The year 2005 has been extraordinary for the Department of Peace Campaign. Locally, nationally and internationally we are making great strides. In NYC we started just 2 years ago with only 2 and 3 fully committed people and now we are holding regular monthly meetings with 12 to 17 dedicated members. [Photo below taken in October 2005 of NYC DoP Chair & Vice Chair at Brooklyn Peace Fair]
We marched in parades, spoke at events, handed out literature, provided programs and workshops throughout New York City and reached more than 5000 people. We provided training to 60 individuals and brought 20 citizens to the National Conference in DC where we lobbied our members of Congress.
We are growing stronger day by day. Nationally the number of Congressional co-sponsors grew from 44 to 64 with a Senate version introduced this past September. Internationally, the movement held its first international summit in the UK in October this past year. We have much to celebrate and so much to look forward to.
Gandhi said that his work with nonviolence was the equivalent to Edison's discovery of electricity, and that future generations would surely refine it. And so it has been and continues to be. The book, A FORCE MORE POWERFUL, reminds us that the great majority of men and women who gather to attend the United Nations General Assembly are........
"democratically elected presidents and prime ministers. Had such a meeting been held one hundred years before, all but a few would have been kings, emperors, generals or other rulers who reached power by violent force or dynastic inheritance. This was the most important political change that the twentieth century wrought and it would not have come to pass without the actions of ordinary people who defied oppressive rulers though nonviolent power rather than by force of arms."
Across the globe the use and success of nonviolence has been truly breathtaking; from Thoreau to Tolstoy to Gandhi, to the Suffrage movement, to the Indian revolution, to the US Civil Rights movement, to the end of Apartheid, to the Polish Solidarity Movement, to La Madres - the Argentinian Mothers who marched for "the Disappeared", to the overthrow of Marcos, and the overthrow of Milosovec; these are but some of nonviolent campaigns waged by ordinary citizens that succeeded in the past 100 years. When we look beyond daily headlines to this rich history, the truth is overwhelming. Nonviolence works and continues to spread.
We are privileged to be part of a growing legacy that is shaping a better world and establishing a culture of peace. Keep the faith, stay active and celebrate who you are and what we are creating together!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL PEACEMAKERS! LETS MAKE 2006 A PRO-PEACE, PRO-ENVIRONMENT, PRO-FRIENDSHIP & PRO-CHOICE YEAR! VOTE FOR LOTS OF DEMOCRATS, LIBERALS AND PROGRESSIVES INTO OFFICE IN NOVEMBER
WHY OUR MILITARY DESPISES DONALD RUMSFELD
Commentary by Ralph Nader
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1231-05.htm
GEORGE BUSH'S ANNUS HORRIBILIS
The president is badly wounded but that might not be good for anyone in 2006.
Andrew Gumbel, Los Angeles CityBeat
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1230-42.htm
GEORGE W. BUSH AS THE NEW RICHARD M. NIXON: BOTH WIRETAPPED ILLEGALLY AND IMPEACHABLY
Both claimed that a president may violate congress' laws to protect national security.
John Dean, FindLaw
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1230-39.htm
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