With 'Prayer and Faxing'
  What Makes America Strong: A Litany for Peace

Adapted from Address by
Carol Bragg, Coordinator, Rhode Island Peace Mission
to
A Gathering for Peace: Call to Action
Rhode Island State House
September 25, 2002

One of the important lessons we must learn from September 11 is that American citizens cannot leave decisions about national or global security to policymakers in Washington or to the corporations. Whatever else we do in our lives- whether we are active in community service, working for social justice in our neighborhoods, or raising a family- we must also find time to help shape this country’s role in the world.

Dr. Martin Luther King called us "to redeem the soul of America" by eradicating racism, poverty and militarism in the world, not by eradicating Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. No soul is redeemed through acts of violence.

Friends, the events of September 11 should make clear that, to achieve security for this country and peace in the world, we must forge a new vision of what makes America strong. Let me suggest the following:

The strength of America lies not in her military might, but in her moral right.

The strength of America lies not in her capacity to make war, but in her ability to make peace.

The strength of America lies not in her readiness to take unilateral action, but in her willingness to work multilaterally.

The strength of America lies not in her resolve to force other nations to put down the sword, but in her courage to put down her own sword.

The strength of America lies not in her penchant for consuming the world’s resources, but in her ability to recognize that justice demands that there be a fair sharing of the world’s resources.

The strength of America lies not in her eagerness to amass great wealth, but in her commitment to feed the hungry and clothe the naked of the world.

The strength of America lies not in her skill in cajoling other nations to become more democratic and allow dissent, but in her capacity to respect civil liberties and welcome dissent here at home.

The strength of America lies not in the urgency with which we sing "God Bless America," but in the fervency with which we seek to discern God’s will for this nation.

This is the America that will be warmly regarded in all corners of the earth. This is the America that can help bring peace to a troubled world.

Friends, our great challenge is to help transform this nation’s image of herself in the world. It is a daunting task, which will require (to use Gandhi’s phrase) an indomitable will. Three things can give us hope and sustenance in this effort: 1) The knowledge that faith can, indeed, cast out fear; 2) A belief that the moral arc of the universe is long but it does bend toward justice; and 3) An awareness that there is an innate longing for peace in every human heart; our job is to awaken and inform that desire.

Let each and every one of us pledge today to pursue peace, and to pursue it vigorously. The lives of our children and grandchildren and of children and grandchildren throughout the world are at stake.