From Living Earth:
In 2005, Living Earth sponsored a peace vigil on Portland’s
bridges. More than 2,000 people responded in a moving display of a community
commitment to peace.
For this Sept. 11 vigil, we have only a few days to get the word
out. Please help! As the president beats the drums for war, let’s gather
on the bridge for peace.
Wednesday, September 11
6 pm until twilight
Hawthorne Bridge (or any bridge)
North or south, east, west, or middle.
Bring a candle. Bring a sign.
Bring a friend. Bring your heart.
6 pm until twilight
Hawthorne Bridge (or any bridge)
North or south, east, west, or middle.
Bring a candle. Bring a sign.
Bring a friend. Bring your heart.
Come stand for truth, for a world where wisdom, dignity,
justice, and peace are prevailing values. Where children, families,
elders, and the planet are cherished and cared for. Where war, aggression, and
oppression are memories of a dark bygone age.
However terrible conditions in Syria may be at the moment,
this call to war is cynical. The deplorable use of chemical weapons there is
unfortunately not an anomaly. The US itself has used similar weapons of mass
destruction with devastating effects on civilian populations – specifically,
chemical agents in Vietnam and depleted uranium in Iraq. We are on the wrong
side of the “bright red line” ourselves.
Nothing about an aerial assault on Damascus will ease the
terror, anguish, suffering and dying in Syria. The fierce instability there
ensures that, even if our motives and record were pristine, at best a US attack
would inconvenience and incense the Assad regime. At worst, it would produce
countless innocent victims and turn even more of the world against us.
War is war is war, and pretending to a high moral position
cannot change that. This is not Europe in 1938 and we must find a strong,
effective, and constructive way to respond to the misery in Syria.
Please join us Wednesday evening to bear witness to our own
dignity and sanity, and to bear witness to compassion, justice, and peace.
