11/22/07:A Cause For Thanksgiving- The Capital Times Editorial Board
A Cause For Thanksgiving
The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: A8
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving begins a period of celebration embraced by Americans of many ethnic and religious backgrounds. Count us in with those who are thankful and celebrating.
We believe, with our friend Barbara Ehrenreich, that it is important to mark not just holidays but all days with acts of kindness and connection. As Ehrenreich asks in her brilliant history of ritual and celebration, "Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy" (Metropolitan): "If we possess this capacity for collective ecstasy, why do we so seldom put it to use?"
In order to put the capacity "to use" in the weeks to come, however, we need not deny the disorders of the moment. There are few rebellions more radical than the embrace of joy at a moment when our leaders seem so very determined to exploit and encourage the basest fears. And there is nothing more radical than to find cause for thanksgiving.
To be sure, the cynical and self-serving occupants of stations of power succeeded in spreading their shadows over the year that edges now toward its conclusion.
These are tough times economically and politically. And, of course, there is the matter of an illegal and immoral war.
An inept and lawless president has so battered the republic that reasonable Americans have been inclined toward despair. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are human tragedies characterized by the displacement of millions of innocents, the killings and maimings of hundreds of thousands of additional innocents, and a mounting death toll among combatants. Funerals in recent weeks of area men and women killed in these conflicts remind us that they are not distant dramas but local realities.
Considering the circumstance, it should come as no surprise that we are most thankful on this day of giving thanks for the peace movement that is alive and well in Wisconsin, a state where dozens of communities have voted in referendums to tell Congress to begin an immediate process of withdrawing all U.S. troops from the quagmire that is Iraq. We are thankful, as well, that Sen. Russ Feingold and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin have, unlike most Democrats in Washington, heard the call for peace and embraced it.
This is a time for charitable contributions, and we encourage readers to give generously to the groups they value most.
For those seeking ideas, we'd encourage starting with the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice. This essential coalition of activist organizations - including the Madison Area Peace Coalition - has accomplished much. But their work will be all the more essential in 2008, as they campaign to prevent George Bush and Dick Cheney from attacking Iran and as they seek to hold these lawless administrators to account for their high crimes and misdemeanors.
At the national level, we remain enthusiastic about the work of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning American Friends Service Committee, which combines a commitment to peace with a determination to aid those displaced and endangered by war and the pathologies that go with it.
Readers who have Internet access can learn more about the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice by visiting the group's Web site at www.wnpj.org. Donations may be sent to:
Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice
122 State St., Suite 402
Madison, WI 53703
Readers who would like to learn more about the American Friends Service Committee can visit its Web site at www.afsc.org. Donations may be sent to:
AFSC Development
1501 Cherry St.
Philadelphia, PA 19102
If readers have other ideas about organizations that are working for peace and justice and that merit support during this holiday season, let us know. We will continue to highlight ways in which Wisconsinites can, through donations of their resources and their considerable energies, make real the promise of peace on Earth and goodwill to all.
The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: A8
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving begins a period of celebration embraced by Americans of many ethnic and religious backgrounds. Count us in with those who are thankful and celebrating.
We believe, with our friend Barbara Ehrenreich, that it is important to mark not just holidays but all days with acts of kindness and connection. As Ehrenreich asks in her brilliant history of ritual and celebration, "Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy" (Metropolitan): "If we possess this capacity for collective ecstasy, why do we so seldom put it to use?"
In order to put the capacity "to use" in the weeks to come, however, we need not deny the disorders of the moment. There are few rebellions more radical than the embrace of joy at a moment when our leaders seem so very determined to exploit and encourage the basest fears. And there is nothing more radical than to find cause for thanksgiving.
To be sure, the cynical and self-serving occupants of stations of power succeeded in spreading their shadows over the year that edges now toward its conclusion.
These are tough times economically and politically. And, of course, there is the matter of an illegal and immoral war.
An inept and lawless president has so battered the republic that reasonable Americans have been inclined toward despair. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are human tragedies characterized by the displacement of millions of innocents, the killings and maimings of hundreds of thousands of additional innocents, and a mounting death toll among combatants. Funerals in recent weeks of area men and women killed in these conflicts remind us that they are not distant dramas but local realities.
Considering the circumstance, it should come as no surprise that we are most thankful on this day of giving thanks for the peace movement that is alive and well in Wisconsin, a state where dozens of communities have voted in referendums to tell Congress to begin an immediate process of withdrawing all U.S. troops from the quagmire that is Iraq. We are thankful, as well, that Sen. Russ Feingold and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin have, unlike most Democrats in Washington, heard the call for peace and embraced it.
This is a time for charitable contributions, and we encourage readers to give generously to the groups they value most.
For those seeking ideas, we'd encourage starting with the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice. This essential coalition of activist organizations - including the Madison Area Peace Coalition - has accomplished much. But their work will be all the more essential in 2008, as they campaign to prevent George Bush and Dick Cheney from attacking Iran and as they seek to hold these lawless administrators to account for their high crimes and misdemeanors.
At the national level, we remain enthusiastic about the work of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning American Friends Service Committee, which combines a commitment to peace with a determination to aid those displaced and endangered by war and the pathologies that go with it.
Readers who have Internet access can learn more about the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice by visiting the group's Web site at www.wnpj.org. Donations may be sent to:
Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice
122 State St., Suite 402
Madison, WI 53703
Readers who would like to learn more about the American Friends Service Committee can visit its Web site at www.afsc.org. Donations may be sent to:
AFSC Development
1501 Cherry St.
Philadelphia, PA 19102
If readers have other ideas about organizations that are working for peace and justice and that merit support during this holiday season, let us know. We will continue to highlight ways in which Wisconsinites can, through donations of their resources and their considerable energies, make real the promise of peace on Earth and goodwill to all.
Submitted by wnpj on Fri, 11/30/2007 - 1:40pm.