September 99

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

From the editor's desk

From the time Pat Farren, Peacework's founding editor, was first diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor in the summer of 1995, friends met with him each month in what he called a "healing circle." A time for perseverance, comfort, discouragement, anger, laughter, sorrow, gathering of courage to continue the journey, prayer for some of us, silence, song. We would sing "How Can I Keep from Singing" and "The Bells of Norwich" and "Amazing Grace." The refrain of the group's favorite, 'signature' song,"Old Devil Time," says "When I feel alone, my lovers gather round / and help me rise to fight you one more time." That spoke to Pat's condition; more broadly, it speaks to the condition of the peace movement to which Pat devoted his life and the pages of this publication. The battles don't get won; like malignancies, issues return in another shape. Our obligation as workers for social change is not necessarily to emerge victorious, but to be there one more time and one more time again. We do it best with help from friends.

Pat's Healing Circle didn't disband a year ago when Pat died; this month it will meet again on September 16, the eve of that anniversary. It's an expanding circle of "lovers gathered round." Peacework and Pat's family are inviting everyone who shares Pat's vision of peace with justice to gather to remember Pat and honor some of those who carry on the work he dedicated his life to.

Now in September, start of the school year for our children, we are proud to bring you an op-ed by a high school junior who refused to waste her precious time in school taking tests that make state and federal legislators feel better. These same lawmakers should take a few tests themselves, argue several of our authors, on the consequences of current US economic and tax policy.

We have a cluster of pieces that touch on one of the major growth industries in the US today-prisons. Conditions in US prisons and the plight of prisoners have attracted the attention of Amnesty International, among others; this should be a source of major embarrassment to us. Our leaders denounce other nations for the same practices which they tolerate here at home. This is no abstract principle; it plays out in the lives of real people. We look at just two instances this month: Leonard Peltier, denied fair trial and adequate medical care, and the 15 Puerto Rican political prisoners offered unacceptable clemency conditions. Puerto Ricans are also arguing that their lovely island, Vieques, is itself a prisoner of the US navy which since the 1940s has used it for target practice and war games. Time for irate letter-writing!

Another cluster of articles brings news and comment on events in the Middle East, and troubles, some of them of our making. And deep, toxic trouble in Yugoslavia, very definitely of our making. It's encouraging to hear, amid so much bad news and somber analysis, about people who are taking the next steps necessary to say "Stop this nonsense." Stubbornly pulling a two thousand pound stone to Washington, or vigiling against a depleted-uranium maker, or getting themelves arrested, or organizing to preserve community values at a ball park-all are about pieces of the same elusive fabric of peace.

We read in the paper this morning that this year has seen the worst concentration of natural disasters ever. Actually the disasters haven't been entirely natural. Flawed economic and environmental practices exacerbated the effects of Hurricane Mitch in Central America, drought and fire in Indonesia, earthquake in Turkey, to name a few. Man-made disaster in the form of the reckless bombing in Yugoslavia has proven a social and ecological catastrophe whose consequences will be felt for years to come, consequences rather similar to those now playing out in Iraq. We need to join the peacewalkers as we can, join the community organizers, join the prisoners, affirm the "Culture of Peace." Meanwhile, we can join each other in affirming these values on September 16, gathering in Cambridge Meetinghouse to rejoice in Pat Farren's life. We hope that you can come.