We Still Say 'No' to War

On March 20, 2004, the Fellowship of Reconciliation will join tens of thousands of people throughout the United States and the world in a nonviolent call for an end to the United States military occupation of Iraq, and an end to the war being waged by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. We will join with both the religious and the secular communities to demand that a new U.S. foreign policy, based on international law and moral principle, be established as a framework for the United States to take its place as a just and peaceful co-member of the world community.

The honoring of the rule of law, and the rejection of rule by force and intimidation is, for us, central to the realization of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of a "World House" — a community of nations that strives for justice, extols diversity, defends freedom, and practices compassion and humility. Like Mahatma Gandhi before him, Dr. King understood that the rights to peace, security and self-determination we so vehemently claim as our own amount to nothing if, to secure them, we deny those same rights to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, or to any members of the human family.

Many of us in the FOR community will march and demonstrate on March 20. But others may feel weighed down by despair, "protest fatigue", and even cynicism. They rallied against the impending war in 2003, only to see their hopes dashed by the March invasion. To these brothers and sisters in the peace and justice movement, we say: Take courage. Great evil take great effort to overcome and mass demonstrations are but one method. Those who might be reluctant, for whatever reason, to take to the streets in protest, could consider renewing their commitment to peace through spiritual reflection, vigils, religious services and the reading of scripture and litanies. (Suggested litany: "War Never Really Ends.") Look for a service or vigil near you, or create your own.

Especially for the children of the Abrahamic traditions, this anniversary can also be a time to begin healing wounds and re-committing to the struggle against the racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia that have contaminated our national character and even polluted our movement. Let us pause in our reflections on the invasion of Iraq to consider another conflict crying out for a just, evenhanded and nonviolent solution: Israel and Palestine. Let us acknowledge the pain and suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis, and recognize the legitimate aspirations of both peoples to security, dignity, freedom from oppression, and self-determination. Let us set aside our reflexive, self-serving responses, our sweeping, stereotypical characterizations, and acknowledge horrible wrongdoing on both sides. Let us recognize the heroic efforts of Palestinian and Israeli peace activists, who are swimming against a far more dangerous and hostile tide than we and desperately need our support.

The Fellowship of Reconciliation, at work for peace and global justice since 1914, recommits our organization and our resources to the building of a world without violence, injustice, and war. The World House cannot be built overnight, but we are determined to build it, brick by brick, regardless of how long it takes. We are determined to work for the nonviolent transformation of our beloved society, to redeem it from the pitfalls of economic greed, territorial aggrandizement, racism, and the plundering of natural resources — ours and those of other nations.

We urge all of our co-workers for peace to take courage and strength from our collective work in the past, as we rededicate ourselves to the challenges ahead.

Contact: Jennifer Hyman, Communications Coordinator. communications@forusa.org