Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry

The story of a love is not important—what is important is that one is capable of love. It is perhaps the only glimpse we are permitted of eternity.

—Helen Hayes

Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry

Citizens For Peace Blog Page Views
May 2009 to May 2011

Don't you find this amazing? People from many countries have viewed our blog! Peace is  certainly a topic of interest not just to us but to many others.

These numbers came from Blogger our blog publisher.

Playing for Peace Concert: A Great Kickoff for Moveable Peace!

A good time was had by all of the attendees at the Playing for Peace Concert! So many talented musical artists donated their time & talent to support the kickoff of Moveable Peace: an effort to "move peace" all over Michigan! Thanks to all of the artists, the Citizens for Peace volunteers, the Moveable Peace Committee, and especially to Kevin "Mr. Peace" Szawala for contributing to the success of a beautiful evening!
The big surprise was having "Generations" joining us at the last minute! Dean Rutledge (center of photo playing the banjo) played with the Kingston Trio, the New Christi Minstrals, and was the opening act for Peter, Paul & Mary! It brought back such lovely memories!
I felt the "peace energy" & good vibrations all night!
Thanks to our performers:
John Wilson, Bill Meyer, Ryan Castelli, Joe Kidd & the Sedition World Orchestra, Diane Western, David Nefesh, John Smolinski, Michael Krieger, Rev. Matthew Long, Ruby Woods, Generations: Harry Miller, Steve Kowalski, Dean Rutledge, Judy Insley, Floyd Raeon, Xavier Moore, Darrin Breil and Kevin 'Mr Peace' Szawala!
WOW!!!

The Friday Night concert was great. I enjoyed the variety of music and
their language of peace.

Everyone has a purpose in life – a unique gift or special talent to give to others.
Deepak Chopra

Peace to You and Yours With Love
Jerry

Kevin Szawala Shares Information about Moveable Peace, The Playing for Peace Concert, and His Poetry & new CD at Citizens for Peace Meeting!

Kevin "Mr. Peace" Szawala, the state coordinator of the Department of Peace Campaign, gave a thoughtful talk at our May meeting. He shared the information about the Budget Priorities Road Show he will be taking all over Michigan. He will be performing at the Playing for Peace Concert Friday, May 13th at Unity. He will join an eclectic group of artists to support Moveable Peace. Join us!

Here's one of his poems he shared with us.
Thanks Kevin! Peace, Colleen

"Jobs N' Human Needs Under Attack" by 'Mr. Peace'

I was asked 2 speak 2day 2 send people off on an upbeat note
So I wanted 2 share with u all a little something that I wrote
Social n' political unrest, economic turbulence
N' all these tax cuts 4 the rich that just don't make sense!
See, we're gathered here 2day because our jobs, education, quality of life n' human needs, r all under attack,
But we're optimistic becuz' 'People Power' is startin' 2 make a comeback
U look 2 examples like Egypt, Tunisia, Libya n' Madison, Wisconsin
The epicenter of the Midwest 2 reverse a wave of unprecedented revisions with legislation
Fightin' 2 defend worker's rights n' doin' whatever it takes
N' we'll do the same thing, even if that means weeks of non-stop protests, here in the Great Lakes State!
Cuz' it ain't fair when the working families n' middle class r forced 2 suffer n' live on smaller budgets
No, we need Systematic Change 2 put a stop 2 the Big Corporation tax cuts
We gotta band 2gether, it's time 4 all of us 2 unite!
It's our Collective Responsibility; staying 'Collective' 4 Collective Bargaining in this fight!
N' people often ask me if all of this stuff makes me lose sleep at nite
I simply reply, "Yeah, u better believe it! N' I won't rest 'til I see the Light,
Begin 2 shine thru the Dark Room of Injustice, where People, finally come b4 Profits!
N' the terms, "Common Good" n' "Just Society", become a top priority, not just the next looked over topic
I even heard it said here 2day in this room, where we treat these democratic wordz just like Oxygen
Where u can't breathe w/o them, similar 2 not bein' able 2 live w/o bein' surrounded by water here in Michigan
So let's take action, collaboratively address these issues head on by calling on our Congress,
N' by signin' a Petition az a Coalition 2 form a Commission 4 Peace n' Justice
We will prevail n' do what's necessary 2 alter the course of history
There's Power in Numbers, n' our Numbers r Growin', az we reach more n' more communities
Yeah, my hope 4 a brighter, a more just 2morrow, comes from all the energy that each one of you brings
N' the powerful phrase that made sure the country we live in would never be the same: "Let Freedom Ring!"

Peace In.
Kevin 'Mr. Peace'Szawala
856-MR_PEACE
(856-677-3223)

Colleen Mills Invited to Talk on The Tony Show Friday Morning At 7a.m.!

The Tony Trupiano show is back on am 1310!
His show is called First Shift and airs Monday through Friday from 6 am - 9 am. He invited me to talk about the Playing for Peace Concert kickoff event for Moveable Peace at 7 am this Friday! Call in and support Tony's show. The call in number is 888-552-3595. You can also listen live online at www.thetonyshow.org.

"First Shift with Tony Trupiano is devoted to the higher idea of what community is and toward that end our goal on a daily basis is to shed light where there is darkness, expose wrong and to establish right, create opportunity and provide a platform for extended debate but also to provide, expect, and demand solutions to problems."
...from thetonyshow.org website.
Peace, Colleen

Arlington Michigan

Join the Veterans for Peace and the Citizens for Peace as we observe Memorial Day on Monday, May 30, 2011. Stop by and reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day at Arlington Michigan, a display of crosses with the photo and name of each Michigan soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The display will be at the Livonia Civic Center Park (South side of Five Mile, East of Farmington Rd.) from 9 am - 6 pm. PEACE! Colleen

What a Busy Week for the Citizens for Peace!

In one week we visited our Senator, our Congressman and Congressman Conyers to talk about peace! Colleen is giving Congressman Conyers a folder with the US Peace Index, information about Moveable Peace, the flyers for the Playing for Peace Concert and Arlington Michigan, and the MI Department of Peace Political Action Guide. He invited her to come to his office and discuss all of the information. He hadn't heard about the US Peace Index or Moveable Peace. He suggested a forum with Congressman McCotter in the 11th District and in his District. He is supportive of HR 808 and the People's Budget! I look forward to working with Congressman Conyers this summer!
Peace, Colleen

Rosemary Doyle Delivers a Book Instead of a Pie

Rosemary Doyle delivered the book "A History of War" and the Press Release on the US Peace Index to Congressman McCotter's office for the Mother's Day "Peace Wants a Piece of the Pie" Campaign. She also provided a letter from Colleen Mills, President of the Citizens for Peace, requesting that the Congressman support HR 808 and share the information of the US Peace Index with his colleagues. We will share his response.

The fundamental difference between creating and problem solving is simple. In problem solving, we seek to make something we do not like go away. In creating we, we seek to make what we truly care about exist. Few distinctions are that basic.

Peter Senge

Peace to You and Yours with Love
Jerry

Peace Wants A Piece of the Pie Mother's Day Visit.

We visited Senator Stabenow's office for the annual Mother's Day "Peace Wants a Piece of the Pie" campaign. Gloria arranged the meeting with Barbara McCallahan, senator Stabenow's assistant. We had a great discussion of the new US Peace Index that focuses on using funds for social uplift to save billions of dollars and create millions of jobs. We requested Senator Stabenow to introduce the Department of Peace legislation in the Senate and to share the US Peace Index findings with her colleagues. Tada, Colleen, Sally and Gloria are shown with Barbara McCallahan.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

The following email I received helped me understand my mixed feelings over the death of Osama. I have feelings of sadness and relief. Killing another human being does not seem to be the right thing to do to bring justice. However, knowing that he no longer exists really means
that there may be a new beginning, hopefully, for the better. This article was an examination of
conscience for me. What do you think? Rosemary Doyle, Citizens for Peace


Dear Mr. Bin Laden,
Just so you know. I won?t be having cocktails at the White House or
marching in the streets to celebrate your passing. When I heard you
were gone, I only felt sadness. It is not a sadness that comes from
any sort of love or solidarity or even pity. Do not misunderstand me.
It is a deep sadness that comes when we glorify and justify violence
as a means to destroy what we deem evil. It is something you were
especially good at.
So why am I sad? I have sadness that your hatred has poisoned and
murdered so many; sadness that fear and revenge is called justice;
sadness that we Americans have justified tens of thousands of deaths
in Afghanistan, nearly 1 million in the Iraq war, and many other
targeted killings in Pakistan that weren?t you. I imagine we will see
your death as a ?successful campaign? with no American lives lost. The
irony will escape us. I wonder if it does you.
We talk about ?the enemy? and ?evil? when we speak of you. Since that
bitter September day in 2001, we have used the word evil as if a human
can be evil to their core. You join the ranks of evil-doers like
Hitler and Mussolini. My guess is that in some way, you have enjoyed
that, although you knew we were wrong. You embraced that sort of
extreme ideology that labeled Americans and others who disagreed with
you as evil. For you, and for us, the way we try to remove evil is to
hunt it down and kill it, saying ?praise god? all the way down. We?re
not so very different, you and we Americans.
?We think evil acts (and people) should be taken care of through war
and violence
?We call upon God to justify our violence
?We use our financial resources to support wars that agree with us
across the world
?We recruit our children to be our front line warriors while we give
orders from board room
Mr. Bin Laden, I think that what you stood for and how you worked was
evil, but I never thought you were. Even you were not outside the
possibility of grace and change. I think of you as wounded and broken,
mislead, oppressed and wrong, but not evil.
I suppose that makes me an extremist also. But, if I am going to be an
extremist, it will be to say that no human being is evil, not even
you. You will be accountable for your actions and although I do not
fancy standing beside you ?when the roll is called up yonder,? I do
not hold those things in my hands. And I believe that love survives
and that grace can change and heal us AND those we offend ? and that
it is not my job to decide what happens to you.
I won?t be the life of anyone?s death party.
So now, partly because I know your body will not receive any burial
prayer, I offer a prayer for your death. And it is to our mutual
creator.
God of love, Creator of all good and precious human beings. We offer
to you our brother, Osama Bin Laden. He came into this world just like
we did, born into imperfection and a broken and unjust world, human
with potential for so much good. He made choices that took him on a
horrible path. He hurt so many of your beautiful children. We know he
is accountable to his actions and attitudes. Will you help those
innocent ones whose lives he has destroyed to forgive him so that they
can move forward into love? Will you open up the eyes of those who
have loved and admired him to the possibility of grace and kindness
toward even those they fear? Will you please take all of our feelings
and after we have had a season to acknowledge them, create something
hopeful out of them? Please break through the bitterness of fear and
revenge and bring healing. We want to give him into your hands, though
we do not know if our hearts will let us. We trust that your broken
heart can somehow heal us and even him. A-men.