Our humble thoughts as Americans who are peace and justice activists is below.

For those readers who are subjects of the Queen, and/or understand the monarchy better than we do, you may want to attend the Occupy London event on June 3rd, and/or read these articles from the English press:

from The Newser
Anti-Monarchists Gear Up to Derail Queen’s Jubilee

from The Independent UK
The case for a republic is as strong now as it has always been

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On this Diamond Jubilee weekend, the (whimsical) Duke and Duchess of Peace call for an alternative to monarchy

The Duke and Duchess of Peace

Peace Couple was born partly out of this idea: In our current culture of war and militarism, institutions such as the monarchy are used to gloss over war, and to co-opt the powerful energy of community story-telling towards a constant background banter for accumulated wealth and constant war.

So, while we wish Queen Elizabeth well as a person, we are not excited to see the English Monarchy — an institution of royalty, power, and privilege descending from the happenstance of birth — still existing in our world.

Also, we think Americans should not be sucked into the publicity stunt that the English government and aristocracy foist upon the English people with royal events. If you as a foreigner don’t want to critique the antiquated, undemocratic institution of the monarchy, at least don’t promote it or buy the memorabilia plates.

The AP story about the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is ludicrous. It states, “[Queen] Elizabeth herself has no political role.”

To say that the Queen has no political role is exactly the hogwash that the current powers-that-be would like the masses to believe. Come on, it is ridiculous not to notice the power that the King or Queen of England have. For one, after elections, it is the royal head of state who officially asks the Prime Minister to call a government together. The duty seems mostly ceremonious. Though, what a bully pulpit. Imagine the Queen decided not to make the request? It is a piece of potential, political energy that could, of course, be used that one time it might be needed.

And, there are so many other, subtle and not so subtle ways that the royal family and the royal head of state influence politics. One way is the power of the social sphere. When the people your role allows you to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with in ceremonies, bestow honors on, and wine and dine with, are top political and military leaders, of course, you will shape the direction of the Empire.

In addition, just having a title of royalty gives someone a celebrity and an authority which causes them to become models for everything from values, to manners, to fashion. Instead of using this power for a greater good, the royal family at best, uses it to promote big business, and at worst, to support the military at every opportunity. One example is how Prince William wore his military uniform on his wedding day.

Of course, another problem with the entire aristocracy is all the accumulated wealth that comes with the unfair inheritance system of Primogeniture.

In our country, people such as Warren Buffet, Ralph Nader, and Michael Moore have implored the wealthiest people to turn their eyes to ways that they can donate money and shape the world towards justice. Imagine if The Queen of England used her voice and her influence to address problems of wealth inequality, unfair inheritance laws, and over-militarism? Let the Queen show up at Occupy London. Now, that would be a reason for a cheery blog post and a Queen Elizabeth memorabilia plate.

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Background:

For Americans who want to consider studying this issue, a note on terminology: “Republicans” in England, are people who critique or want to end the monarchy. Though, the concept of “Republican” comes from a certain tradition. There are also other English, anti-monarchists who may not identify as Republicans.

(excerpt from) The Newser
Anti-Monarchists Gear Up to Derail Queen’s Jubilee

Not everyone in Britain is thrilled beyond words about Queen Elizabeth’s big diamond jubilee on Saturday: Somewhere between 22% and 50% of Britons are estimated to be anti-monarchist, and with a tough austerity program rocking Britain’s economy, many anti-austerity protesters are teaming up with republicans to demonstrate against the flashy (and costly) celebrations of Britain’s second-longest serving monarch ever, reports the Guardian. Yesterday, 400 people gathered for an “alternative jubilee street party” outside the deputy prime minister’s home…

Related article at Peace Couple:
Royal Tour: The Duke and Duchess sing a hymn against tyranny
July 1, 2011

Related article at Peace Couple:
Royal Rant: Critique of the monarchy
June 30, 2011

Related article at Peace Couple:
Royal Rants: Coverage of protesters to the other royal tour
July 2 2011

Related article at Georgiana Circle: Women Healing History blog:
The present, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, and titles
September 12, 2010

Two thoughts:

One way to change the ch’i energy is with music. So, two videos below. One with the peaceful, joyful energy of friends drumming, and the other with the peaceful, soulful energy of meditation music.

The second video also reminds us of this Memorial Day idea: If we honor those who gave their lives for war, when do we honor those who gave their lives (and time, and energy, and heart and soul) for peace?

Hope you will be attending some Memorial Day events in you neighborhood, and bringing a message of peace and no more war. On Long Island, you can attend the Memorial Day Parade in Bellport*, and be present with the South Country Peace Group.

In the above video, Premik Russell Tubbs dedicates his beautiful music to folks who have worked for peace: some with music, some with community activism, and some with spirituality. Musician, Alice Coltrane; Musician, Michael Breckner; Community Organizer, Susan June Blake; Musician and Community Organizer, Lisa Fishbein; and spiritual leader, Sri Chinmoy.

________________________________

South Country Peace Group urges you to be a
Presence for Peace
at the
Memorial Day Parade
Bellport, Long Island, NY
Monday, May 28th, 2012
11am

Location: Community Center on Bell Street and Bellport Lane – meet at 10:45am
Call (631) 286-5879 for additional information

(Please note: signs and banners are not permitted by the parade sponsor.)

Walt Whitman is one of my favorite poets. I like to remember his birthday, which is on May 31st, and falls on a Thursday this year. There are some events and celebrations around this time at the Walt Whitman Birthplace in Long Island. And, my idea for a holiday to this beloved, transcendentalist, nature poet is to set aside 15 minutes on his birthday to celebrate silence.

More about a silent celebration of Walt Whitman’s birthday:

Celebrate Walt Whitman: Listen To The Waves

Walt Whitman, was born close by to me in West Hills, Town of Huntington, Long Island, New York. For me, Whitman has become a touchstone for something more than just beautiful poetry. I first discovered Walt Whitman for myself when he was quoted in a sermon at an interfaith church in Virginia. Then, a bookstore colleague of mine read with me from Leaves of Grass, and I was awakened to this powerful voice of self, universe, and nature, combined. Since then, I have come to realize Whitman’s amazing gifts as poet, as political figure, as reshaper of language, as prophet, as loving brother, and as complicated and beautiful a person who ever lived.

Whitman’s sense of self and his poetry are effused with a love and connection to nature. In the book, From Noon to Starry Night, by Philip Callow, I relished images of Whitman sitting on a hillside near his family home in West Hills and listening to the sounds of the waves. Whitman credited this constant backdrop of Long Island’s pulsing waters for the subtle rhythm in the new poetic language he invented. And, as a good transcendentalist, he had a genuine passion for the sea, the sun, and the earth over material goods.

As I considered what Walt Whitman has meant to me, and what I know he could mean to many other artists, I thought of a new way to immortalize him…a kind of transcendentalist’s holiday.

On Walt Whitman’s birthday – each May 31st – every person and business (especially those on Long Island) should observe 15 minutes of silence.

We could stop mowing our lawns, stop driving our cars, click off our cellphones, turn off all buzzes and drones of machinery, and just listen. Listen to the silence that enfolds us again in the embrace of nature. Listen to the silence that inspires us to art and poetry. Listen to the heartbeat of the waves which, in Walt’s time, you could hear from every point on the island.

“Listen To The Waves” essay by Kimberly Wilder. Please feel free to repost with credit given. Or, write your own proposal for a Walt Whitman birthday celebration.

___________________________________________

Some information on the science (and importance) of silence can be found here:
www.acousticecology.org/

A definition and some thoughts on Free Verse (a style which includes Whitman’s new, poetic language):
Free Verse entry at Wikipedia

Bonus Video:

If you love Walt Whitman like I do, you may be amused by the whimsical video below. It was taped at a Walt Whitman birthday celebration at the WWBA/Walt Whitman Birthplace Association. It includes several Walt Whitman impersonators.

“Peace Is Possible” is the Peace Song of the Day for May 20, 2012. This song was created by Fre Atlast and Victoria Christgau.

The Duke and Duchess would like to dedicate this song to NATO, the NATO demonstrators, and the people of Chicago on this dramatic day of discussions about war and peace. The big march for today, Sunday May 20th, started at 2pm from Grant Park/Chicago. Info and details at Occupy Chicago: here.

More about the video and the NATO summit in Chicago at the readmore…

“Peace is Possible” is part song and part chant. It has been performed as part of workshops and celebrations to study nonviolence. It has been used since 2003 to teach the 6 Principles of Kingian Nonviolence (philosophies of nonviolence presented by Martin Luther King, Jr.).

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Some Information and Reflections on the NATO meeting, the NATO demonstrators, and the effect of the demonstrations.

Often, people wonder if demonstrations are having any effect. Some of the reasons for demonstrations are: To raise public awareness about problems such as war; to shape the public discourse; to affect the agenda being discussed by leaders; and to solve the problem entirely (ie: end the war.)

With this in mind, it is interesting and heartening that there is a headline today that seems to specifically “give the demonstrators what they want”. A BBC headline featured at Google News is “Nato summit to discuss withdrawal from Afghanistan” Unfortunately, when you read it closer, you see that it is not truly monumental. They are only suggesting that NATO is discussing an already suggested timeline to withdraw by 2014. So, the headline is something of an empty promise that seems to address a concern and alleviate angst, without true substance. But, at least the concern was heard and met with attention (and/or rhetoric.)

Also, important to remember, is that while the discussion and demonstrations happen, the war rages on. So, it should bring all sides down to earth again to note that two soldiers and two children were killed today in Afghanistan. From an AFP story:

Two NATO soldiers were killed in an attack in Afghanistan Sunday as alliance leaders gathered in Chicago for a summit dominated by plans to pull troops out of the Afghan war.
-

Two children also died and several civilians were wounded as a suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy in Tirin Kot…
-

At least 162 troops with NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have died in Afghanistan this year, according to an AFP count based on the website icasualties.org.
-

More than 3,000 have been killed since the US led an invasion to topple the Taliban regime in late 2001…

In the United States, as in other countries around the world, demonstrators are not always met with justice and wisdom by the government and police. In Chicago, there were two instances of what seem to be unfair “round-ups” of possible, potential demonstrators. People are calling one set of such demonstrators “The NATO 3″. It appears that the young men may have had a desire to protest in a totally nonviolent manner (one of them was preparing to be a medic for the event). In addition, the National Lawyers Guild points out that it is totally inappropriate to charge them with terrorism. There is a story at Firedoglake: here.

The United States must embrace demonstrations, the petitioning of government, and nonviolent protest. For police to harass demonstrators — and other travelers — in the lead-up to an event like NATO is wrong, and counterproductive to peace, freedom and democracy.

The Duke and Duchess of Peace offer wishes of hope, trust, accountability, nonviolence, peace, and compassion to the NATO participants, the NATO demonstrators, the Chicago politicians, and the Chicago Police on this important day.

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Donna Summer passed away today. We found a song she sang about peace, and are making it the Peace Song of the Day.

“Let There Be Peace”
Dedicated to the memory of
Donna Summer, born LaDonna Adrian Gaines
Born: Dec 31, 1948
Died: May 17, 2012

Excerpt from lyrics:

Someone let communication out the door
Someone decided it’s worth fighting for…
*

For every boy and every girl
Let there be love
All over the world
For everyone
Under the sun…

Let there be peace on earth…
*

We’re running out of time
As our leaders roll the dice
The human spirit cries…

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More Daily Peace Songs at our
Daily Peace Song tab: here

The Peace Song of the Day is a project of Duke Augustus and Duchess Susanna, The Duke and Duchess of Peace. The Duke and Duchess recognize that one of the paths to peace is to find soulful and nonviolent entertainment, and to express oneself with art and song.

Jello Biafra‘s “Attack of the Peacekeepers” is the Peace Song of the Day for May 16th.

This choice is somewhat unusual for our Peace Couple daily project, because it is punk rock, a little too fast for most campfire singers, and has quite an edge of sarcasm. Though, NATO will meet in Chicago, and this song is an interesting way to think about the facts of peace, war, and military strategy.

This song is from the 1980′s. It alludes to the way that NATO made us believe we needed their bombs and military might to ward off the Soviets and East Germany. It is interesting to realize how the Soviet and East German threats truly faded away. And, it might be interesting to update this song with verses about the fake war on terrorism.

Sample lyrics and more info on the Chicago demonstrations at the readmore…

At OccupyWallSt.org, you can find a huge schedule of nonviolent, activist events surrounding the May 20th and May 21st 2012 NATO meeting in Chicago. Sunday, May 21st will be the big peace march.

For more links and information about the NATO demonstrations in Chicago, see our post: How do people who cherish peace respond to the NATO summit in Chicago?

(excerpt from)
Attack of the Peacekeepers
by Jello Biafra
*
Remember -
NATO is here to protect you
With nuclear bombs
That come to visit
And decided to stay
*
Chorus
*
Attack!
Attack!
Of the peacekeepers
Attack!

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More Daily Peace Songs at our
Daily Peace Song tab: here

The Peace Song of the Day is a project of Duke Augustus and Duchess Susanna, The (whimsical) Duke and Duchess of Peace. These songs exemplify nonviolence, and are usually chosen with singability in mind. We present lots of folk music. Though, in the spirit of diversity and spicing things up, we have also included opera, jazz, and punk rock!

A collection of links and articles related to work being done by activists in Chicago, to nurture peace and nonviolence, as NATO meets in Chicago, on May 20th and 21st.

The big march will be:
5/20/2012 Sunday starting at 2pm from Grant Park/Chicago
(with cultural and lead-up activities starting at 11am)

at OccupyWallSt.org
#ChicagoSpring: Occupy NATO May 12-21 Full Schedule

commentary at In These Times
As Chicago Prepares For NATO, Four Ways That Demonstrators Can Win
(including very specific comments and strategies for the peace movement)

news at Rockford Register
Activists Hold Own Chicago Summit Before NATO
(A May 13th story with updates of meetings and attendance)

news at Chicago Tribune
A Time For Peace, Pastors Say

ongoing coverage at Democracy Now!
And, Democracy Now on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/search/democracynow
or
@democracynow

To follow events on Twitter, you can use:
#ChicagoSpring
#NoNATO

The website for Occupy Chicago is:
www.occupychi.org

_____________________________________

Here at Peace Couple we will post updates on peace activism in Chicago.

The fifteenth chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace contains Rajendra Prasad‘s 1963 essay  The Way to Disarmament.  Like the recently discussed writings by Merton, Fromm, and Muste, finding the path to peace through disarmament is the focus of Prasad’s  essay. Dr. Prasad spent his life working for Indian independence and was the first President of the Republic of India. He wrote the essay a year before he died.

Prasad decries the technological advance of warfare. He found that this “misuse” of science and techonolgy vastly increased the scale of human life that was destroyed, and seperated the destructive act from the realization that human life was being taken.  His discussion is immediately relevant to the use of drones to murder today. Prasad looks to his contemporaries for guidance on how to move foraward”

This is what Mahatma Gandhi meant when he said that ultimate nonviolence was only safe defense not only for the individual but for nations.  

Prasad did not expect all of humanity to adopt Gandhi’s nonviolent principles, as he had done.

Our objective is a limited one — namely, the cessation of all nuclear tests, banning of nuclear weapons and total disarmament.

Caption: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (left), Rajendra Prasad (Centre) and Bhulabhai Desai (right) at the AICC Session. April 1939

Because of the scale of the effect of the weapons of amss destruction, Prasad finds that it is no longer just a dispute between two isolated parties, current and future generations on a planet-wide scale are at risk.  There is no defense against nuclear war, only rettaliation, which would spread the planet-wide effects.

Like Merton and Fromm, he finds that continuing to depend on increasing amounts of nuclear weapons while hoping for peace, is insane.  Prasad, too, finds that only only solution is to step into a new paradigm.

The cure for fear, Mahatma Gandhi taught us, is faith,  for suspicion sincerity, and for distrust, trust.

Prasad dissects the problem with piecemeal movement toward disarmament.  Often one parties proposal to institute a freeze against new weapons, testing, or a certain type of weapon is just way to lock in place the advantage one side has over the other.

The straightest and simplest way to break through this viscous cycle would be for all powers to abjure the use of force altogether, and for this abjuration would have to be reflected in their domestic policies.

Prasad calls on the countries of the world for one to be the first to unilaterally disarm.  He specially calls out his own India as a country that should lead the way based on its creation through nonviolence. Prasad turns again to Gandhi to emphasize that India’s history does not mean it will reach disarmament first nor does it excuse the other nations from the possibility of leapfrogging forward to disarmament.

Though Prasad is not under any illusion that disarmament will happen in a single step, he emphasizes that the only path is “unadulterated nonviolence”  He sees no room for “compromise” on that principle, palliatives or expediency.  There is no lesser evil when it comes to violence nor the excuse that the “perfect is the enemy of the good.”

A plan for nonviolent defense, however, can have as its object only the preservation of of a way of life that is based on honest industry, and the right to enjoy in full the fruit of such industry, coupled with equality and individual freedom, not a way of life based on exploitation, inequality, class distinction, class pride and class rule.

Prasad contrasts the inability of nuclear weapons to preserve any “way of life” except its “extinction”  with the numerous successes of nonviolent movements in the 20th century. He argues that the only way to fight the “terrorism” of nuclear weapons is to refuse to submit to them.  Prasad gives India’s own history as the example.  the British knew they could continue with their violence, but they could no longer count on it generating submission.

Prasad returns to Gandhi’s own statements on nuclear weapons.  He found that nonviolence was the only response, and hope of avoiding humanity’s “suicide”.

Related articles

• Merton: The Root of War is Fear (peacecouple.com)
• Fromm: Unilateral Nuclear Disarmament (peacecouple.com)
• Nonviolence: Muste’s Getting Rid of War (peacecouple.com)

“Woke Up This Morning With My Mind On Freedom” is the Peace Song of the Day for May 8th.

Sample lyrics and more about this song choice at the readmore…

Can you have peace without freedom? Probably not. (So, let’s all start thinking about recent developments in America, such as the passage of the NDAA with indefinite detention provisions, and the recent Supreme Court decision on strip searches.)

You can find chords and lyrics to “My Mind Set On Freedom” in the Rise Up Singing songbook, and also in the book, We Shall Overcome: Song of the Southern Freedom Movement, compiled by Guy and Candie Carawan for SNCC. It is drawn from traditional music, with additions by Reverend Osby of Aurora, IL and Robert Zellner.

Above is the video we found of vocalist Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock singing this song on the sidewalk with a group of occupiers.

__________________________________________

Sample lyrics
Woke Up This Morning With My Mind On Freedom

I woke up this mornin’ with my mind
My mind, it was stayed on freedom
I woke up this mornin’ with my mind
My mind, it was stayed on freedom

I woke up this mornin’ with my mind
My mind, it was stayed on freedom
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah

Walkin’ and talkin’ with my mind
My mind, it was stayed on freedom
Walkin’ and talkin’ with my mind
My mind, it was stayed on freedom

I was walkin’ and talkin’ with my mind
My mind, it was stayed on freedom
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah…

Walk, walk, walk, walk,
Walk, walk, walk, walk,
(With my mind on freedom)

Talk, talk, talk, talk,
Talk, talk, talk, talk,
(With my mind on freedom)
Hallelujah…

Additional lyrics by Ysaye Barnwell for Occupy:
“And we’re here to occupy…”

Some additional lyrics by Reverend Osby and SNCC:
“Ain’t no harm to keep your mind…”
and
“Doin’ the twist with my mind…”

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More Daily Peace Songs at our
Daily Peace Song tab: here

The Peace Song of the Day is a project of The Duke and Duchess of Peace, who recognize that the path to peace also includes ideas of freedom, justice, and harmony with the earth.

The fourteenth chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace contains Thomas Merton‘s 1962 essay  The Root of War is Fear.  As we have seen in the essays by Muste, Day, Addams, Gandhi, and Penn, religious conviction can be a great motivator to speak out for pacifism. Adopting the contemplative life of a monk, seems to have propelled Merton outward into addressing war and violence.

The title of Merton’s essay remind me of what the Duchess always says, “That which is not love, is fear.”   Like Fromm’s essay of the prior week, Merton diagnoses the especially American idea that the only way to peace is through nuclear war as being a form of mental illness.

Merton immediately questions what is a Christian to do in a world where violence is considered to be the only answer. He quickly turns aside the choices of resigning oneself to the inevitability of the situation, using it as a reason to preach Apocalypse, or celebrating a nuclear victory over Atheist Communism.Merton finds there is only one appropriate response for a Christian:

That task is to work for the total abolition of war.

Merton sounds a call for all Christians to make their opposition to war and violence to be their prime activity, and to live by the principles of peace and nonviolence.

Merton traces the turn to violence as a rootlessness based in a loss of faith in God:

At the root of all war is fear, not so much the fear men have of one another as the fear they have of everything.

Merton finds that it is an unspeakable hatred of ourselves that causes us to hate others.  We exaggerate their wrongs in order to disassociate ourselves from our wrongs. Such dissonance breeds violence as the only tool available to resolve our dilemma.  We rationalize by destroying the other, we will free ourselves from our self-hatred. Merton is most frightened by the reality that the world powers have institutionalized this psychopathy.

Merton finds the only way back to sanity and peace is to recognize the good and evil in all of us.  That means accepting that some of our ideas are illusions and that some our enemies ideas are motivated by good.   He answers those that say we can only act if we believe in our righteousness, that we can only come to peace if we recognize that all of us have a piece of the answer and can only find the total solution by “working together.”

Merton turns to the power of prayer to move humanity in the right direction.  He does not expect it will turn the morals of those in power.  Merton merely hopes they will prevented committing a “fatal error.”  He looks to God to teach people to love each other, even if they consider the other to be evil.

For only love — which means humility — can exorcise the fear which is at the root of all war.

Merton questions why why mark our postage with the phrase “pray for peace” while spending billions on weapons.  He questions what we really believe in if the atheistic communists build the same weapons we do.  He does not question the power of prayer when it bolsters our actions, but questions what we are really praying for when our actions contradict our prayers.

It may make sense for a sick man to pray for health and then take medicine, but I fail to see any sense at all in his praying for health and then drinking poison.

Merton’s prayer for peace is not only for the “Russians and Chinese” to turn away from making war, but more over for his own country to do so also. But he finds that none of them really want peace at all.

To some mean peace merely means the liberty to exploit others without fear of retaliation or interference.

Merton finds that people are baffled why their prayers for peace are answered by war.  He finds that God has answered their prayers with what they asked for.  They meant war when they asked for peace, and they got it.

If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed –but hat these things in yourself, not in another.

Related articles

• Fromm: Unilateral Nuclear Disarmament (peacecouple.com)
• Nonviolence: Muste’s Getting Rid of War (peacecouple.com)
• Camus’ Neither Victims nor Executioners: The World Speeds Up(peacecouple.com)
• Camus’ Neither Victims nor Executioners: Toward Sociability (peacecouple.com)
• Camus’ Neither Victims nor Executioners: A New Social Contract(peacecouple.com)
• War, Peace and Sunshine: Peace Song for 3/12/2012 (peacecouple.com)
• Albert Camus’ Neither Victims nor Executioners: The Self-Deception of Socialists(peacecouple.com)
• Camus’ Neither Victims nor Executioners: Parody of Revolution (peacecouple.com)
• Wallace’s Are We Only Paying Lip Service to Peace? (peacecouple.com)