"Whether motivated by our courage or our compassion, by our love for our children or of this planet, we all believe that war is not the answer and that we can, and must, do what we are able to create peace in this world."
- Monica Green
"Peace Action" is a book that celebrates fifty years of the "largest grassroots peace group in the United States." In this work, one is treated to the history of the organization, which began as SANE, a group formed around nuclear test bans and disarmament during the Cold War, and eventually combined its efforts with Freeze, a grassroots organization that was formed around the idea of halting the nuclear arms race, and finally becoming Peace Action in the 1990s. This book edits together various perspectives that weave the personal experiences of activists chronologically from Peace Actions' beginnings. Throughout the reading, one can trace the peaks, such as helping sway the unilateral and militaristic air of the Reagan administration, and valleys, such as waning interest and support in the 1990s, of the organization. Depending on external circumstances and political climates, popular participation has ebbed and flowed. What is evident from reading these reflections is that activists need to focus on the long term, where successes are built upon and mistakes are reflected on and learned from. We are offered in the final essay a window into the future of Peace Action, "Real Security through International Cooperation and Human Rights," in which a unified approach will addresse the problems we are facing and will face through cooperation and a connection to what really matters in building peace.
Links:
Peace Action
Peace Action West YouTube Channel
Citation Information:
Stassen, G. H., & Wittner, L. S. (2007). Peace action: Past, present, and future. Boulder: Paradigm.
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