Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Peace
On this day, when we honor those who died in war, perhaps it is appropriate to address the subject of peace.
On November 6th I participated in the Blog Blast for Peace. Mimi, who hosts this peace movement, tells us that this time there was a participant from Japan. He called himself Jumping Neko Punch. I believe there is a language problem here, at least for me. I do not really understand that name. Nor do I understand his theme: Cats Save the World? But I definitely understand that he translated for us Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.
It reads as follows:
1.) Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
2.) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land sea and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.
Can you imagine what it would mean if all nations possessed a constitution like that one?
He also designed a video to go with his Peace Globe. When Mimi asked him to clarify what he had written, he even designed an English blog for us. If you would like to see it, and to see the video, please use this link: an English blog
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9 comments:
Hello !
Thank You for this text and link...
"Don't forget, not again !"
Have a nice day...
Thank you for posting about this. I was blown away by his video and offering for peace day. It was really special to me. Once again we prove that we are all peacemakers at heart.
I don't understand the cats, but interesting! I am going to have to think hard about what does that cat theme mean?
Amen to Mimi's comment
:-Daryl
Gratitude and a commitment to peace - the best way to honor those who gave so much.
*sigh*
Whatever happened to "speak softly but carry a big stick?" Now we just wave the stick around - seemingly randomly!
Ah, well. We just have to hope that one day, organizations like the UN will be strong enough to do their jobs!
Peace to you!
And peace to all...one day...soon. I hope so very much.
Thanks. As I read your post this morning, I’m reminded of the Bill to establish a Department of Peace in the USA that The Peace Alliance & others have been trying to get passed in Congress for years. It proposes using 1% of our ‘Defense’ budget to bring a ‘voice for peace’ to the Cabinet, something that sounds reasonable to me. I recall attending a meeting of a group called Peace Now in the 1970s … and what stayed with me was a quote from Einstein declaring ‘war as obsolete’ in a world where we can destroy ourselves and one another. They used the analogy of 12 people sitting together in a room filled with containers of gasoline where each possessed a book of matches. Just think about that for a minute. More than 30 years have passed since that day … and we’re engaged in foolhardy wars on two fronts … spending money we don’t have faster than we can count … enmeshed in financial chaos … hoping President-elect Obama will bring the change he promises. When will we learn to take responsibility for creating peace within ourselves … with our families and friends … in our communities and our nation? Methinks it needs to be bottom up rather than top down … in my humble opinion.
Hugs and blessings,
Cats? Gosh... I've no idea. My mother mentioned the constitution to me once explaining that people were resistant to American politicians wanting them to take up arms again to protect themselves from China, Korea or other Asian nations that might harm them.
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