Expressions From Ellen

by Ellen Finkelstein

An Israeli judge has cleared the Israeli military and state of any responsibility for killing 23-year-old U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie in 2003, ruling it “an accident.” At a press conference Cindy Corrie was asked if her daughter should have moved out of the Caterpillar bulldozer’s way, as the Israeli judge suggested. Her reply: “I don’t think that Rachel should have moved. I think we should all have been standing there with her.”

Artist-activist Holly Near told a story at the Vancouver Folk Festival about a concert last fall in Albany, NY. During intermission she heard that police were going to enforce a curfew that night and dismantle the local Occupy encampment. Holly turned the second set into songs and stories about political action and energized the audience. At the concert’s end, many went directly to the Occupy camp. The curfew came and went, and, in spite of orders, the police made no arrests. The police on-site noted that things were peaceful and the presence of many older people made them feel arrests would incite a riot and that elders might get hurt. Holly said that during the concert she “had spoken about the importance of elders not trying to take over this youth-generated movement but rather learn to stand in support and when needed, step in between young people and harm’s way. Now I could be wrong, but I think the presence of the older people who had been at the concert and who walked down to the park had something to do with keeping the peace.”

How and where do we stand? How can we use what we have to create what we need?

How and where do we stand? How can we use what we have to create what we need? These are some of the critical questions to explore ways as we work to revitalize and energize WWFOR and the broader movement for peace and justice.

I am stimulated and made hopeful each summer by WWFOR’s Peace Activist Trainee program (see page 3). It is the best example of how FOR’s mission and values are re-imagined and made new, of new torches being lit. I am also inspired when we work with Iraq Veterans Against the War and Coffee Strong. The latest collaboration may find some photos from the Bring Our Billions Home campaign on the walls of Coffee Strong. As part of a project, we’ve captured people’s expressions while holding the sign “How I feel about sending wounded soldiers back to war.”

The project was conceived of as an alternative creative way for expressing opinions (Also: How I feel about the huge military budget; How I’d feel about bringing war $$ home for our needs; How I’d feel about ending the wars now; How I’d feel if everyone had Medicare;  How I feel about the jobless economy; How I feel about the big bank bailouts; How I feel about the 1% dodging taxes.) If you want to add your face to the montage, contact the WWFOR office.

From “A Future Not Our Own” by Oscar Romero:

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
Knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities. …

We may never see the end results …
We are prophets of a future not our own.