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Richard Czaplinski: What kind of peace?

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    Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace, Chapter 57 | Richard Czaplinski | Veterans For Peace

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Richard Czaplinski, of Warren, a U.S. Navy veteran who is the recently elected president of Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace, Chapter 57.

“I’m for peace, but not your kind of peace.”

So said a man as he came up close to me while I led the Vermont Veterans For Peace “Budget Banner” down State Street during the July 3 Montpelier parade. My mind went somewhat blank, not even thinking of responding. As we continued down the street, my mind began working again, thinking, questioning; “Hmm! Different kinds of peace? What kind of peace is he for? What kind of peace does he think VFP is for? What kind of peace is VFP for?”

Is peace simply the absence of war? Is it a kind of peace when a truce is called yet an “official” end of the war has not been negotiated, like the Korean Conflict.

Is it a kind of peace where the world bristles with nuclear weapons ready to be launched at a moment’s notice? Where nations are afraid to start this “all out” war because of the dire consequences, ending of the world as we know it, in few hours?

Is it a kind of peace that somehow prevails after many are killed, wounded and displaced? Where communities are destroyed, the environment damaged, millions of refugees are created and everyone is exhausted and fearful?

It seems that ever since humans beings have been on the planet, they have battled each other over hunting and grazing grounds, over territories and boundaries. And now, with so many of us (over 7 billion and steadily growing) maybe peace is not possible, at least under the past and present human behaviors and cultural rules that run our societies.

As a veteran (1964-1969) during the Vietnam War era assisting in waging that ill-begotten war, and now, on the front line of fostering peace with Veterans For Peace, I am convinced that fostering peace is much, much harder than waging war. This being the case, more resources are required for fostering peace than for defense and waging war. This is why the Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace (Chapter 57) is marching in parades this year with a message about how unbalanced the 2019 U.S. budget is in this regard. Here are the numbers (taken from https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/budget-fy2019.pdf) that are displayed in vivid color in a 50-foot long banner:

Defense (and War): $686 billion, up 13% from 2017 (43.5 feet of 50)

Veterans Affairs (the Human Costs of Defense and War): $76 billion, up 12% from 2017 (4.8 feet of 50)

Department of State (Diplomacy/Peace): $26 billion, down 26% from 2017 (1.7 feet of 50)

Restoration of Communities And Environment: $00 billion (0 feet of 50)

With our steadily increasing human numbers and the huge problems arising due to those numbers, I’m convinced that we don’t have a chance of avoiding war much less finding a way to lasting peace and abolishing war unless these portions of the 2019 U.S. budget are radically revised to support diplomacy and to foster peace.

This is why we march this year with this message. We need to hear each other, try to understand each other and work with each other to foster peace and avoid war. We need to learn how to foster peace.

Please join us and support us in delivering this message and in fostering peace.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2018/07/11/richard-czaplinski-kind-peace/

 

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Counter-recruitment and the Campaign to Demilitarize Public Schools

Scott Harding and Seth Kershner are the authors of a new book, Counter-recruitment and the Campaign to Demilitarize Public Schools (Palgrave Macmillan). Drawing on dozens of interviews with activists conducted between 2012 and 2014, their book describes the various tactics used to demilitarize public schools in the United States.  They also discuss case studies of successful organizing and advocacy to challenge the presence of military programs in educational settings. For more info, visit: http://www.palgrave.com.

 

 

Veterans For Peace is excited to be
coming to St. Paul for their

33rd Annual Convention,
August 22-26th.


Located at the Intercontinental
St. Paul Riverfront. 
More details to come!


The week will be filled with amazing
workshops, discussions, community
and music.

 

 

Planning is Underway for Armistice Day 2018!

One hundred years ago the world celebrated peace as a universal principle.  The first World War had just ended and nations mourning their dead collectively called for an end to all wars.  Armistice Day was born and was designated as “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated."

After World War II, the U.S. Congress decided to rebrand November 11 as Veterans Day. Honoring the warrior quickly morphed into honoring the military and glorifying war. Armistice Day was flipped from a day for peace into a day for displays of militarism.

Find out more

Visit the Demilitarize Our Schools Facebook Group

The Demilitarize Our Schools group is a community organizing site for activism to intervene in the growing cultural militarism being promoted in our public schools. Please limit postings to information and developments that directly relate to counter-recruitment and school demilitarization organizing.

This site is sponsored by The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (http://nnomy.net/), the Stop Recruiting Kids Campaign (http://srkcampaign.org/), Project on Youth & Non-Military Opportunities (http://www.projectyano.org/), and Veterans for Peace (http://www.veteransforpeace.org/)

Go there Now

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The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) is supported by individual contributions and a grant by the Craigslist Charitable Fund - 2021 Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. NNOMY websites are hosted by The Electric Embers Coop.

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  • Home
  • Who are we?
    • National counter-recruitment network forming (2003)
    • Committee and Staff
    • Contact NNOMY
    • Register for full resources access
    • NNOMY Newsletter Archive & Subscription Form
    • NNOMY on Social Media Networks
      • Twitter Followers
    • Subscribe Counter-recrutment activists list
    • Donate to NNOMY
  • What is militarization?
    • How can we counter it?
    • Why does NNOMY matter?
    • The Militarization of U.S. Culture
    • School Militarization
      • By Policy
        • JAMRS
        • No Child Left Behind
      • By Program
        • ASVAB Testing
        • Delayed Entry Program
        • DOD STEM
        • JROTC
        • Mission: Readiness
        • Shooting Ranges
        • and Lead Contamination
  • Resources
    • Classroom Resources
      • Before You Enlist 2018
      • Documentaries/Films
      • Peaceful Career Alternatives
      • Peace Pill Videos
      • Researching Pop Culture & Militarism - Selene Rivas
      • Video Reports
    • Considering Enlisting?
    • Counter-recruitment
      • 2018/9 Back-to-school-Counter-recruitment Kit
      • 2017 VFP Workshop
      • Equal Access
      • Guide to High School Leafleting
      • Opt Out/Student lists
      • Organizing Option 8
      • Recruiter Access
      • School Policies
      • Tabling Alternatives
      • Webinars
    • Educating Activists
      • Glossary of Terms
      • NNOMY Reader
      • Pamphlets/Reports
      • Peace Activism
        • Careers in Peacemaking and Social Change
        • Cultural & Art Activism
        • Cultural & Art Activism / NYC
      • Recent Trends in Military Recruitment
      • Toolkits/guides
      • Webinars
        • Webinars: Countering Military Recruiting in Schools During the Pandemic
        • Workshop - Full Spectrum Counter-Recruitment
    • Downloads
      • NNOMY Bookshelf
    • NNOMY Blog
      • Pat Elder: Military Recruiting in the United States
      • Edward Hasbrouck: Registration Resistance
      • John Judge on Counter-recruitment
      • Article Archive
    • SEARCH
      • Advanced site search
  • Groups & Actions
    • National Directory of Youth Demilitarization Groups
      • NNOMY Groups in Photos
    • Add Your Group
    • Campaigns
      • Divest Your Body Campaign
      • Desinvierta su campaña del cuerpo
      • School Marksmanship Training
      • Winning The Peace
      • VFP/Counter-recruiting
      • Women's March on the Pentagon
        • War: A Women's Issue
        • La guerra: un asunto de mujeres
      • Campaign: A National Call
      • Education for Peace
        • My Education for Peace PDF
    • On Facebook
      • Stop Kids Going to War
      • De-militarizing Youth
      • Sergeant Solomon
      • The Counter-Recruitment Team
      • Demilitarize Our Schools Group
    • NNOMY 2018 Strategy Summit Report
    • Community Action
    • International Networking
    • Social media Outreach
      • Social media Campaign Resources
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