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"Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me" (by Jill Jackson). This moving song announces the core of our intentions for a peace center. Our call is the conquest of violence by truth through education. It must be an education based on awareness of the sacredness of life, and respect for the individual which springs from faith in God and His eternal values and truths. Reverence for life goes hand in hand with the spread of peace. Mother Teresa said that the greatest disease is not tuberculosis and cancer. The greatest disease is to be unwanted and unloved. She respects the life of those that society would cast away. To consider a developing child who hears and feels as nothing more than a blob of flesh is very similar to the attitude toward African slaves who were called sub-human and therefore could be bought and sold or done away with. We need to learn the lessons past mistakes can teach us. We should see the victories of the past, and the present victories. Mahatma Gandhi believed in and practiced the principles of the Sermon on the Mount. He said that a fully consistent practice of non-violence demands a solid metaphysical and religious basis, both in your being, and in your daily life. Non-violence is the ultimate way to end genocide and all forms of violent and enslaving discrimination. Martin Luther King followed the Sermon on the Mount as Gandhi did in his practice of non-violence. They recognized that hearts must be touched before any real progress is made. We need to be reminded of our common goals and see where we have failed. Peace cannot come without understanding. Only God 's Truth and Love can help us reach the goal of a world where we do not kill or enslave or ostracize our neighbor because he is different from us. People have used the differences of others to take their lands, possessions and lives. No honor or goodness can come out of these acts. It brings only false prosperity to the aggressor. True prosperity comes through diverse peoples working together for the good of the whole. When we work together in harmony, caring for each other - especially the most helpless and the most insignificant - THEN God will heal and bless our land. Isaiah 58:6-10 Our land does need healing. We see today that beneath all the multitudes of achievements, there is an ever increasing sense of emptiness. How can people who find no meaning in life, commit themselves to harmony when their own life is in discord? The answer is to acknowledge the source of their own consciousness which finds itself alienated. The eternal God of all Creation is that source, and the source of our sense of justice and truth. We must come to realize that He loves all His people and His Creation. How do we come to realize this? One way is to see the results of our own self-centeredness and by its extension, our destructive ethnocentricity. This should be contrasted with the creative acts of those people and peoples who seek to be in harmony with Him and with each other. In 1965 the third conference of the World Fellowship of Religions was held in New Delhi, India. Over one hundred thousand people participated in a Peace March. Leaders took that desire for peace and pinpointed its foundational requirements. Twelve hundred and fifty seven delegates representing all major religions, agreed that down through the ages there have been sages, prophets, apostles and teachers who spoke about certain truths. Using different languages, they believed in the same essentials; that life should be lived in truth and holiness, and in harmony with one another and with nature. They agree that there is only one Creator Redeemer God. If we all really followed our same beliefs, there could be no genocide or the many forms of ethnic cleansing. As they say concerning the Internet, there is no race, no age, no gender, no physical impairment, no class visible to those who use it. The common rules of decency apply, but the information highway is open to all. Life and freedom should be equally available. But we need to be educated. Minds must be informed so that hearts are stirred. Dr. Gerard Donnelley-Smith, who heads the Native American Peace Studies Center , reports that its mission is to record the historical and continuing genocide of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere; to educate the dominant cultures as to the process of genocide, to promote peace between all peoples regardless of race, religion or creed, to educate the world that the Native have been suffering a 500 year holocaust that still continues, that some ethnic groups of the Western Hemisphere have suffered genocide: they are completely and utterly destroyed. We cannot change the past. The past, however, can educate us and help us examine present attitudes. As a nation we sincerely wish to see the ethnic cleansing halted that is occurring in various parts of the world. We have even sent our soldiers to aid victims in these places. These are dramatic actions, but people need to be encouraged to enter into a solid rebuilding of attitudes. Just as open slavery has been halted throughout the world, it is not vain to hope and strive for acceptance of one another. Cultures can change and grow, but they should change from within. We can learn from one another. Where we differ, we differ, but there should always be respect and justice and openness to free exchange of ideas. Words seen on a billboard sign beside a picture of a compassionate Martin Luther King: "Love is not the answer, it's an Assignment!" Our assignment is to express this divine Love by recognizing that no enduring peace with justice can ever be fully achieved worldwide unless children are adequately educated in the ways of peace. We will actively seek the support of teachers throughout the world to adopt Education for Peace as one of their primary objectives. Mother Teresa's love is an example to us all but even those we call "lesser creatures" can teach us the way of unselfish love. In 1921 Sadhu Sundar Singh, the great saint of India, related that a jungle fire broke out in the Himalayas. Most people were fighting the fire but some were staring at a tree already on fire. There was a nest of birds on one of the fiery branches. The heat was so great no one could go near. Above the tree a bird flew in great distress. A few moments later the nest caught fire and Sadhu Sundar Singh thought that the mother bird would fly away. Instead, to the great astonishment of all, they saw her fly down and spread her wings over the young ones. In a few moments all was gone, burnt to ashes. To this day, half a century since that time, most of us have never seen such an act of love. That story can bring tenderness to our hearts as we honor and respect the life of that mother bird. That honor and respect should be extended to ALL of our fellow human beings, regardless of race, creed, cultural or ethnic background. This is the way of peace. We encourage businesses and individuals alike, to join us in establishing and supporting this place of education, peace, and rememberance for the native peoples of North America; noble people who deserve better than they have received from the hands of their uninvited neighbors. Become a Patron, Sustaining Member, or an Associate of the Native American Center for Peace Studies today and declare with us that human life is sacred, and a new age of enlightenment has dawned.  |
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