Click peace sign for Carl Bunin's Peace History for this month
UU Peacemakers
Costs of War, Costs of Empire
Frank W. Carpenter, D.Min.
Cincinnati, OH
April 5, 2012
When the editor approached me to write about the fiscal costs of the war, I immediately thought of Stiglitz’s THE THREE TRILLION WAR: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict (2008). They list Total Operations to Date (2007) $475B, Future Operations $669B, Future Veteran Costs $630B, Adjustments $267B, and a bank bailout (Interest) $616B. Giving a total of $2,655 billion or $2.5 trillion. The authors update their work on their website, threetrilliondollarwar.org/
Having got this far with the editor’s request, I realized he had not specified which war he wanted me to write about. The Afghanistan War? Researching that, a news item also included the war in Pakistan as part of the costs. A more recent news story, it suggested the final bill will run at least $3.7 trillion and could reach as high as $4.4 trillion -- according to the research project "Costs of War" by Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies. (www.costsofwar.org)
What can one say at this point, other than, ‘Time to expand our questioning!” Truth be known, the ‘wars’ in Iraq and Afghanistan are not separate ‘wars.’ They are operations in the Global War On Terrorism. ‘GWOT’ now includes Yemen, Somalia, the Philippines, etc. So what are we talking about? BU Professor Andrew J Bacevich writes that “the persistence of this familiar language today does less to illuminate than to conceal…. discourse about foreign policy tends to be insipid and unhelpful.” We best talk of empire. These are not wars but ‘police actions’ within Pax Americana. To speak truth, GWOT is the War for Empire.
The official DOD budget for FY13 is $613.4. I suppose this covers much of the costs for America’s 865 overseas military bases. These Costs of Empire do not take into account the human costs. Kozue Akibayashi’s and Suzuyo Takazato‘s have written “Okinawa: Women’s Struggle for Demilitarization.” One conclusion, “Integral elements of misogyny infect military training. …The military is a violence-producing institution to which sexual and gender violence are intrinsic. … The essence of military forces is their pervasive, deep-rooted contempt for women, which can be seen in military training that completely denies femininity and praises hegemonic masculinity.”
The reader may have noticed a resistance on my part to offering an accurate figure for the financial costs of empire. I hesitate because such a figure hides perhaps more than it reveals. For example, a home owner might tell you what he has paid in maintenance the past year or so. Is it accurate? While it may tell the actual amount spent, it does not tell us that his roof is badly in need of replacement but he is cannot afford it.
So it is with the empire/war/defense budget. Veterans are denied medical services for both physical and psychology problems as a cost cutting means. In an article, “The Immense Tolls of Imperial War,” CHRISTIAN SORENSEN remarks,
With an estimated 500,000 disability claims already filed from the recent Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Veterans Administration will not be able to compensate all future disability requests. Even worse, considering the bi-partisan neglect of fiscal responsibility, the future of all military healthcare is in jeopardy.
The sky may be falling, but not yet.
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Joseph E. Stiglitz & Linda J. Bilmes, THE THREE TRILLION WAR: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict (2008), Norton, NY.
Ibid, page 57.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/29/us-usa-war-idUSTRE75S25320110629
Bacevich, ed., THE IMPERIAL TENSE Chicago, Dee, 2003; page xiii.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/DoD-fy13-budget-preview-07285/
http://www.alternet.org/world/130900/the_costs_of_empire:_can_we_really_afford_1,000_overseas_bases/
http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/page4/20090514_chalmers_johnson_on_the_cost_of_empire/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/04/04/casualty-comprehension/
From the Road: Hiroshima
March 14, 2012
Rev. Peter Morales
The word "Hiroshima" has become synonymous with the horrors of nuclear war. Unfortunately, we need to be horrified now and then. We need to see and feel just how terrible war is and how particularly horrifying nuclear war would be.
A visit to Hiroshima's Peace Park and the Memorial Museum both succeed and fail in horrifying us. The sickening images of Hiroshima immediately after the blast, the stories of the survivors, the artifacts like shards of clothing and a watch stopped at 8:15 when the bomb went off are powerful. Part of the reason the park and museum fail is not their fault. The truth is that the bomb dropped on Hiroshima has but a small fraction of the destructive power of a "modern" thermonuclear weapon. A hydrogen bomb of about the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima has about 60 times the force. We cannot imagine 60 simultaneous Hiroshima blasts.
Friday Summer Read: The Honor Code, by Kwame Anthony Appiah
Each Friday throughout the summer, a UUSC staff member will recommend books or articles about human rights. Today UUSC President and CEO William F. Schulz recommends the book The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen, by Kwame Anthony Appiah.
A superb description of the power of shaming. Appiah describes how dueling, foot-binding in China, and slavery were ended by collective action and how, in our own day, honor killings might be, too.
-- Bill Schulz
UUs at the American Psychological Society Meeting
How one Denomination [UU] Developed, Debated in Local and National Forums, Revised, Approved and is Now Implementing a Peacemaking Statement of ConsciencePresented at 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association at Washington, D.C., August 2011
Session Title: Peacebuilding in Communities
Time/Day: 1:00 PM, Saturday, August 6
Adoption of a Creating Peace Statement of Conscience by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) of Congregations is an instructive example of how one organization is creating peace in our own communities. The example will address the impetus, the development of initiatives, and how the implementation is creating a sustaining program. A religious organization may be an apt example for our purposes. As Edward Chambers (2004), successor to Saul Alinksy, observes in Roots for Radicals people of faith can be counted on because they seek out and initiate opportunities to embody cherished values like living wages for all workers . . . " (p. 60).
Read More ...
Ending Our ˜Uncivil War": Tools for Depolarizing Political Conversations
Does the following exchange sound familiar?
Mel – The way it's going, pretty soon the government will control everything and that will be the end of freedom in this country.
Sandy – That is totally ridiculous; it's corporations that are the problem.
Mel – What do you mean, ridiculous? You're one of those liberals that are leading this country to disaster.
Sandy – You're the people who are destroying this country!
Every new opinion poll seems to bring more evidence of the deep divide between liberals and conservatives in American politics. Many of us uncomfortably experience that gap within our own families, in getogethers punctuated with sarcastic asides if not verbal battles.
Are Most Terrorists Muslim?
One often hears that "Most terrorists today are Muslim". This is not so as shown by this compilation of recent terrorist attacks.
Vision of Humanity Videos
Check out the peace videos at Vision of Humanity. Find out which states are the most peaceful.
Structures of Peace
A short, visually stunning video about the Structures and Attitudes of Peaceful Nations produced by Vision of Humanity.
Planning for 9/11/11
My hope, along with the UU Peace Ministry Network, is that the tenth anniversary will honor a dream of peace for all humanity, not an observance of intolerance, of a narrow patriotism. As the tenth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, memories of last year’s 9/11/10 events beset me. In New York City, hate filled voices condemned building a Sufi community center near Ground Zero. People I usually am in contact with, UU’s and other peace creators, were also. Islamophobia intensified not only along the East Coast, but in the American Heartland and across the land of the free. A bullying nationalism took the place of a time to stop for remembrance and hope.
My memories of ten years ago were of leaders of the mosque that rented from the Chelmsford, MA, UU church, where I served, coming to join us that evening as a time of common sorrow. We planned a number of shared events after that, including an intercultural pot luck. Friends in my professional study group, Greenfield Group, shared their experiences. The minister of the Westport, CN, church, Frank Hall, told of loosing two brothers of the congregation at the Twin Towers. Susan Sushocki-Brown, UU minister and fire department chaplain, was a first responder; Rosemary Bray McNatt was just beginning her ministry at the Fourth Universalist Church in the City. Susan and Rosemary are active now in the UU Trauma Response Ministry as a result of their pastoral work following 9/11. The UUA and UUWorld did a great job telling us about the impact of 9/11 on our UU movement .You and I, we have memories of that day and of subsequent observances as well.
My hope, with many others including the UU Peace Ministry Network, is that the up-coming tenth anniversary will not be an observance of intolerance and disrespect, of a myopic patriotism, but the fullness of recollection, of a dream of peace for humanity. I believe we are called to this. At the 2010 GA we passed the SOC, CREATING PEACE, in which we said, “we commit ourselves to a radically inclusive and transformative approach to peace.”
How shall we observe the tenth anniversary of 9/11? Will we create peace?
As a minister, immediately I am aware that this year, September 11th is a Sunday. And not just any Sunday, but the first Sunday of the congregational year for many. Can we combine our “In Gatherings” with 9/11 observance? For me as a peace creator what comes to mind is asking ourselves, why do we gather as a community of faith? Why do we sing “Here we have Gathered, gathered side by side?” [#360] Don’t we have a vision? Is the Beloved Community within our vision? Creating the Beloved Community, creating peace: on this 9/11 we may remember the past as we seek hope for tomorrow.
You might expand this thought for Opening Sunday by bringing in the “Standing on the Side of Love Campaign.” Dan Furmansky has brought together many resources, including Standing on the Side of Love with American Muslims; Rev. Jan Carlsson-Bull at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskill in Kingston, NY, is including the Campaign in her planning
Many in our congregations may want, indeed, need an opportunity to reflect in small groups about the feelings over the past ten years. The UU Trauma Response Ministry is developing resources. One response might be to have small group discussions before worship. The UU Small Group Ministry Network developed a several sessions for discussion about 9/11.
Observing 9/11 is not something we best do just in house. It’s also a time to reach out to others.
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at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clemson, SC, and Co-chair of the Addictions Ministry Team is developing interfaith programming. Calling it 9/11 Peace Circles, his experience is that as many who attend worship on Sunday mornings and at other times of the week, the best time for an interfaith event is the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 11th. A principle concept of Alex’s vision is, given that we want to avoid any suggestion of Islamophobia, the first group to reach out to for planning is your local mosque.
Creating peace is about building a big tent, including as many. So following up on Alex’s concept, think about partnering. Who can you partner with? The Council on American Islamic Relations, CAIR is a major group combating Islamophobia. The Interfaith Alliance and the Islamic Society of North American are also networking for this September 11th. Their campaign, “Shoulder To Shoulder,” has a FaceBook page. If your have an observance for such events as Hiroshima day, it might provide a model for your planning. Many communities have a variety of ecumenical and interfaith groups active for peace and justice. Connect with them!
Here in Cincinnati we have been planning for several months. Our event is becoming a civic event, perhaps more than an interfaith event. One question that comes up which your local group will want to explore is what message do you want to give. Calling for ‘world peace’ may seem too prosaic to some. Demanding withdrawal from Afghanistan may seem too political for an event with great diversity or has a civic component. Urging non-violence, an end to the brutal cycles of fear and violence may be educational. Balancing all the interests in your community, (cat herding,) takes hard work, so I hope you will start planning soon, if you are not already underway.
For up-dates, visit us at our UU Peace Ministry Network booth at GA in Charlotte, and also, check out our SOC Implementation workshop on Friday.
See you there!
Rev. Frank W. Carpenter, D.Min.
Some Resources: http://911peacecircles.wordpress.com/resources/
The UU Fellowship of Huntington NY Dedicates their new Peace Pole
In May, the Huntington Fellowship on Long Island, New York, dedicated their Peace Pole with the Peace Prayer - “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” The dedication ceremony took place during their annual UU Heritage Day - this year celebrating Unitarian and Universalist peacemaking.
Visible from the road for all to see, the six-sided Pole of warm Western Cedar is set on front lawn to the left of the main entrance. There it is a visual reminder for everyone of the congregation’s affirmation of the UU Statement of Conscience on “Creating Peace.” The Pole set in the center of this grassy area, people are encouraged to move around it to see it from all sides.
During the dedication ceremony, “May Peace Prevail on Earth” was spoken in each of the six languages: English, Hebrew, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish. Each recitation was followed by a congregational response from the words of the Nobel Peace Laureates’ Commitments to a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence.
If your congregation has a peace pole, or is thinking of obtaining one, please let the UU Peace Ministry Network know. You can email Richard Kopp directly at
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Islamic Non-Violence
Of the many consequences of 9/11, one of the most tragic has been the identification of Islam with violence. The hijackers of the planes that infamous day claimed to be Muslim, although their practice of the faith raises questions. It was if all the achievements of Islamic civilization, -- such as development of the chemical processes of pure distillation and filtration, adding decimal point to notation of Arabic numerals, and establishment of the first medical schools -- all disappeared in the plumes of smoke that day. The American equation of Islam with violence is the usual strategy of racism: identifying the ‘other’ with barbarism. To move out of this vicious circle of stereotyping and profiling, we need to create opportunities for conversations and to identify issues related to identity. In the process, individuals and groups explore some of these biases, learn more about themselves and others, and begin to think about next steps, such as further consultation, education, or training. Let Peace Begin With Me [Mankato, MN]A year ago we consecrated our beautiful Peace Pole on the grounds of our Fellowship. This September, as another International Day of Peace approaches, we dedicate this service to the idea that Peace can be attained and that indeed Peace begins with you - let this be the moment now! Join us in celebrating Peace by remembering that it is a choice we can make daily. We will proceed outside to the Peace Pole at the end of our service. This service will be multigenerational and enjoyed by children of all ages. Presented by member Diane Dobitz and Kristi Schuck, Director of Religious Education International Day of Peace Festival brings people together in PittsburgThrough song, conversations and company, North Hills residents can celebrate the peace found in community on Sept. 19 in North Park. International Day of Peace Events at Unitarian Church of Evanston [Il]All are invited to join members of many different faiths to recognize and celebrate United Nations International Day of Peace (Sept. 21) and to help create peace in our world. Toolkit for Combating Hostile Reactions to Religious GroupsIn my work to address anti-Muslim hysteria, I've come across this group with their took kit: |
Commemorate 9/11 by Confronting IslamophobiaLast week, Teaching Tolerance ran a post from an assistant principal in Illinois. Lamenting the recent spate of anti-Islamic incidents and the rising anti-Muslim rhetoric, she wrote: In that short paragraph, she neatly summed up two excellent reasons to teach about Islam, one academic and one related to the welfare of her students.
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