ME and Ophelia

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY



With thanks to [insert link]
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PEACE
By Jim Moore



It's so much easier to make war than to make peace.  War only requires finding the soft underbelly of the other, and attacking with the force to do violence.  Often a single act, well placed, does fatal damage.  Peace, on the other hand, is ecological--it is created not out of one move, but through the joining of many moves, in an exquisite dance of increasingly intimate exchanges.  Peace requires attention to sequence--some moves are necessary before others can be embraced.

The notion of peace being "achieved" is a misapprehension.  War--or rather success in war--can be achieved because its end is the destruction of something dynamic.  War renders static what was previously alive. By contrast, peacemaking brings tender life to what was previously barren. Peace is not achieved.  Peace is nurtured, cared for, and lived in joy. Peace is alive.

[Posted by Jim Moore on 4/22/03 at his journal of innovation in society and technology; global politics and democracy; global security; health; environment; happiness and peace]
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UNEMPLOYED? WANT TO MAKE A FRESH START NEXT YEAR?
Volunteer to work in field or offices of aid agencies

Volunteer with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Their work would not be possible without your support. MSF website answers many commonly asked questions. Please choose whether you are interested in volunteering in the field or in their offices at MSF-USA: Volunteering.

Or try contacting the many other aid agencies - or even the United Nations - for a heap of opportunities.

Further reading:

Links page for Volunteer Africa
Finding a job in aid work - Aid Workers Network, practical advice for aid workers by aid workers - where to find your next job.
Idealist.org Where the Nonprofit World Meets - Action Without Borders
Web sites devoted to Darfur Sudan
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FACT OF THE DAY - November 22
Courtesy Scotsman and NYT

Hands up who remembers what they were doing today in 1963?

On November 22, 1963, John F Kennedy, United States President, was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, during the run-up to the 1964 presidential campaign. Gov. John B. Connally was seriously wounded. A suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested, who was in turn shot, while in custody, by Jack Ruby. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States.
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Memory Lane: 41 years ago today, I was at home in London, England. It was late morning or early afternoon. My mother returned home from the hairdressers. She rushed in the door sporting the latest hairstyle and shouting for us to switch on the TV.

Each of her weekly hairdo's had a name. That day, we dubbed it the cottage loaf. One round beehive bun on top of another beehive (looking like a round bread bun on top of a round bread loaf). Believe it or not, she looked great - dressed to the hilt looking glam in a tweedy shift dress, full make up and jewellry, high heels, leather gloves and matching handbag - very Jackie O.

We were all so shocked and upset over the news. Everyone cried. It was sort of like 9/11. Everybody stayed home that night, I think. Nobody stopped talking about it for years. It's a day that changed the world. Hopes and dreams for a better world after WWII were shattered.