Bloggers For Peace

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“Peace is not something you wish for,
it something you make,
something you do,
something you are,
something you give away.”
–Robert Fulghum
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You may wonder if it would still be possible to get several people come together to share like-minded thoughts of love and peace.

In this contemporary time of overconsumption and lots of egoism, I wonder if it could be possible to get again people on their legs to share and join hands and unite all over the world proclaiming the same message of love, peace, no war, like in the 1960ies and 1970ies.

Early steps

Alfred Hermann Fried: Austrian Jewish pacifist, publicist, journalist, co-founder of the German peace movement, and winner (with Tobias Asser) of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1911.

The international peace movement originated in the 19th century, around the Crimean war. In 1892 Bertha von Suttner wrote her novel “Die Waffen Nieder” (Down the weapons). With Alfred Hermann Fried she founded the  German Friedensgesellschaft. Both received the Nobel Prize for Peace, which is presented yearly since 1901.

Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel had to experience what was his own invention, dynamite, became mainly used for warfare, harming more than doing good. According to Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who

“shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

Some Nobel scholars suggest it was Nobel’s way to compensate for developing destructive forces. His inventions included dynamite and ballistite, both of which were used violently during his lifetime. Ballistite was used in war and the Irish Republican Brotherhood, an Irish nationalist organisation, carried out dynamite attacks in the 1880s. Nobel was also instrumental in turning Bofors from an iron and steel company to an armaments company.

Cover of Die Friedens-Warte, a German journal of the peace movement, issue #11, 1913

In 1899 and 1907 there were major Peace Conferences in The Hague.

Between the two world wars, the peace movement was limited mainly to circles of intellectuals and artists.

After the Second World War we had to wait until the end of the sixties to see an uprising of a peace movement again, especially against the Vietnam War.

1960ies -1970ies Peace Movement

With loud voices, we cried in the 1960ies and 70ies

“Make love, not war”

and were full of good aspirations and sometimes too naive thinking, believing in the goodness of the human race.

The pictures of the Vietnam War made us cross with those who convoked battles far away and brought innocent women and children into a world of cruelty where nobody wanted to live in. The opposition movement not only grew in Europe, but also found her way in the United States of America, who was the main pawn in the conflict which had started with France and the Vietcong. Public opinion steadily turned against the war following 1967 and by 1970 only a third of Americans believed that the U.S. had not made a mistake by sending troops to fight in Vietnam. It is generally assumed that the United States withdrew from Vietnam under pressure from domestic and foreign public opinion. For the first television images were playing an important role.

In Belgium and Holland we were taken by the Dylanesque and sarcastic song from 1966, sung by Boudewijn de Groot “Welterusten, meneer de president“ (Sleep well, Mr. President), a protest against the war in Vietnam and the president of the US by the time, Lyndon B. Johnson made De Groot a name as a protest singer. [At that time we did not consider the differences in the ten commandments of the American denominations and did not question why he did not sing more over the 5° or 6° commandment ‘not to kill’.]

Many in the peace movement were students, mothers, or anti-establishment hippies, but there was also involvement from many other groups, including educators, clergy, academics, journalists, lawyers, physicians (such as Benjamin Spock), military veterans, and ordinary Americans. There was a great deal of civic unrest on college campuses throughout the 1960s as students became increasingly involved in a number of social and political movements ranging from the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Rights Movement, and, of course, the Anti-War Movement.
Expressions of opposition events ranged from peaceful nonviolent demonstrations to radical displays of violence. Iconic songs such as “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine” by John Lennon found their way all over the world in peace movements. Lennon‘s criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon‘s administration to deport him, while some of his songs were adopted as anthems by the anti-war movement.

 

Such events in Vietnam and the Apartheid in South Africa called for pacifism, non-violent resistance, diplomacy, boycotts, peace camps and successful moral purchasing. At that time youngster were not afraid to engage them and really took action.  There were event-driven collaborations between groups with motivations as diverse as humanism, environmentalism, veganism, anti-racism, anti-sexism, decentralization, hospitality, ideology, theology, and faith.

Those idealists may perhaps been forgotten and many of the hippies turned to become industrialists and often became the same as the people they had opposed because of their capitalist and materialist thinking.

A new Spring

From top to bottom: the World Trade Center burning; a section of the Pentagon collapses; Flight 175 crashes into 2 WTC; a fireman requests help at Ground Zero; an engine from Flight 93 is recovered; Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon.

When the Cold War ended, many thought a lot would change for the better and the different continents would have learned from their attitude of working against one or the other nation. Other wars now were being sought and soon the terror against religion became a nice target for the weapon industry.

With four coordinated terrorist attacks launched by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C. area on September 11, 2001 everybody started to talk about taking revenge and declaring war to terrorism. The destruction of the Twin Towers and other properties caused serious damage to the economy of Lower Manhattan and had a significant effect on global markets.

In many countries also started to come a distrust in the failing and corrupt governments. The economical market crashed and the domino’s started falling in Europe, creating a new ground for mistrust, jealousy, racism and a call again to split countries or to finish alliances.

The impact of the Arab Spring concerns protests or by the way attempts to organize growing protest movements that were inspired by or similar to the Arab Spring in the Arab-majority states of North Africa and the Middle East, according to commentators, organisers, and critics. These demonstrations and protest efforts have all been critical of the government in their respective countries, though they have ranged from calls for the incumbent government to make certain policy changes to attempts to bring down the current political system in its entirety. In some countries, protests have become large or widespread enough to affect change at the national level, as in Armenia, while in others, such as Djibouti, were swiftly suppressed. {Wikipedia}

Protests considered to be inspired by the Arab Spring have taken place on every inhabited continent, with varying degrees of success and prominence. On 15 October 2011, the subsidiary “Occupy” and Indignants movements inspired protests in 950 cities in 82 countries. {Wikipedia}

Fertile Ground for a renewed peace movement

Can it be that at the beginning of the 21st Century the world is ready again for an uprising of spiritual voices full of hope?

More people are again convinced that they have to start making peace on their own backyard first of all. And they are willing to work on it and make others warm to spread the message of love and peace.

Social Media have proven to be a good tool to contact people to get events going and to spread the news.

More people are standing up again and demanding to become active, telling others that they have the power to stop the violence.

“Make peace your plan, everyday”

is what they want to know others.

And that is what Blogger For Peace, like me, also want to do.

I call others to become aware of the power that can be in every person, and that the good in every person can come to the forefront.

We do have to stop idolizing violence in the moving pictures (television, film, video) and in the media. Socially demean violence as being the wrong thing to do. This could stop bullying, and work further to gun violence and even wars. Though we may not be too optimistic, violence is been going on for thousands of years and it will still be going on long after we are gone, but this may not limit our actions against it in a peaceful manner.

The preaching of peace and love between each other should start at home, at the family and in education at school and in the youth movement like the Scouts, Giro, KSA (Catholic Youth and Labourers movement), Red Falcon (Rode Valk) Red Banner (Rode Vaandel)  and others.

We should urge for education of our children on non-violence and limit the possibility to purchase weapons.

We need investment in human beings. We invest in other countries, in Wall Street, in wars but very little in human beings. We have people living under freeway underpasses and on the streets that need mental care. Some say it would be socialism but those who are Christian and those who feel themselves concerned by the poor and needy should open their eyes and let them see that it is a necessary investment in humankind.

Bloggers For Peace and you

We want to sing again

“All we are saying is give peace a chance”.

In an effort to actively do something to create more peace in the world in our day, everyday gurus who uplift, embrace, and inspire each other and everyone around them, want to invite people all over the world to join them.

We ask to remember to honour our world by keeping her free of the ravages of war, the atrocities of nuclear weapons and the destruction that comes when her people do not cover her with peace. We like to ask everybody to bless the earth and all its inhabitants today.

For those who believe in God it is clear that every human being is made in the likeness of God. So in every person the love of God is in-bedded. The Creator took care that every human being has a feeling to understand what is good and what is bad. No matter what they or you may believe in the brain of each person is the ability to think and handle in the right way.

Peace in your heart and mind in the midst of uncertainty and chaos is not some magic gift possessed by a few, but most often comes from the ability to draw water from the well of experience, the warmth of a hug, and the divine compulsion to reach out to someone else who desperately needs those two things from you.

Bloggers for peace (B4Peace / B4P) want to share those experiences, the warm hugs and the words of love and hope, so that more people can enjoy an enriched life of spiritual blessings.

No matter if you write poems or fiction, you too can contribute in writing a piece about peace. You too can bring words of consolation and offer comfort to many in places far away from where you live. But by your writing on the internet you can be in contact with those in isolation and give them inspiration.

If you take photos, post a photo or gallery that reflects, symbolizes, defines, or creates peace. If you write rants, rant at something that disturbs the peace or rant about something that promotes peace. If you are into zen, post a blank white page. If you are an artist…you get the idea. Feel free to be creative. Peace has no boundaries. There are no mistakes. We have no enemies. {Everyday gurus}

The Dream/Vision

This dream community would look something like this:

• We are committed to creating peace to our lives, homes, communities, and world.
• We are a community that is devoted to the pursuit of happiness through lovingkindness, gratitude, compassion, and empathy.
• We strive for happiness regardless of material conditions, relationship status, or past history.
• We share the miracles of everyday life to inspire, instruct, and support others and ourselves.
• We try to maintain peace of mind, equanimity, and lovingkindess at all times.
• We try to be open to all points of view.
• We even try to love our enemies.

What to do

“peace. it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart”

Do not feel restrained, anything in which you feel that you are good at you may do, as long it is in a peaceful decent manner respecting the other being, whatever his believes or convictions may be.

Start believing that the world we are making today is yours and your children to inherit. Do not wait until it is a big movement, because when everybody keeps waiting until something happens nothing shall happen and nothing shall change.

Angela Davis says…

“Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionary’s life. When one commits oneself to the struggle, it must be for a lifetime.”

Devote at least one post a month to/for/about peace. Blogger Kozo, who started an idea, or perhaps a movement called Bloggers for Peace has set forth the goal for bloggers to commit one post a month to the topic of peace during 2013. It’s easy to think that writing about peace is for others to do, or that as individuals we wouldn’t have anything to say about such a lofty topic. That is Not true!

As an individual we, in case we have the courage, can reach to others and show them other ways of thinking and handling. We can consider how our actions may affect someone else, to be grateful, to say thank-you, to spread goodwill, and very important: to smile.

Peter Dale Scott says…

“We will not have a successful political change unless we have a successful civil change. We are strong because we are diverse, lets not lose that”.

We ourselves should to live a life of peace but show to others how the right attitude can change a lot and how the peaceful mind can to live create fertile grounds for a life of peace.

Put a “Bloggers for Peace” badge on your blog. Put it anywhere on your blog–in the post, on your “about” page, as an image widget on your menu bar (feel free to link the badge to this page with “click here to join”), on your “awards” page, on your avatar page.

You can show the world that you are united with other like minded people by putting a Linkwidget for and with links of Bloggers For Peace.

When every Blogger For Peace get to know other B4P writers and their articles, they shall be able to find a treasure of articles to link to in their own articles. It would be nice if every B4P blogger could link at least one other post from a different Blogger for Peace. Hopefully, this will create a symbiotic synergy that will inspire others to create art/poetry/prose/photos/love on their posts about peace.

You might also want to add the tag “B4Peace” to your post. This will also be a great way to get to know other articles in the series of  Bloggers for Peace. Kozo envisions a virtual circle of us all holding hands in solidarity for peace.

Not to forget

Next to writing articles or publishing photographs or videos on the subject of love and peace, it is important to let others know about this initiative.
Therefore do not forget to put instructions on your post for others to join the group or link back to this or Kozo his post. This will help grow the movement.

Can you imagine if we get enough bloggers to join so we can have a post on peace everyday? Imagine the impact we could make if everyday the internet would have some new creativity/energy/emotion/positive vibration about peace. Imagine if we linked all these posts together to create a web of peace and positive energy. “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…”

Please do find some dreamers to start with:

1. If You want to start winning the war
2. Bloggers For Peace
3. We Can Make a Difference–Right Here, Right Now
4. Kozo & Cheri asks that you…
5. Spread the Peace on Facebook
6. Steve Strother on Blogging For Peace
7. B4Peace — February
8. Bloggers for Peace March Challenge: Forgiveness
9. We all have to have dreams
10. Teaching Children Peace – A Bloggers for Peace post
11. The Missing Peace
12. Our stance against certain religions and immigrating people
13. Quick Tip: Take Up the Gauntlet
14. Inner Peace and World Peace
15. Let There Be Peace on Earth
16. The Universe Is All of Us
17. The “Pursuit” of Happiness
18. Living Life to the Fullest
19. 7 Random Acts of Peace for Random Acts of Kindness Week
20. B4Peace by a “World Traveler who is Spiritual”
21. Peace Action
22. Imagine peace
23. The Peace Garden
24. Happy Birthday to a Warrior for Peace
25. Professions for Peace musings on life, love and peace
26. Awards, prizes, Peace and Working together
27. Peace Takes You
28. Spark Understanding, Stitch Connections
29. 5 years presenting articles for you

Please do read also:

1. Securing risks
2. Violence or an other way to win
3. How the Arab World Uses Facebook and Twitter
4. Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
5. Arab Spring and social media incl.: The impact of the Arab Spring + What Happens to Social Media After a Twitter Revolution?
6. Which Countries Actively Suppress Internet Freedom?
7. Russian government has the power to shut down any sort of organisation they do not like
8. Ecological economics in the stomach #4 Water

And also find to read:

1. Internet absurdities
2. Censor looming around the UK corner?
3. Cool Person of the year 2011
4. The Protester named Person of the Year 2011 by Time Magazine
5. Zionism comments and the place of Jerusalem in the world
6. 2012 mensenrechten rapport – 2012 Human Rights report
7. Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America at war
8. Steering captain Obama
9. Shame on American police
10. Wrath kills the foolish man, and envy consumes the covetous one
11. What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?
12. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience
13. The apostle’s method worthy of imitation
14. United people under Christ
15. Let us watch carefully the decent of mankind into the situation we see around us today
16. If there is bitterness in the heart

Please do find more articles on: attitude, chosen people, compassion, gentleness, humility, insight, kindness, love, patience

United people under Christ

1. Christadelphian people
2. Christadelphian World
3. Christadelphian Ecclesia
4. Christadelphia – City of Christ
5. Christadelphians or Brothers in Christ
6. Bible Students – on Googlesites
7. Bible Students – on WordPress

World Peace Flame Movement (Photo credit: ArchivesACT)

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Related articles

• A Life of Peace (handofananke.com)
  We rarely are allowed to remember those who come to us to teach peace. As children we are taught of all the generals and warlords throughout history. You leave high school knowing Hannibal, the Caesars, George Washington, Robert E Lee, Ulysses Grant, MacArthur and Patton. We learn all the wars, …
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  Too seldom to we learn about men of peace in our schools. Aside from Christ and Siddhartha, men who are tied to the founding of religions with all sorts of other baggage attached, who might you have learned about as a student? You were of course taught about King, and if you were lucky, Gandhi. There is no room for others in our endless curricula of worshiping the sword.
• Gender Dynamics and Peace (soc365.wordpress.com)
  about women’s resistance to war and militarism and the role of a patriarchal system in violence
• Chester County Peace Movement keeps up vigil 10 years after Iraq war start (philly.com)

  In the beginning, when the war in Iraq was still making headlines and CNN was still showing footage of the air strikes in Baghdad, the Chester County Peace Movement could draw crowds as large as 700 to its weekly protests outside the county courthouse in West Chester.

  These days, the group is lucky if more than a dozen show up. But every Saturday for the last 10 years, they have never missed a protest. And though the war in Iraq is technically over – U.S. troops pulled out in December 2011 – for the members of the peace movement, the protest never really ends. They will mark 10 straight years of weekly protests this weekend.

• MQM announces ‘peaceful’ protest movement in Karachi (thenewstribe.com)
  Karachi: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Thursday announced a ‘peaceful’ protest movement against the terrorism in Karachi and demanded the traders and transporters to keep their businesses close and shutdown public transport till the arrest of culprits behind Abbas Town blast.
• Communist “Peace” Movement Uses Their “Friend’ Obama’s Ecomonic Crisis to Gut US Military (trevorloudon.com)
  If the US military can be weakened or destroyed, the communist’s friends in Moscow, Beijing, Havana, Caracas, Pyongyang, Hanoi and Tehran will have no significant impediment to world domination.
• Class on Monday, 22 Apr (tokaidale.wordpress.com)
  We especially focused on two people who closely involved in the Nobel Peace Prize. Guess who? If you were at the class on Monday, you probably already know who they were. The answer is Alfred Nobel and Mahatma Gandhi.
• The Assassination of Martin Luther King and the Peace Movement (counterpunch.org)
  

  “As I have walked among the desperate, rejected, and angry young men, I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. But they ask — and rightly so — what about Vietnam? They ask if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government.

  – Rev. Martin Luther King, Beyond Vietnam – A Time to Break Silence,” Riverside Church, April 4, 1967.
  

  The assassination of Dr. King raises uncomfortable questions — not only due to the evidence that his murder was a “hit” carried out by elements of the U.S. government, but also because of what Dr. King was saying before he was killed about issues like poverty and U.S. militarism.

• Shot At Dawn. (radicalglasgowblog.blogspot.com)
  Just recently we were given a small collection, mainly on the peace movement and one particular document vividly reminded to me of the cruelty and barbaric nature of the state, especially in time of war. I think the document speaks loudly for itself.
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  If Not Now, When? If Not Us, Who?
• PressTV: Bradley Manning, Nobel for a noble man (jhaines6.wordpress.com)
  The Norwegian Nobel Committee (send them a note) can either begin awarding the peace prize to opponents of war or continue on its current course — one which already has many questioning, not whether Manning is worthy of the prize, but whether the prize is worthy of Manning.