Memorial Day ramblings

Memorial Day. Sitting here in a favorite café watching as folks stroll in to get a drink and a snack before the parade. Feeling disconnected. I won’t go to the parade. I don’t want the tiny flag to pin to my decidedly not red, white and blue T-shirt. Yes, I want to reflect and honor those that have given life and health in service. But I can’t stomach the celebration of militarism that passes for “remembrance”.

I guess practically every city, and small town has such a parade and has at least one memorial to fallen soldiers. And I guess, it’s good to have statues and parades to remind us that people die in war. But there is more than that. As writer Jose Narosky once said, “In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” With that in mind perhaps Memorial day should be a time to demand we also remember those who did not die. Perhaps the best way to honor those that gave their lives (or had them taken ) is to fight for those that live.

For example; Veterans comprise one-fourth to one-fifth of the homeless population. 131,000 veterans were homeless in 2008. Really want to honor veterans ? Work to end homelessness. Or work for universal health care — including mental health care. An under funded VA, and a reluctance of military leaders to acknowledge PTSD and other war deployment health issues has contributed to an ever increasing amount of substance abuse, suicides and former military men and women in prison.

And we know, that those who sacrifice and lose the most have the least to gain from war. Those who call the shots, are those that benefit the most — and almost always sacrifice and lose the least. It seems we need to also remember that on this memorial day.

As we pause to remember those military men and women who have died let us also remember the civilian deaths. These men, women and children who are victims of wars are no less worthy and no less deserving of a moment to honor their humanity. No matter what their nationality. And the numbers are astounding.

According to a commemorative 2010 Memorial Day Bookmark Veterans For Peace issued

War	U.S. Military Deaths	Civilian Deaths
Revolutionary	25,174	(unavailable)
1812	20,000	(unavailable)
Civil War	620,000	50,000
WWI	116,516	6,458,886
WWII	405,399	36,372,900*
Korean	54,246	1,847,240
Vietnam	58,177	2,000,000**
Iraq	4,254	1,366,350
Afghanistan	1,036	32,969
TOTAL	1,304,802	48,128,345

It seems to me we must never forget these civilian deaths. Each of their lives is precious and sacred.

At the same time, I understand the need to honor the soldiers. To honor the warriors. We pause to honor soldiers each Memorial Day because, regardless of our belief in the immorality of war we honor those women and men because they died for a cause they saw as larger than themselves. No matter whether they became soldiers to take care of their families or lost their lives defending buddies and comrades. No matter if they joined because they were drafted (legally or economically ) or if they believed in the mission, it seems right to reflect on those who lost their lives in this way.

But let us remember also that not all wars are military missions and not all warriors wear a uniform. If memorial day is to honor those that died in the service of their country then those civil rights leaders, and labor leaders and those who have struggled for social change also qualify. Were not those that joined the freedom rides warriors? Were those that fought for an 8 hour work day and the right to form a union any less “in the service of our nation”?

There are so many people who have fought for our rights – fought for “liberty and justice for all” who did not carry guns and weapons into the battlefield but the tools of nonviolence and a willingness to give their safety, their comfort and at times their lives for these causes larger than themselves.

And so this memorial day I take a moment to honor Ferdinando Nicola Sacco, Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Diane Nash, Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk, Dorothy Day, Cesar Chavez, John Lewis, Howard Zinn, Shirley Chisholm, Rosa Parks and so many many more. Many nameless and unknown to our history books, but none the less courageous and inspiring.

With all this in mind, perhaps Memorial Day should really be a day to demand peace and justice, a day to demand an end to a military-industrial complex that eats away nearly half of the nation’s general funds, and along with those dollars so much more. Perhaps Memorial day should be a day to work for an end to the injustices that breed war and to commit to real alternatives to militarism and violence as “a solution”. A day to honor those that came before us and to (as Martin Luther King said so wisely) “rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful struggle for a new world.”

Mothers’ Day Reflections

 

Mothers’ Day has become a great day for florists, card shops, and those who sell lotions, perfumes, and other gifts to “pamper mom”. And don’t get me wrong who doesn’t love flowers, and I’m all about chocolate. Yet the origins of the day run far deeper.

Anna Reeves Jarvis and the women who originally celebrated Mother’s Day saw it as an opportunity to use their status as mothers to protest violence and injustice. In 1858, Anna Reeves Jarvis organized Mother’s Work Days in West Appalachian communities to protest the lack of sanitation and advocate for workers rights. During the Civil War, Jarvis urged women to care for the wounded – no matter which both side they fought for, and afterward she spoke out encouraging all men to stop the violence.

The movement took up momentum when in 1870 Julia Ward Howe a suffragist, abolitionist, pacifist and writer in Boston called for a special day for mothers to oppose war. Motivated by her witness of the bloody civil war she dreamed of the establishment of an international Mothers’ Day Festival dedicated to the cause of nonviolent resolution of conflict and international solidarity among all women.

Her “Mothers’ Day Proclamation” a testament to her witness to war and commitment to ending it.

Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.

Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.

We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.

As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace…
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask  -  That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Mothers’ Day Proclamation: Julia Ward Howe, Boston, 1870

For approximately 30 years Mothers’ day was celebrated on June 2^nd as an day of activism. It was honored as a day to commit to nonviolence and an end to wars. In 1914 – four years after Julia Ward Howe’s death – president Woodrow Wilson capitalized on the success of the movement she, Reeves Jarvis and others had started when he declared the “first national mother’s day:”

Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said Joint Resolution, do hereby direct the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings and do invite the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson)

Sadly, yet not surprising Wilson left out the true spirit of Mothers’ day. Neglecting to mention the spirit of international cooperation and solidarity, ignoring the hard won victories for improved working conditions, protection for children and improvements in sanitation and social welfare. Wilson left out of his proclamation a tribute the ongoing struggles to put an end to lynching, to militarism and other violence

And so today, if you really want to honor mom – in the true spirit of mothers day – get out of the florist and into the streets. March. Rally. Write letters. Support unions that support women.

Yes, unemployed mothers may enjoy flowers, and they also need child care, health care . Mom’s living in poverty might love lotion and perfume. At the same time, what they really need is a living wage. Most mothers I know who also work outside the home might enjoy some chocolate and might love breakfast in bed, and they also need parental leave, and to know their children won’t feel forced to join the military because school is too expensive.

Feel the need to give a gift? – how about a donation in mom’s name to a group working to improve the lives of all women and make this world a bit more peaceful and just?

We can create a Mothers’ Day filled with voices demanding justice and peace. Imagine a Mothers day honoring the work of women all creating a more sustainable future.

After all, the origins of the day demand it. And don’t we owe it to all mothers to make the world a more just and peaceful place for their children?