 |
| JANE ADDAMS (1860-1935) "one of the most prominent reformers of the Progressive Era" |
Dellums, Schroeder Insight at conference “Vietnam: The Power of Protest
● Telling the Truth. ● Learning the Lessons”
Editing, excerpting by
Carolyn Bennett
Beyond mere absence of
war… what if…
American activist
and politician
Former Member of U.S. Congress Ron Dellums
What was “principle for our generation is imperative” for the current
generation “because we know that the price of war is too high. We know that the
price of neglect of the issues that affect the human condition—we do it at our
peril—so that we have a responsibility now to address the imperative.…
“We say to this generation of young people, out of a sense of urgency,
out of a sense of the imperative—You now
must emerge.
“
|
…It is not that this generation does not get it; it’s that they don’t
always hear it. But when they do hear it, they get it, because they listen
carefully. And if I had to bet my last dollar, I would bet it on this
generation of young people, because they’re not carrying the same baggage we
carry; and if they ever stand up, they will change America and change the world
for their children and their children’s children. |
| In photo Schroeder center Dellums far right then |
“‘Peace is more than simply the absence of war; it is the presence of
justice.’ I interpreted that to mean … the peace movement is the ultimate
movement. Peace is the superior idea, that the umbrella movement for—of all
movements; the peace movement because to come together under the banner of
peace forces us to challenge all forms of injustice.
“Peace is more than simply the absence of war—it is the absence of conditions that give rise to war. … If we stayed together, what would the international community look like [today]?
“What would the world look like globally?
 |
| Protests now |
“What would America look like? Would we still be seeing the Baltimore(s), if we had challenged on these issues?
“But it’s not too late.”
Protest with Civility, Maturity
American former
politician and author
Former Member of U.S. Congress
Pat Schroeder
“I think about where we’ve been and where we haven’t been of late…
 |
| More than absence of war Justice for all |
“When people say to me, ‘…but things are different now, because the
issues are so hard’—I keep saying ‘Are you kidding me? We had Vietnam, the 1973
[Israeli-Palestinian] war, impeachment [of former President Richard M. Nixon]; how
many more things can you juggle at one time?’
“
|
 |
| Protests now |
And, yet, we were treating each other, even if we disagreed, with
respect and decency; and debating on the facts.”
Today “I don’t see that [civility, rigor, rationality] at all. I see
name calling, [which] reminds me of the junior high school lunch room. One food
fight after another and it’s very sad.”
 |
| In photo Schroeder center right Protests then |
Peace (anitwar) Movement
mattered then, matters now
 |
| Protests now |
While in the Oval Office President “Nixon said, ‘That peace movement … doesn’t
have anything to do with me; I’m president, and I’m doing what’s right.’ In a
book written after his presidency “he said the peace movement kept him from
escalating the war.”
Schroeder continues.
“Now, none of us want to say anything; but it
really did make a big difference. It made a huge difference. …
“Let’s go out and
get young people thinking about it [the Peace Movement] in the environment we’re
in today…: Iran, and how many people seem to want to go to war with [Iran]…; what
we’ve done in Iraq and Afghanistan….
“We need to spread what we have learned.”
Sources and notes
Jane
Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935): pioneer American settlement
social worker (and founder of the social work profession in the United States),
public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in women's suffrage and
world peace. “In an era when presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow
Wilson identified themselves as reformers and social activists—Addams was one of the most prominent reformers of the
Progressive Era. She helped turn America to issues of concern to mothers,
such as the needs of children, local public health, and world peace. She said
that if women were to be responsible for cleaning up their communities and
making them better places to live, they needed to be able to vote to do so
effectively.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Addams
“Vietnam: The
Power of Protest ● Telling the Truth. ● Learning the Lessons” May 1 -
May 2 event in Washington D.C.: weekend gathering commemorating “the Vietnam Antiwar
Movement,” addressing unlearned critical lessons of that war, and building
opposition to today’s contemporary wars ● Featured speakers and performers: Phyllis
Bennis, Julian Bond, Ron Kovic, Ron Dellums, Amy Goodman, Tom Hayden, Holly
Near, Pat Schroeder, Susan Schnall and Peter Yarrow; a march to the Martin
Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall.
http://vietnamfulldisclosure.org/index.php/event/vietnam-the-power-of-protest-telling-the-truth-learning-the-lessons/
“Former Congressman
Ron Dellums: Organizing for Peace Forces Us to Challenge All Forms of Injustice,”
Monday May 25, 2015, http://www.democracynow.org/2015/5/25/former_congressman_ron_dellums_organizing_for
Ronald Vernie (Ron)
Dellums: American activist, veteran, politician, born of labor organizers,
native of Oakland, California, where he also served as mayor (2007-2011) and
held positions on the Berkeley City Council; elected to thirteen terms (1971-1998)
as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Northern California’s 9th
Congressional District after which he worked as a lobbyist in Washington D.C. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Dellums
“Former Rep. Pat Schroeder:
The Peace Movement Made ‘Huge Difference’ in Ending Vietnam War,” Monday
May 25, 2015, http://www.democracynow.org/2015/5/25/former_rep_pat_schroeder_the_peace
Patricia (Pat)
Nell Scott Schroeder: American former politician who represented
Colorado in the United States House of Representatives (1973–1997). She had
also been On the National Labor Relations Board (1964-1966), attorney for Planned
Parenthood and a public school teacher in Denver. In her position as member of
the U.S. Congress she was involved in reform of that body— “working to weaken
the long-standing control of committees by their chairs, sparring with Speaker Carl
Albert over congressional ‘hideaways,’ and questioning why Congress members who lived
in their offices should not be taxed for the benefit.” Schroeder served on the
House Armed Services Committee and was a major supporter of the Family and
Medical Leave Act of 1993 and the Military Family Act of 1985. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Schroeder
A lifelong American writer and writer/activist (former academic and staffer with the U.S. government in Washington), Dr. Carolyn LaDelle Bennett is credentialed in education and print journalism and public affairs (PhD, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; MA, The American University, Washington, DC). Her work concerns itself with news and current affairs, historical contexts, and ideas particularly related to acts and consequences of U.S. foreign relations, geopolitics, human rights, war and peace, and violence and nonviolence. Dr. Bennett is an internationalist and nonpartisan progressive personally concerned with society and the common good. An educator at heart, her career began with the U.S. Peace Corps, teaching in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Since then, she has authored several books and numerous current-affairs articles; her latest book: UNCONSCIONABLE: How The World Sees Us: World News, Alternative Views, Commentary on U.S. Foreign Relations; most thoughts, articles, edited work are posted at Bennett’s Study: http://todaysinsightnews.blogspot.com/ and on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/08UNCONSCIONABLE/prweb12131656.htm http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000757788/UNCONSCIONABLE.aspx Her books are also available at independent bookstores in New York State: Lift Bridge in Brockport; Sundance in Geneseo; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center in Buffalo; Burlingham Books in Perry; The Bookworm in East Aurora
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