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| Howard Zinn awakened America's conscience Howard Zinn's perspective: "WAR IS TERRORISM. You can't stop terrorism with terrorism. EVERY WAR IS A WAR AGAINST CHILDREN." INSIGHTS - by Howard Zinn Read More |
Event Reminders: Art Film Movie Theatre opening in North CountyFriday, 02/05/2010 A new art film movie theater us opening in Oceanside starting Feb. 12 at the Ultra Star Cinemas, with a series of 10 top-notch movie. No more driving to La Jolla or Hillcrest. AT LONG LAST! Get Healthy for 2010 - Symposium in Vista Earth Hour 2010: Join the Global Movement! SD Book Awards Association Literature Contest Organizing for Marriage Equality in No. County Rethink Afghanistan Film in Escondido Human Rights Campaign hosts a social just for fun Guitar concert benefit in SD for Haiti victims Spend evening with bestselling crime novelist ... Escondido Democratic Club Meets Save Our Schools Week Action Day & March Earth Hour 2010: Join the Global Movement! Candidate forum for Lt. Gov, Atty General in CSUSM San Diego March 4th Rally and March SOS 6,000 Candles - The Cost of War March 20, 7th Anniversary of the Iraq War This 'N ThatPeople have power when other people think they have power.- Wyche Fowler Nonviolence which is a quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain. The first essential characteristics of nonviolent action is that it is creative. To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. The peace process we all aim for will not necessarily be a result of the mere signing of a treaty or agreement. It must become a matter of our everyday lives, so that peace settles and lasts and becomes supported by everybody. We therefore have to give peace all the required care and preserve it and promote it. The longer we listen to one another - with real attention - the more commonality we will find in all our lives. That is, if we are careful to exchange with one another life stories and not simply opinions. I don't do great things. I do small things with great love. In 1989, thirteen nations comprising 1,695,000 people experienced nonviolent revolutions that succeeded beyond anyone's wildest expectations . . . If we add all the countries touched by major nonviolent actions in our century (the Philippines, South Africa . . . the independence movement in India . . .) the figure reaches 3,337,400,000, a staggering 65% of humanity! All this in the teeth of the assertion, endlessly repeated, that nonviolence doesn't work in the 'real' world. War is, at first, the hope that one will be better off; next, the expectation that the other fellow will be worse off; then, the satisfaction that he isn't any better off; and, finally, the surprise at everyone's being worse off. War does not determine who is right - only who is left Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing that we know about living. I'm not disturbing the peace. I'm disturbing the war. And then to each other. We used to wonder where war lived, what it was that made it so vile. And now we realize that we know where it lives, that it is inside ourselves. Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works. The problems of this world are so gigantic that some are paralysed by their own uncertainty. Courage and wisdom are needed to reach out above this sense of helplessness. Desire for vengeance against deeds of hatred offers no solution. An eye for an eye makes the world blind. If we wish to choose the other path, we will have to search for ways to break the spiral of animosity. To fight evil one must also recognize one's own responsibility. The values for which we stand must be expressed in the way we think of, and how we deal with, our fellow humans. When you're finally up on the moon, looking back at the earth, all these differences and nationalistic traits are pretty well going to blend and you're going to get a concept that maybe this is really one world and why the hell can't we learn to live together like decent people? Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence. We cannot have peace if we are only concerned with peace. War is not an accident. It is the logical outcome of a certain way of life. If we want to attack war, we have to attack that way of life. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. In order to find the edge, you must risk going over the edge. The destiny of humans cannot be separated from the destiny of earth. Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man. Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction. I have great belief in the fact that whenever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift. A good end sanctify evil means; not must we ever do evil, that good might come of it. We are ready to retaliate, rather than forgive or gain by love and information . . . Force may subdue, but love gains. And one that forgives first wins the laurel. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant. If we could raise one generation with unconditional love, there would be no Hitlers. We need to teach the next generation of children from Day One that they are responsible for their lives. Mankind's greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have free choice. We can make our choices built from love or from fear.. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. If we don't stop the bomb who will take care of the flowers? In India when we meet and part we often say, "Namaste," which means: I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides; I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides; I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us….. "Namaste." Respectful dialogue, in the interest of searching for more complete truth, is considerably more productive than arguing for the purity of position. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness, that must frighten us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, Courageous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. You playing small does not help the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And when we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. When we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." Peace is not the product of a victory or a command. It has no finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement. Peace is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions. We are, each of us angels with only one wing; and we can only fly by embracing one another. Let all bear in mind that a society is judged not so much by the standards attained by its more affluent and privileged members as by the quality of life which it is able to assure for its weakest members. There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. Justice is truth in action. The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. In the path of our happiness shall we find the learning for which we have chosen this lifetime. We are convinced that non-violence is more powerful than violence. We are convinced that non-violence supports you if you have a just and moral cause...If you use violence, you have to sell part of yourself for that violence. Then you are no longer a master of your own struggle. When asked what he would do if he knew the world would end tomorrow, Martin Luther said, "I would plant a tree." At some ideas you stand perplexed, especially at the sight of human sins, uncertain whether to combat it by force or by human love. Always decide, "I will combat it with human love." If you make up your mind about that once and for all, you can conquer the whole world. Loving humility is a terrible force; it is the strongest of all things and there is nothing like it. When evil is allowed to compete with good, evil has an emotional populist appeal that wins out unless good men and women stand as a vanguard against abuse. If I can't dance I don't want to be part of your revolution. The bomb that fell on Hiroshima fell on America, too. Peace is a gift, Of all the frictional resistances, the one that most retards human movement is ignorance. You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist. You see things; and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?" Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak...Non-violence is hard work. It is the willingness to sacrifice. It is the patience to win. Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace. The finger pulls the trigger, but the trigger may also be pulling the finger. The Holy Prophet Mohammed came into this world and taught us: 'That man is a Muslim who never hurts anyone by word or deed, but who works for the benefit and happiness of God's creatures. Belief in God is to love one's fellow men.' To save one life, it is as if you had saved the world. If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room. There is no such thing as defeat in non-violence. Do all the good you can, When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others. It is reasonable that every one who asks justice should do justice. War stirs in men's hearts the mud of their worst instincts. It puts a premium on violence, nourishes hatred, and gives free rein to cupidity. It crushes the weak, exalts the unworthy, and bolsters tyranny .. .Time and time again it has destroyed all ordered living, devastated hope, and put the prophets to death. Women prevent the threads of life from being broken. The finest minds have always understood the peacemaking role of women. Immorality: the morality of those who are having a better time. Mankind will never win lasting peace so long as men use their full resources only in tasks of war. While we are yet at peace, let us mobilize the potentialities, particularly the moral and spiritual potentialities, which we usually reserve for war. While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. When someone steals another's clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor. Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions. But the wisdom from above is pure, first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deals,; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. The world cannot continue to wage war like physical giants and to seek peace like intellectual pygmies Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world. | Articles & News: CORPORATIONS: The Power to Change the Debate Article By TRACY EMBLEM - Candidate for Congress. Corporations have developed highly sophisticated propaganda techniques to manipulate the masses by changing the debate. This capacity goes way beyond the rudimentary techniques of Joseph Goebbels. Read what Tracy Emblem reveals about modern corporate propaganda: Powerlink revelations spark outrage in Alpine This candidate gets America's message on health Zinn left behind great legacy of people's history
Great historian and author, Howard Zinn, gave America some of its most original and insightful thoughts on American history, as in this speech: On Human Nature and Agression". Elizabeth Warren's Crusade for Middle Class STUDY: Fish Oil Helped Stave Off Psychosis People's Historian/Progressive Howard Zinn dies The government in Washington still doesn't get it Anti-militarist Website Recently Updated Jerry Brown Protects Gay Veterans' Benefits 10 Ways to Stop Corporate Dominance of Politics WE broke Haiti Died -Howard Zinn: The Historian Who Made History Protester brutalized outside Vandenburg AFB Prop 8 Trial: to the Supreme Court, or not? Breaking news - After our newsletter deadline: Proud of our Editor, Joe Crews! Mayor Sanders moving testimony for gay marriage
Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego: "I was proud to testify this week in what I believe will soon be seen as one of the defining civil rights cases of our time, Perry v. Schwarzenegger. I did so as a Republican mayor, a father, and a former police chief with over 26 years of experience on the force. But I also testified as an American who has seen the effects of discrimination - and who believes that discrimination against anyone, anywhere, is unacceptable." BEST LETTER of the month - on Supreme Court Print your own gay marriage iniative petition Gay Marriage trial in recess. Defense rests New CA traffic law could cost you Corporation Murray Hill is running for Congress ..
SATIRE ... Murray Hill Incorporated is Running for Congress. Until now, corporations only influenced politics with high-paid lobbyists and backroom deals. But today, thanks to an enlightened supreme court, all restrictions on corporations buying seats in Congress have now been removed. The progressive PR firm Murray Hill has announced its satirical plan to run for Congress, in what it calls the "First Test of 'Corporate Personhood' In Politics."... Quick overview: How great Prop 8 trial came to be
Step by step in 2009, the great wheel of justice was set in motion in California leading up the the historic trial now underway in the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco. The two high profile attorneys seeking to overturn Prop 8 and restore marriage equality speak out: David Boises and Ted Olson. "The Constitution has fundamental rights that are not subject to a vote." List of Democratic events in San Diego County Creative Writing Workshop in Fallbrook "The Last Man" by Roy Zimmerman List of Democratic events in San Diego County | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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