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Monday, February 12, 2007
Paths to Peace
This past weekend, the Denver Post published an article on Coloradans Working for Peace in Iraq. They interviewed four different people and categorized them as "The Spiritualist", "The Local Activist", "The Peace-builder", and "The Negotiator". My teachers were written of in the "spiritualist" segment. I wish that the media didn't have to label. I don't think any of the people in the story could fit only into one category. Life is just not that simple.
Congratulations to Carolyn Bninski whose story is also portrayed in the article!
My teachers' interview below. For the entire article, click here.
"They're going to solve problems by being the biggest guy on the block, through muscle . It's always confrontation", Elias Amidon says of the Bush administration.
Amidon and his wife, Rabia Elizabeth Roberts, spent three months in Iraq in the fall and winter of 2002-03. The co-directors of the Boulder Institute for Nature and the Human Spirit held anti-war protests there - hanging banners saying to bomb this site is a war crime from a hospital, for instance. And they wrote about what was happening in that country in e-mails to friends and supporters.
Amidon, 62, hasn t been to Iraq since February 2003. "It s too dangerous", he said.
Instead, he's traveled to other parts of the Middle East, including Syria, Iran, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. He's working on the Abraham Path Initiative, an effort to develop a walking trail through the Middle East following the path of the prophet who was considered the father of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The idea is to build respect and understanding among people of different faiths, as well as bring tourism money to the area.
Today, Amidon is as frustrated as anyone over the situation in Iraq. "The planned troop increase indicates a level of isolation, as well as a continued insistence on resolving conflict through confrontation", he says.
He'd prefer to see U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq and replaced by an international peacekeeping force. Peace talks should include Syria, Iran, and even al-Qaeda, he believes.
Despite the troop increase, Amidon is heartened by the growing opposition to the conflict.
"What I'm pleased about is the level of intelligent inquiry with which people are coming out now. I wonder where they've been."
Congratulations to Carolyn Bninski whose story is also portrayed in the article!
My teachers' interview below. For the entire article, click here.
"They're going to solve problems by being the biggest guy on the block, through muscle . It's always confrontation", Elias Amidon says of the Bush administration.
Amidon and his wife, Rabia Elizabeth Roberts, spent three months in Iraq in the fall and winter of 2002-03. The co-directors of the Boulder Institute for Nature and the Human Spirit held anti-war protests there - hanging banners saying to bomb this site is a war crime from a hospital, for instance. And they wrote about what was happening in that country in e-mails to friends and supporters.
Amidon, 62, hasn t been to Iraq since February 2003. "It s too dangerous", he said.
Instead, he's traveled to other parts of the Middle East, including Syria, Iran, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. He's working on the Abraham Path Initiative, an effort to develop a walking trail through the Middle East following the path of the prophet who was considered the father of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The idea is to build respect and understanding among people of different faiths, as well as bring tourism money to the area.
Today, Amidon is as frustrated as anyone over the situation in Iraq. "The planned troop increase indicates a level of isolation, as well as a continued insistence on resolving conflict through confrontation", he says.
He'd prefer to see U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq and replaced by an international peacekeeping force. Peace talks should include Syria, Iran, and even al-Qaeda, he believes.
Despite the troop increase, Amidon is heartened by the growing opposition to the conflict.
"What I'm pleased about is the level of intelligent inquiry with which people are coming out now. I wonder where they've been."
posted by Carol at 8:37 AM
3 Comments:
Carolyn was the Shepard who led me back to the power and bliss of civil disobedience. She reminded me that CD is not about choice.
Those of us take that route..know we have no choice..it is what we must do..Today I will be outside Senator Salazar's office as those who have no choice will be led out in cuffs.
Carolyn is the person with the flashlight...on a mountain trail...after sunset..
Peace/Dance/CD
...nogo postal
Carol - Just wishing you well - Have a good weekend, God willing.
"What I'm pleased about is the level of intelligent inquiry with which people are coming out now. I wonder where they've been."
Beautiful!
I've missed your blog, I was MIA for awhile. Glad to find you again! Peace.
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