The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago this year, on November 9, 1989. This massive barrier that since the 1960s had effectively imprisoned the residents of Communist-ruled East Berlin was also a symbol of the larger Cold War division between Eastern and Western Europe and the Soviet Union and the United States. When Berliners broke … Continue reading East Germany’s Peaceful Revolution: Remembering the Berlin Wall’s Fall
Category: Peace Activism
What Personal Storytelling Leaves Out: A Suggestion on Alternative Approaches to Activism
A common practice among activists or commentators on political controversies is to invoke personal stories. Someone will tell how her or his life, or the life of a friend or acquaintance, was directly affected by a larger injustice or problem. The activist or commentator will use that personal experience as an element in an argument … Continue reading What Personal Storytelling Leaves Out: A Suggestion on Alternative Approaches to Activism
Nuclear Disarmament as a Social Justice Issue
Activists seeking to end or radically reduce nuclear weapons’ threat may find it difficult to get public attention. Despite the high stakes involved—the lives of millions and even humanity’s survival—the nuclear threat frequently seems distant and abstract. The danger is future and hypothetical, in contrast to current, actual situations of people dying or suffering from … Continue reading Nuclear Disarmament as a Social Justice Issue
Political Action’s Opportunities and Dangers: Some Lessons from Bayard Rustin
Social movements learn from one another: strategies and tactics that work on behalf of one cause may also work for another. Learning from other activists requires discernment, though: times and circumstances differ, so what worked for one movement at one historical point may require adaptation and selectivity to be effective for a different movement. The … Continue reading Political Action’s Opportunities and Dangers: Some Lessons from Bayard Rustin
To Save Humanity: What I Learned at the “Two Minutes to Midnight” Conference
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists decided earlier this year to adjust the “Doomsday Clock,” the organization’s index of probable nuclear and other dangers facing humanity.[1] Tensions between the United States and nations such as North Korea, Russia, and China, among other factors, prompted the Bulletin to move the Doomsday Clock’s hands to two minutes to midnight—“midnight” … Continue reading To Save Humanity: What I Learned at the “Two Minutes to Midnight” Conference
War Is Not a Family Value: A Conservative Case for Peace
Support for American wars and military interventions, and the massive military establishment behind them, has been a feature of American conservatism for at least the last 70 years. The Cold War and more recently the War on Terror have been embraced by the Republican Party and such conservative publications as National Review, Commentary, and the … Continue reading War Is Not a Family Value: A Conservative Case for Peace
How to Move from Theory to Practice: Reading A Consistent Life
Let’s say you’ve succeeded in winning someone over to the consistent life ethic. This person now wants to defend human life against abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia, war, and the myriad other threats to life. Now the question arises, “What should I do to promote the consistent life ethic?” A valuable new resource is now available for … Continue reading How to Move from Theory to Practice: Reading A Consistent Life
Finding Common Ground on and Learning from World War II
Writing on the Consistent Life Network's blog, Rachel MacNair recently examined several moral issues related to the Second World War and how we interpret and remember that war today.[1] An observation in that piece that struck me was that when a nonviolence advocate discusses war with someone who supports it, a war supporter who “understands things as … Continue reading Finding Common Ground on and Learning from World War II
Seeking Peaceful Coexistence: The Varied Ways of Supporting a Consistent Life Ethic
That consistent ethic of life advocates are at odds with more conventional American political categories—conservative, liberal, libertarian—is well recognized. Less often recognized are the ways different consistent life ethic advocates diverge from each other and the tensions this can cause. People can understand the consistent life ethic in different ways and have different reasons for … Continue reading Seeking Peaceful Coexistence: The Varied Ways of Supporting a Consistent Life Ethic
Pro-Peace from Left and Right
These remarks were given by John Whitehead at the Pro-life March to Abolish Nuclear weapons, held in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2017. The theme of this rally and march, opposition to nuclear weapons from a pro-life perspective, has been at the heart of the Consistent Life Network from the very beginning. We were originally an … Continue reading Pro-Peace from Left and Right
Peacemaking for Life 