Eyes Wide Open War Exhibit in Grants Pass 9-11
Larry Morningstar/Barry Snitken for Eyes Wide Open, 09.09.2006 23:22
Grants Pass alone has lost more than $12 million to this un-ending conflict; money our community could have better spent on our libraries, schools, health care and infrastructure.
Eyes Wide Open: Cost of War Exhibit opens at 4pm on Monday, September 11 at One Eleven Evelyn and closes at 9pm on Tuesday, September 12. It is free to the public.
The exhibit -- sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee and the Social Justice Alliance of Josephine County -- is a living memorial to Oregon military personnel and all civilians killed in Iraq -- and a stark reminder of the human cost of war.
You are invited to make prayer flags at the exhibit for those killed in the Iraq War. These will be sent along with the exhibit on its tour of Oregon. Prayer flag material will be available for people to make their own as well as materials to send individual letters to elected representatives. For more information contact Barry Snitkin at 541-592-2693.
Experience an interactive display on the Cost of The Iraq War to Oregon's communities. Beyond this unacceptable toll in human lives, Grants Pass alone has lost more than $12 million to this un-ending conflict; money our community could have better spent on our libraries, schools, health care and infrastructure.
Please plan to join the Silent Vigil as we stand at the corner of 6th and Evelyn at 5pm, Monday, September 11. Let's show Grants Pass and Oregon that we in small communities Stand for Peace.
The Reception at 6pm is a finger food pot luck. We're hoping for at least 100 guests, so please bring something to share. Please RSVP to Judy Hoyle (592-4444) or with what you are bringing......Thanks!
At 7pm, Agnes 'TaoWhyWee' Baker-Pilgim will offer her prayer for peace before her own long journey with the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers to have an audience with the Dalai Lama. This will be followed by a showing of Why We Fight, Eugene Jarecki's award winning film which looks deeply at the heart of America's inclination for war. (Watch the trailer - it is great: ).
Following the reception there will be a showing of Why We Fight, Eugene Jarecki’s award winning film which looks deeply at the heart of America's inclination for war.
On Tuesday Sept. 12, the exhibit will open at 2 pm for public viewing again with prayer flag material available for people to make their own as well as to send individual letters to elected representatives.
At 6pm, David Zeiger's film, SirNoSir, which documents the suppressed story of the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam, will be shown.
After the film Sara Rich will speak. Ms. Rich is the mother of Army Spc. Suzanne Swift, who was raped and sexually harassed, suffered a nervous breakdown due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and went AWOL rather than again subject herself to the horrors she experienced during her first tour of duty in Iraq. (Sara is from Southern Oregon.)
The event will end with a candlelight march at 8pm.
"Whether or not we agree about the necessity of the war, we can join in honoring the fallen and grieving their loss," says Pat Shields, tour coordinator. "I also want to emphasize that while American Friends Service Committee opposes this and all wars, we support our troops and want them to come home safely."
September 11
4pm Exhibit opens
5pm Silent Vigil
6pm Reception with Peace Delegation
7pm Film Showing - Why We Fight
http://www.sonyclassics.com/whywefight/
September 12
2pm Exhibit opens
6pm Film Showing - SirNoSir
http://www.sirnosir.com/home_filmtrailers.html
7:30pm Sara Rich (mother of Suzanne Swift)
http://www.suzanneswift.org/
8pm Candlelight March
The exhibit includes:
*60 pairs of boots for each of the 60+ servicemen or women from Oregon who died in this conflict;
*100 Civilian shoes to represent the more than 100,000 Iraqis who have died)
*Contractor hats with labels to represent the 6 civilian contractors from Oregon who have died in Iraq
*1 additional pair of boots (presented with Iraqi shoes);
*Prayer flags with the names of the dead to display
*Artwork by local artists celebrating Peace
Remember, on Monday the Reception is at 6pm. It is a finger food pot luck. Please bring something to share. Please RSVP to Judy Hoyle (592-4444) or with what you are bringing......Thanks!
September 14
Using Immigration Laws to Stop Domestic Violence and Child Victimization
9:30am-Noon
Family Resource Center
223 SE M St. Room 10
There is no charge, but space is limited. Please RSVP with Annamarie Headley, (503) 542-2855 ex. 42 or email
7:00pm
Loose Change
http://www.911details.com/loosechangetrailer.html
"...a slick, witty documentary featuring a hip soundtrack and a rapid-fire assault on nearly every aspect of the "official" story of 9-11."
-Jarret Murphy - Writer for the Village Voice
Community Media Center
140c Redwood Hwy
Cave Junction
How you can help:
1. Bring finger foods for the Monday reception by 5 pm, if possible. (RSVP to Judy Hoyle at with what you are bringing.)
2. Bring banners or prayer flags to display for the vigil and the exhibit.
3. House Pat Shields, the tour coordinator September 10-12.
4. Donate money to Social Justice Alliance to help defray the costs. (address is below)
5. Post a flyer in your neighborhood or at a local store or a public. (email me for a pdf file:
6. Share this with your friends or your email list.
Other Peace Events in September:
September 16 Non Violence Training
2-5pm in Ashland In preparation for the Declaration of Peace Activities from Sept 21-28. For More information and directions call Kayla Starr at 482-4082
September 19 Dance for Peace
6-10 PM at the G Street Supper Club
To Benefit the Depleted Uranium Humanitarian Project for more information contact Marla Benoist at
http://www.info-mission.org/
September 21 7pm showing of SirNoSir at the Community Media Center, 140A Redwood Hwy Cave Junction
September 21-28 DECLARATION OF PEACE
Visit the nationwide Declaration of Peace campaign website for a list of nonviolent civil disobedience and direct actions slated for September 21-28, targeting pro-war members of Congress:
http://declarationofpeace.org/take-action
September 22
7:30 pm: A presentation by Cindy and Craig Corey, the parents of Rachel Corey, the young woman who was mowed down by an Israeli tank in Ramallah two years ago. Newman United Methodist Church, 132 NE B St. Grants Pass. (541-479-5369)
Don't miss this...........
Keith Olbermann as he takes on Rummy:
http://www.truthout.org/multimedia.htm
Sponsored by:
Social Justice Alliance, Grants Pass Peace House, Unitaran Universalist Fellowship of Grants Pass, Applegate Citizen's for Political Change, Grants Pass Veterans for Peace, American Friends Service Committee, Military Families Speak Out-Oregon, Rural Organizing Project.
To volunteer, or for more information, or for a pdf flyer to post, contact Barry Snitkin or 541-592-2693
Social Justice Alliance
POB 2565
Cave Junction, Oregon 97523
"We have it in our power to make the world new again."
~ Thomas Paine ~
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ~
*****
Courtesy of Barry Snitkin
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The Eyes Wide Open: Cost of War Exhibit is on tour and will be in other West Coast towns, including...
Medford on
Sep. 21 - Sep. 22
For details, please visit:
http://www.afsc.org/eyes/
and
Klamath Falls on
Sep. 30 - Oct. 2
For details, please visit:
http://www.afsc.org/eyes/
Please help spread the word and do your piece for peace!
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The Other 9/11: A brief history of Sept 11th ... 1906:
The Birth of Gandhi's Satyagraha Movement A Century of Non-Violence
Note: this segment is excerpted from the current issue of the Peace Times eNewsletter. To receive a free copy of the full newsletter with more info on Gandhi and the Satyagraha Movement, send an email to requesting: "Please send a copy of the current Peace Times."]
From: Tom
Dear friends,
A few days ago I got a flier from the Nonviolent Peaceforce which informed me that September 11th -- especially this year, 2006 -- is a very important date, not primarily because planes crashed into buildings, but because that's when Gandhi started his nonviolence mission 100 years ago. I was amazed. The flier said:
"One hundred years ago Mohandas Gandhi began the movement that would transform him into a Great Soul -- the Mahatma. He had been living in South Africa for 13 years when the government proposed a law that would effectively reduce Indians to criminal status. On September 11th, 1906 he convened a meeting at the Empire Theatre in Johannesburg to mobilize his community to oppose the racially degrading legislation. That September 11th, more than 3000 people solemnly pledged to disobey the proposed law, without the use of violence, despite the consequences. With that pledge, Gandhi and his fellow Indians began the nonviolent revolution that would defeat an empire and give birth to the world's largest democracy."
I can't help wondering: What would happen if, when "9-11" was mentioned, most people thought of "Gandhi" and "Truth Force" (Satyagraha, Gandhi's central practice) instead of "Trade Towers" and "Terrorism"?
Fascinated, I read a bit more on the web about this September 11, 1906 event, and was further surprised to discover that it was a Muslim who brought the spiritual dimension to Gandhi's initially secular plan for peaceful resistance. This spiritual core has informed Martin Luther King, Jr., and thousands of other committed practitioners of nonviolence who credit it to Gandhi.
Below is a good story of what happened, and an introduction to the power of nonviolence as Gandhi practiced it.
As you think about this, notice what a difference it makes what events we choose to celebrate as "history" and which events we choose to ignore. Notice how our cultural stories shape our consciousness....
Coheartedly,
Tom
PS: The Nonviolent Peaceforce folks invite us to celebrate 9-11 working for peace or donating the day's wages to people working for peace. [For info on this, see: ]
http://nvpf.org/np/english/workadayforpeace/index.asp.html
You might also think of creative ways to tell others about this remarkable reframing of this immensely important anniversary.
What a Journey we are on!!
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To Read More, please refer to:
A brief history of September 11, 1906: the Birth of Satyagraha
Adapted by Nonviolent Peaceforce volunteer Derek Mitchell & Nonviolent Peaceforce staff from the writings of Professor Michael Nagler, Professor emeritus and founder of the Peace and Conflict Studies program at University of California, Berkeley.
"During my half-century of experience, I have not yet come across a situation when I had to say ... that I had no remedy in terms of non-violence." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
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Larry Morningstar
Peace Times
mailto:
mana7@spymac.com
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"Peace is its own reward."
~ Mahatma Gandhi ~
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