This weekend, the Sojourners/Call to Renewal intern program traveled to Columbus, Georgia to participate in the annual vigil and nonviolent direct action events to close SOA/WHINSEC. Be sure to check back often this weekend for on-the-ground updates, and let us know through your comments what you think!
SOA/WHINSEC is a tragedy of our military’s recent history. Its connection to atrocities in Latin America warrants 10,000 protesters every year, calling for the school’s reform or closure. But when we walked around the rally and read the t-shirts of groups and individuals, it became apparent to us that there are many participants who focus on additional social issues: Veterans for Peace, Food Not Bombs, Amnesty International and Ten Thousand Villages, just to name a few. What is it that connects the work of the SOA/WHINSEC to these other issues? Is it simply the presence of U.S. military forces that draws opposition? Or is it a greater question of cultural change?
It seems the common message of the groups here at the march is a call for peace. It is a cry for a rejection of the cycle of violence that we commonly see resulting from military action. David Cline, national coordinator for Vietnam Veterans Against War and Veterans For Peace, connects his experience of war in Vietnam with this weekend’s events: “I came back from Vietnam wanting the U.S. to learn something … [and then] seeds of rewriting Vietnam began in Central America.” Veterans for Peace have been part of the SOA protest since its beginning. They are joined by many others who are seeking an alternative way to engage global conflict.
SOA/WHINSEC is also emblematic of a culture of violence that extends beyond the military. It enters our homes, our neighborhoods, and our cities. It is the statistics that we hear on the news about shootings, bomb threats, and fights in our schools. Violence feels inescapable at times. The thousands of people present at this march each year prove that there are many searching for alternatives to a culture where violence is seen as an inevitable “answer” to conflict. This weekend is not just a protest against a single institution, but a systematic cry for peace.
I bought a bumper sticker today that says, “When Jesus said ‘love your enemies,’ I think he probably meant don’t kill them.” Closing SOA/WHINSEC is a global issue, and a Christian issue; one that calls us to love and empowerment, rather than our current course of violence and manipulation. At the Ignatian Solidarity Network Service on Saturday evening, Rev. Tom Smolich, SJ, president of the Jesuit Conference, said, “If not me, then who? … If not now, then when?” This gathering of peacemakers at Fort Benning, Georgia, every year is a reminder that the movement for peace is alive.
Betsy Hoover, Kim Szeto, Jessica Bridges, and Katie Van Loo are 2006-2007 Sojourners Interns.
posted November 19, 2006 at 3:46 pm
Thank you Sojourners for always putting Jesus first, no matter how politically-intolerable it is do to so.>
posted November 19, 2006 at 4:30 pm
“I bought a bumper sticker today that says, “When Jesus said ‘love your enemies,’ I think he probably meant don’t kill them.” Speaking of bumper sticker politics, what does this really mean? This seems to be evidence of the lazy pacifism that rears its head whenever a foreign policy disagreement comes to bear. Are these interns pacifist? Isn’t Sojourner’s official position that we should send peacekeepers into Darfur? How many enemies can they kill before they have run afoul of the gospels?>
posted November 19, 2006 at 7:55 pm
Nice Work Interns! (I was an intern two years ago.) I am so glad that Sojourners has a visible presence at this event attended by young people (especially) from all over the country. It is so important that the first step of being peacemakers is doing what we can, when we can, where we can. Opposition to SOA is a great example of raising a united voice consistently to oppose some of the worst atrocities of our time in the name of “freedom” and “democracy.” To Kevin S. – yes, bumper sticker politics are always representative of an incomplete dialogue – that’s why its on a bumper sticker. So you can get a point across to someone who doesn’t have a chance to respond in kind. The positive nature of that bumper sticker is that it speaks in faith language to other people of faith. If you don’t care about Jesus at all, you don’t read past the first three words. But if Jesus at least is an interesting character to you, you read all 14 words, and either respond internally, “that’s right!” or “I’d never thought about it in that way before,” or “darn pacifists!” The point being it might get someone thinking and it is representative (sadly) of an underrepresented understanding of Jesus. My two cents.>
posted November 19, 2006 at 8:33 pm
Sorry, the bumper sticker deal was a reference to another thread. I have no problem with bumper stickers, unless they’re environmentalist bumper stickers on SUVs, which drive me batty.>
posted November 20, 2006 at 7:29 pm
A link explaining SOA/WHINSEC would be helpful for those folks who might not know what it is – they can Google it, but still… Great work though!>
posted November 22, 2006 at 3:40 pm
“Peace begins in the womb”>
posted November 22, 2006 at 7:26 pm
I wish there had been more clarification in the interns’ articles on what the SOA/WHINSEC is. I looked the group up myself online and was horrified that this could even exist. I feel grateful for these interns and all the other protesters there representing me as a pacifist.>
posted November 23, 2006 at 10:01 am
Great to read about your experiences at Ft. Benning. I am glad Sojo was able to send another group down this year and hopefully this tradition will continue. Take care, and remember it wouldn’t be a true community without the parties
Tomek Intern 05-06>
posted November 23, 2006 at 3:46 pm
It’s great to see the protests still going on. Or rather, it’s sad to see they still have to. I think of my WUSB-fm radio colleague Bill McNulty and how he put himself at risk on this. (I can picture me in a jail cell, with my lack of self-discipline. A week without blueberries would be enough to make me crack….) Keep at it.>
posted November 27, 2006 at 8:03 pm
Thanks to you who were there, representing those of us who couldn’t be there. And thank you for the insight of connecting not only SOA but so much of what is happening in and by this country today to a CULTURE OF VIOLENCE, OPPRESSION AND ARROGANCE – from war toys to video games to domestic and foreign policy. God bless, Karl Hilgert>