Peace Mom and the Patriot Coming to NC

Col. Robert Coleman was a critic of SDI (Strategic Defense Intitiatve) and an active member of the "Vietnam Veterans Against the War in Iraq" and initially ran for president of the U.S. in the "Reform Party of the United States".

It is important we know where this information comes from and who is presenting it and what their background is and what their philosophy is.

Judge the information from that point of view.

Cindy Sheehan has her own separate history of which we all know about.

Lt. Col. Robert Bowman, USAF Ret. (not Coleman) is indeed a critic of SDI, and an active member of Veterans for Peace.. More information on Bowman can be found at his webstite, www.thepatriots.us.

As I've grown older, excessive allegiance to a thing called country seems more and more dangerous.

What is the point of allegiance to country?

As I've grown older, excessive allegiance to a thing called country seems more and more dangerous.

What is the point of allegiance to country?*James

Not much unless you were member of the 3 rd Reich Military where you swored total allegiance to Hilter as your supreme leader.....Usually the only folks that require oaths are governments that demand total control over your life and secret societies

Jesus actually had something to say about the color of your hair; in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:36 he told his followers, "And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black" In essence, He is saying, "Don't swear by something you have no control over; it is a completely meaningless oath to swear."

I agree with James that an "excessive allegiance to a thing called country seems more and more dangerous."

The Peace is Patriotic campaign, begun after 9/11, was an attempt to steer the wave of patriotism following the terrorist attacks toward non-violent, productive avenues. The dove and flag motif, designed by friends in Raleigh, has had broad appeal internationally, adopted by Veterans for Peace, the Department of Peace campaign, and many others, including a wonderful composite graphic on the cover of the NC Independent Weekly following the world-wide peace demonstrations in February, 2003.

Our current campaign is to divert the idea of American Exceptionalism from the Vulcans, self-described neo-cons who believe in world dominance (under the tattered banner of freedom and democracy), to the ideal that the US is the historic meeting ground for people from all corners of the world. THAT'S what makes America exceptional, not the momentary and illusory imperial mastery of the planet.

There are two things that make the US exceptional, and worth our allegiance: our stated (if yet unfulfilled) ideals, and the extraordinary variety of our populace.

We need to reclaim that ideal of American exceptionalism and spread the word that we are working our damndest to turn those swords into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks, to build a humane, sustainable community of nations, each one represented here in the USA.

Come hear Cindy Sheehan and Bob Bowman speak to these themes in Asheville (10/23), Statesville (10/24), Charlotte (10/25), Brunswick Co. (10/26), and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh, 3313 Wade Ave, 7:00pm, Tuesday, October 27.

There is a difference between a liberal in the U.S. that loves his/her country and a radical that goes against most of what we stand for as a country. There is a line that should not be crossed sometimes when challenging our country's involvements internationally and with our efforts to make sure we are safe. Peace, to me, at the expense of security and being responsible world citizens is not peace at all. To ignore the threats to our world is to give in to radicalism.

This site makes cases that we, as a nation, must be careful about considering:

http://www.peaceispatriotic.org/

"Love of country is a good thing. But why should our love stop at our border?"

As Pogo told us decades ago, we have met the enemy and he is us.

It is the US that threatens the world, and floods the world with weapons of mass destruction. Weapons are our major export, and it is counter-productive to the goals of peace and democracy.

If we can begin to understand that the rest of the world is made up of our sisters and brothers, and represented within our borders, then we can begin to dismantle this horrific war industry and use its components for health, housing, agriculture, education, energy farms and ecological restoration of the worlds' war zones.

The alternative is the equivalent of the Cold War standoff, "Mutually assured destruction."

What you are suggesting and wishing for can happen only in a perfect world and, sad to say, we definately do not live in one.

It is kind of like when so many young women in beauty contests are asked: "if you could have one wish, what would it be?". So many throughout the past decades have answered: "World peace".

But, alas, it seems to be only something that could, indeed, happen if there was a genie in a bottle somewhere. If I could be granted one wish, I would want this also. I think you sound like someone that would as well. Problem is, genies only exist in fairy tales.

As peace activists, part of our job is to expose the war profiteers, name names, publish incomes and addresses, and press for accountability.

As Mark Twain said: "After much study I have concluded that our only truly native criminal class is congress." The war machine has its tentacles in all 435 congressional districts. Why, for example, do "Minnesota Nice" people manufacture cluster bombs, with their horrific aftermath bringing untold suffering to children? The people who profit from this war machinery lack imagination beyond their profits. It is up to the rest of us to imagine peaceful, productive alternatives to this machinery of destruction.

I'll leave fairy tales and perfect worlds to M. Foxtrot. But our founding documents describe a striving toward "a more perfect union." Our leadership in founding the UN broadens the concept of union to a community of nations living without war. It is more than a dream. It is our legacy and hope for survival. But it will require our active, informed citizenship.

The title of our 2009 Veternas for Peace Convention in August was "Moving from Hope to Action." Let's do!