Well, I am just recently done with a Peace and Justice conference that I, and my two colleagues Erin and Camilo put together for the Plowshares Peace Collaborative of our three Alma maters (Earlham, Goshen and Manchester Colleges). We had about 300 people!!! And all intelligent and thoughtful people that really considered the possibility of there being hope for a world where the ideals of peace and love rule!!! Is it really possible? I mean should we continue to have some hope? Is there a redeeming value in us crazy humans??
Well these people surely felt so, and they gave me a much needed boost in my own hope bank. Most of these people were ready to take on the challenge to think outside the militaristico-capitalist-thinktank box, to try to practically analyze, criticize, and bring solutions to the problems of our time, without shooting bullets, hording oil, proselytizing or destroying entire cultures and peoples. Are humans ready for that? Are humans built like that?
I don't know, but even my skeptic self has a pretty good feeling after this conference. I am far from being a pacifist. But if war can be avoided, why entertain its omnipresence? Why not work genuinely at reducing the number of wars and ennemies, instead of using them as a tool of foreing policy making? I wonder...
But regardless, the confernce kicked some major... oh hell I'll say it. It kicked some major ass!!!! I am quite proud, and I still cannot believe we put it together. A true learning experience in management, in planning and organization, but also in common sense and reality: with enough money, and the right people, (and for believers, some divine grace... whatever God it is from for you) you can do whatever you want. So back in Congo, and the rest of Africa, when we go back in the coming years, just wait: We'll move mountains!
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1 comment:
"Hope is the last thing to die."
Checked the website for the Plowshares Peace Collaborative and the P&J Conference. Looks great and it is clear that your team put a lot of work into it. I couldn't find any downloadable documents or online resources that dealt with the lectures and discussions though. Will that material be available online in the near future? Congratulations on kicking some "major butt" in building a more peaceful and just world nonetheless.
Hopefully you (and Ntumba) will have more time now to share your thoughts and ideas with us via The Salon of News and Thought. I at least could certainly use your help with my posts and those of other bloggers writing about the DRC and neighboring countries. I need a damn good counterweight, someone who knows what's up and how it works and is not afraid to speak up.
Next stop in the DRC for my readers this month: Walikale. All aboard the Walikale Express.
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