Human Rights Commission (UK)
Just Foreign Policy (USA)
Massachusetts Peace Action (USA)
Middle East Citizens Assembly
Middle East Crisis Coalition (USA)
Muslim Association of Britain (UK)
Muslim Council of Britain (UK)
No Nuclear Weapons (Norway)
Palestinian Return Centre (UK)
Pax Christi (USA)
Peace Action (USA)
Stop the War Coalition (UK)
The 1990 Trust (UK)
United for Justice with Peace (USA)
Shirin Ebadi - Nobel Peace Prize 2003
Mairead Maguire and Betty Williams - joint Nobel Peace Prize 1976
Harold Pinter - Nobel Prize for Literature 2005
Jody Williams - Nobel Prize 1997 (Landmines Campaign)
Your Name here
"Love is not the starving of whole populations. Love is not the bombardment of open cities. Love is not killing......Our manifesto is the Sermon on the Mount, which means that we will try to be peacemakers." -Dorothy Day
Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"
Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"
Sent the message
by email -- not that it's likely to do any good. As I've done many other times in writing the White House, I've made it clear that I'm writing from a Christian viewpoint. I always ask him to repent. But the madness keeps getting worse.
Bill
Message 2 U: Mark 11:22: 24+ Persistent Widow
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered.
"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to the mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does
NOT DOUBT IN HIS HEART
But believes that what he says
will happen.......
IT WILL BE DONE!
Therefore, i tell you that whatever you ask for in prayer
BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED IT
+
It will be yours."
JC also promised:
"Blessed are the Peacemakers: They are the children of God."
On a daily basis, I am sending a FAX of the International Statement for a Middle East free of all Weapons of Mass Destruction,
Along with a handwritten Bible verse and my WAWA card to President Bush
+
i will fervently pray
+
believe he will seek
+
head voices of WISDOM
+
not drum beat of war........
.......Once upon a time, there was an old widow, who lived in a certain town with a judge who cared nothing about justice, people or God. But an old widowed crone kept coming to him with her plea, "Grant me justice against my adversary."
The judge ignored her until she became such a PIA [pain in the ass] he finally muttered to himself, "Even though I don't fear God or care a hoot about this old crone, she has become such a pain in my ass, I will give into her, just to get her to leave me alone!" [Paraphrased from a story Jesus told in Luke 18 1-5]
copyright, Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"
Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"
re: message 2 u
Long ago, in a discussion of this passage from Mark, I upset a fundamentalistically-inclined young woman greatly by saying that some things, like a mountain literally throwing itself into the sea, are not humanly believable. There is no way I could have faith that it would happen in the twinkling of an eye, since all that I have learned, and all my conditioning through experience, tells me that mountains neither hear nor move themselves about. But I can believe in it happening over immense periods of time because I do believe in erosion.
Logically, Mark 11:24 is literally impossible. Any example of two or more sincere believers praying for a victory or prize that only one person can win is enough to disprove "and it will be yours".
It works better if you completely spiritualize it: it becomes an inward thing. Or better yet, if you pray the "Our Father" and really mean it when you ask "your will be done", then your acceptance of whatever happens is a prayer-answering bringing of peace. I had that experience once, gaining peace and then unexpectedly gaining back my daughter's life.
About Bush, I'm not sanguine. I can have hope, in the secular sense of hoping it might happen, but not in the religious sense of hope as "blessed assurance". As I do believe in erosion, if enough of us insist on being PIAs we could conceivably wear him down, given an eon or two.
Bill
Spirituality vs Religiosity
Religion offers the rules, doctrine, dogma and divides people from 'the other'
When we only think of Jesus as God, we elevate him so much we erroneously believe we are powerless and disconnected from 'the other'
Spirituality connects us to the Divine within ourself and ALL others.
We truly "have it in our power to begin the world again"-Tom Paine.
Paine would probably roll over in his grave, but perhaps he evolved and now comprehends the Power is the power of the Holy Spirit; the Divine within all created things; the breath of God!
It is a matter of evolution that transforms heart, mind and soul and unites one with the Mystery we call God, for lack of a better word.
Parables R meant 2 Provoke thought and action!
Once upon a time, there was an old widow, who lived in a certain town with a judge who cared nothing about justice, people or God. But an old widowed crone kept coming to him with her plea, "Grant me justice against my adversary."
The judge ignored her until she became such a PIA [pain in the ass] he finally muttered to himself, "Even though I don't fear God or care a hoot about this old crone, she has become such a pain in my ass, I will give into her, just to get her to leave me alone!" [Paraphrased from Luke 18 1-5]
"ALL things work for the good for those that LOVE God and are called to his purpose."-Romans 8:28
"Blessed are the Peacemakers: THEY shall be called the children of God."-Jesus, Matthew 5:9
Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"
Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"
re: Spirituality vs Religiosity
I'm not sure how the valid distinction between religiosity and spirituality applies to this little sidebar discussion, Eileen.
Just as I disagree with a literal interpretation of Mark 11:24, so I must disagree with the estimable Tom Paine's cheerleading slogan "we have it in our power to begin the world again."
No, we don't, even though it's an encouraging metaphor. We can't undo what has happened nor can we undo the effects of what's happened, the legacy of the past. What we can do is take action to "heal the world": "tikkun olam". But that won't recreate the original state of things: there will be, to use the healing metaphor, scar tissue, adhesions, perhaps a limp, as well as positive things like new immunities to old diseases, pacemakers to correct our out-of-synch symptoms, and, looking ahead, tissues restored by the application of stem cells.
That's not to claim that we don't have the power to do some sort of extreme makeover. at least in theory. We could even wind up better than we originally were.
Neither does my carping negate Romans 8:28, although that's a hard saying to verify. And Matthew 5:9 stands as a beacon for us.
The parable from Luke 18 is meant to throw light on the nature of God -- if even a corrupt judge will do right (for the wrong reasons), just think how much more a loving father will do. The parable isn't an assurance that corrupt judges will always act that way if we just become big enough PIAs. If they're paid off well enough, it might be simpler for them to put out a contract on us. Or at least they'll be well enough compensated for putting up with the agro.
So, though I won't bet bogged down in moaning about how everything's falling apart, neither will I dismiss that possibility. A lively sense of imminent danger is a spur to action, not inaction. The spirituality that connects us is our strength but it's not a guaranty.
re: Spirituality vs Religiosity II
Discerning where The Bible is meant to be taken literally, figuratively, historically, metaphorically, contextually, progressively and prophetically takes deep thought; wrestling and struggling, as did Jacob do, and thus was renamed Israel.
The Bible was NOT FAXED in from God-it was written down centuries after the stories were repeatedly told by imperfect people and re-written down by scribes, some even added and deleted to the scriptures.
The Bible is an imperfect text filled with stories of imperfect people and their struggles and relationships with the Mystery we call God.
Point 2:
NOTHING will change the past, but EVERYTHING we do from now on, effects the future!
In John 10:10, JC said he came that we would have life to the FULL; abundant life and that takes deep thought and demands action!
We do have it in our power to begin the world again, but we have to DO SOMETHING more than complain and give up because we think it impossible.
May God bless you indeed with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world; So that you can do what others claim cannot be done. -National Council of Churches: www.ncccusa.org/Iraq/firstanniversary/iraqprayers.html
In this season of reflection, I leave you with the words of the 'prophet' Lennon-and prophets are best understood as one who points out danger and provokes others to remember God:
"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends...I believe that as soon as people want peace in the world they can have it. The only trouble is they are not aware they can get it."
So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
Ans so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
And what have we done
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over over
If you want it
War is over
Now...
"Imagine All the People Sharing All the World."-John Lennon
"IMAGINATION is evidence of The Divine"-Wm Blake
Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"
Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"
re:re: Spirituality vs Religiosity II
I'm not sure why we're having this dialogue, Eileen. We're almost entirely 'on the same page'. It may be just a matter of differences in temperament.
Your unnumbered 'point 1" is not a point of difference between us.
"Point 2" is only slightly contentious, in a very minor way. Yes, everything we do affects the future. That's true almost by definition. And yes, Jesus' point is full humanity, abundant life, deep thought, risk-taking action. My only nit-picking objection is that the phrase "we have it in our power to begin the world again" is "literally" untrue, hence my emphasis on the difference in nuance that comes with thinking of renewal as "healing the world".
As for complaining and giving up because we think it is impossible, that's not me. I emphasize the difficulty, however, so as to avoid what I can't help seeing as sentimentality and wishful thinking. My own experience has taught me that risk-taking action is, well, risky, and costly -- and that, for that reason, most 'reasonable' people tend to back off from going very far down this path. I want to see people going farther: if they start off with unrealistic expectations, they're more likely to get discouraged or scared or burned out too soon. Forewarned is for forearmed.
That's why, although I like the prophet Lennon, and encourage wild imagination, I insist that imagination isn't enough. I have to take issue with his lovely lines "as soon as people want peace in the world they can have it" and "war is over now if you want it". The awareness that "they can get it" that he wrote about is necessary but not sufficient for reaching the goal. It all depends on what the definition of "people" is. Which people? How many people? Whose definition of peace?
I'm sure that there are sincere traditional Christians who pray for a peace that I see as no peace at all -- the peace that comes from killing all the "bad guys" who oppose the USA, even when the "bad guys" have perfectly legitimate reasons for thinking of the USA as the "bad guys". If these Christians believe this peace will be theirs in accordance with Mark 11:24, will it be so? If other sincere Christians pray-- and believe -- for what you and I would consider to be real peace, will it be theirs instead? If the two visions of peace are incompatible, how then can Mark 11:24 be said to be literally true in our physical world? That's my only point of contention in this dialogue.
I've always disliked the chant "the people, united, can never be defeated." The people are rarely all that united and when they are, they have still often been defeated. On the other hand, I believe I can make a difference, though I'm not sure what difference I've actually made. I've lost and won, with what seems like many more losses than wins. I don't accept others' definitions of what can and cannot be done, but I have a longer time-line in mind than "pray and believe and receive".
"Imagine All the People Sharing All the World."-John Lennon
"IMAGINATION is evidence of The Divine"-Wm Blake
"To see far is one thing, going there is another."- Constantin Brancusi
Yes, to all three of the above,
Bill
YES! re:re: Spirituality vs Religiosity II
The very first evening Lennon met Yoko, was in an art gallery.
John climbed up the ladder at Yoko's art show and read "YES" printed on the ceiling.
In that same positive spirit, I say YES to any and all dialogue that wrestles and struggles with the Divine and I hope others will find solace and rest in the Mystery.
I have no points of contention with you Bill, but I do wonder if you believe as St Paul warned us to not judge the nonbeliever but to provoke our sisters and brothers in Christ onto good works?
I will now offer you the words of Thomas Merton that filled my heart and head all during the last six days of my first 16 Days in Israel Palestine in June 2005 and wonder what do you think?
Oh God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not necessarily mean that I actually am.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will always lead me by the right road, although I may know nothing about it, and I will not fear!
-Thomas Merton; Thoughts In Solitude
Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"
Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"
re: YES
RE: "I have no points of contention with you Bill, but I do wonder if you believe as St Paul warned us to not judge the nonbeliever but to provoke our sisters and brothers in Christ onto good works?"
I think the latter is what I'm about. (Let's really provoke 'em.) Is there something I've written that gives the impression that I'm for judging people? If so, do say something, anytime. Granted, critiquing policies and "works" can drift into ad hominem judgments. It may be hard to tell when the line is crossed. We always need to remember the essential humanity of the doers of even the most inhumane acts (those dirty brickafricks).
["dirty brickafricks"--an all-purpose epithet used in a series of commercials for Bic pens in the early 60s, said by a cartoon character when his non-Bic pens would fail him in a writing crisis. I like it. Helps me to eschew vulgarities.]
I like Merton's lines very much. They remind me of my own vision of a path going up a hill, past a cross, and then out of sight down the other side, where its ending is unknowable. It's still a very sustaining image for me.
Bill
----
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single "oy." - Zen Judaism
Admire Kennedy too
Even though he died before I was born, I admire Kennedy too. That must've been a tough time to live through Eileen. That speech that you quoted is a wonderful thing to contemplate this Thanksgiving. I first began to admire JFK during the 25th anniversary of his death, when there were all these t.v. specials on his life. My favorite speech of his was his "Strategy of Peace" speech that he delivered just after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Here are my favorite excerpts
"...I have, therefore, chosen this time and place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived- and that is the most important topic on earth: peace.
What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace- the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living- and the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and build a better life for their children- not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women- not merely peace in out time but peace for all time...
Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace- based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions- on a series of concrete actions and effective agreement which are in the interests of all concerned. There is no single, simple key to this peace- no grand magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process- a way of solving problems."