Season of Peacemaking 2003
    Vision Statement
   

Guidelines:

·        portray the concerns of religious groups, peace advocates and concerned citizens;

·        be a voice of reason urging practical alternatives to war;

·        encompass the community level;

·        be visual

·        be relevant

Vision Statement:

We oppose War against Iraq for two basic reasons: 1) In the short run, it will be an act of death and destruction. We choose to follow those tenets in our religious tradition that forbid violence as a way to usher in God's kingdom. 2)  In the longer run, it will make far harder the building and healing of the planetary community, which our religious traditions teach.

We are called by our various faiths to be peacemakers, a difficult choice but the right one.  Our opposition to preemptive, unilateral war against Iraq is grounded in a broader vision of national security—one that recognizes that the true threats are more economic, environmental, and social than military. We call on the United States to live up to its own principles and set an example for the rest of the world by:

·        Honoring international treaties and conventions.

·        Cooperating with (rather than manipulating) the UN and international institutions to resolve conflicts.

·        Using diplomacy rather than military might as a tool of foreign policy.

·        Working for peace through arms reduction, not arms production.

·        Setting quality healthcare and education for all people as a priority on our government’s agenda.

·        Working proactively to achieve harmony among racial, ethnic, and religious groups.

·        Promoting sustainable consumption of natural resources.

All of this is in recognition that to do otherwise only breeds anger and contempt--and the very threat to our security that we wish to end.  We affirm Albert Einstein’s idea that “Peace cannot be achieved through force, it can only be achieved through understanding.”