Grass Roots to Global Vision, the Maturing of the Peace Movement
an article by Patrick Hughes

One of the enduring images from the many marches that Planning for Peace has participated in occurred here in Boston. As 40,000 people from all over the state and region wove our way thru the streets of Boston we passed one elderly gentleman leaning on his cane. He was well dressed and he held up a sign. The words simply said " D-Day veteran against war". The crowd cheered wildly. It is that breath and depth of participation that is different about this movement than from the Vietnam Era. At that time the majority of the anti war protesters were young. The Boston march was lead by a strong contingent of Veterans for Peace representing WW II, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm. Behind them were High school students, grand mothers, families and many community groups not unlike ours that felt a diverse voice was needed to correct the direction our country is heading in. Many have said it is the first time they have done something like this.

Planning for Peace grew out of the bus trip organized by a few concerned citizens from the First Parish Church of Groton to the march in New York last February. It has grown to represent the communities of Ayer Groton, Littleton, Harvard and others. The organizers sensed that even if they could not fill all 52 seats it would still be worth it. On the Friday night before we left for New York they were contacting other communities to see if the 16 people we could not fit on the bus could ride with them. By the time we were traveling through Connecticut we were in a line of about 10 bus's. Every rest stop we passed had 40-50 bus's parked that were taking a break from the ride from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont. Rides that had begun at 2 am and by the time we all gathered in New York we numbered 500,000. There was no march but an endless sea of people from all walks of life crowded midtown Manhattan for 30 blocks north and south and 5 boulevards wide (continued)

DISCUSSION

Question(s) related to this article:

Why does this peace movement represent a wider section of society?


How can we know if the culture of peace is advancing?


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MAKING AN EFFECTIVE PEACE MOVEMENT

MAKING AN EFFECTIVE PEACE MOVEMENT

GLOBAL MOVEMENT FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE

LATEST READER COMMENT:

In regard to your question, the answer is: YES, the Culture of Peace is advancing. I manage to overlook the indifference and absolute silence demonstrated by the commercial mass media regarding the Culture of Peace, because what I focus my attention on, here in my microcosm, is:

* the great number of Professors (more than 100) from all the Schools of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and other Greek Universities (University of Thessaly, University of Thrace, etc.), who constantly teach and support the Courses of the UNESCO Chair for the Culture of Peace, since 1993, on a purely voluntary basis, without recompense of any kind

* the students from all the Schools of the A.U.Th., who eagerly choose and attend this demanding Course every academic semester and who claim that this Course Programme is the most valuable learning experience they have had during their studies

* the innumerable teachers of primary and secondary education, from all specialties throughout Greece, who constitute the Greek National Network of Schoolteachers for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence of the UNESCO Chair/A.U.Th. These teachers are our invaluable partners in the promotion of the Culture of Peace in the school classrooms. It is with great imagination, originality and commitment to the Culture of Peace that they organize many commendable activities with their students in the classroom. Every time that I am honored to receive Reports of their work, apart from my satisfaction and admiration, I feel certain that the Culture of Peace is in the rights hands.

And these are only some of my sources of strength and optimism. So, what do we really need the mass media for? Let them go on with their significant work.. . ...more.

This report was posted on June 24, 2003. The moderator is Tony.

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