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There seems to be a misinterpretation of the intent of the Peace Art Rally, as displayed by Duncan Palmatier in his email to this list.
First off, the rally is intended to be an open forum to discuss the current situation. People are encouraged to attend and express their views.
Requesting people not attend is in a sense stifiling dialogue. We as Americans have an obligation to look at all sides of the situation before hopping on the war wagon. Dissenting from the war wagon does not make us less freedom loving. We just ask that careful consideration prelude the war cry.
Duncan states, "They killed our peace; so, must they also see us put aside our peace and reticence and tranquility, and they must see us go to war against them."
I ask back, "Who is them?" It is not Afghanastan. It is not even the Taliban. I don't defend their regime, but bombing them out of existence is not going to solve our terrorist problems.
Duncan says we sought no war. As individuals, I agree. Most people are kind and generous. But as a nation, our policies are interpreted differently by those adversely affected by them. The people in Iraq, for instance, would look at America as very war like.
What if our president was indicted for war crimes by another country for, say, continuing the brutal sanctions against Iraq. Would we oblige and have him extradicted? I doubt it. Would that justify them bombing us? No. We would be pissed if they did. And the war would continue...
We all are hurt by any terrorist activity. It is truly sad to have thousands of people die in these events. It is also sad that millions of people in Afghanastan are now fleeing there homes. It would be terrorfying to know that planes are destined to fly over and drop bombs. We have disrupted the lives of millions of people in our attempts to erradicate the suspects from 9/11. We have sidestepped the democractic process in the meantime by deciding the verdict and fate of Afghanastan. This is a slap in the face to the principles we supposedly hold dear. Hypocrisy at its best.
This is not the first time our foreign policies have disrupted the lives of scores of people, though. It is no wonder that people in these countries look at America as being aggresive. Their reaction to us is no different than our reaction to them. They bomb us, we bomb them back in a continual display of violence. This is not justice. It will never end until everybody decides that Peace is the only answer to our problems.
To me, it looks like another excuse to destablize the middle east, the area with the richest oil reserves in the world. We would be ignorant to assume that we are not concerned about who controls that oil supply. Our president, a man who fought against the democratic process of voting by suing to have the Florida recount stopped, an oil man as well, knows that whoever controls that oil controls the global economy. It is no coincidence that we have a vested interested in sending our military into the region.
There is more to this situation than we know. Everybody would serve well by attending any event which may shine light on the situation. Granted, the organizers may have a different interpretation of the situation than Duncan does, but it in know way implies that we are not rallying for equality, justice and peace. In fact, that is the premise of the rally. Only we strive to grant these virtues to all Earthlings, not just Americans.
I encourage everybody to attend the Peace Art Rally this saturday at 1pm at Friendship Square in Moscow, Idaho. Come share your thoughts and hear the views of others. May our community become enlightened as a result.
Garrett Clevenger
Moscow, Idaho
"What are we doing to our Home?!:("