Tag Archives: politics

Lessons from a Peace Workshop

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Years ago I took part in a peace workshop being taught at our local community college by Leo Valk (I think that was his name?), from de Nederlands. Here’s what I remember about the peace workshop –

1) Leo asked us to draw a line down the middle of a paper. On one side of the line he asked us to draw war, and write our definition for war. On the other side he asked us to draw peace, and write our definition for peace. This got us all thinking about what war and peace actually ARE.

Then he told us that there are actually different kinds of war, and different kinds of peace. There is negative peace and positive peace: Negative peace is just the absence of war; Positive peace is built on the idea of social justice for all members of a society. Leo talked about Von Clausewitz and Tolstoy and Karl Deutsch and their differing views on war. Leo asked us if we thought, as Von Clausewitz did, that war can be justified as a way to solve problems when diplomacy doesn’t get us what we want? Is war, as Tolstoy believed, like a natural disaster that we can’t prevent, but shouldn’t participate in? Can just the threat of war be seen as war, as Karl Deutsch believed? Can we justify war if it’s used to stop evil? Or is war, as Gandhi believed, the worst evil of all?

Leo got us thinking.

2) Leo talked about nuclear weapons and explained the difference between missiles and warheads – just limiting the number of missiles, doesn’t limit nuclear power when each one of those missiles can have more than one warhead on it. He asked us if we thought a nuclear war was “winnable.” And if you “won” a nuclear war, what would that look like? What would be left of civilization to “win” when there’s already enough nuclear weapons to annihilate all life off the face of the planet?

3) He talked about strategies in a nuclear disarmament:

– Unilateralism – when a nation says, in essence, “We’re done playing this game,” and gives up all its nuclear weapons without waiting for other nations to give up their weapons.

– Reciprocity – when nations take turns giving up their weapons – “We’ll give up this, if you give up that.” This helps to build trust between nations.

4) He talked about ways to maintain peace:

– Stop changing boundaries – establish them and keep them.

– A nation’s security depends on the security of other nations. Maintaining peace is letting your neighbors know they’re safe, and not threatened by you. If countries are happy and prospering they’ll be less inclined to invade other countries.

– Do not intervene in other nations’ governments.

– Working with other nations to solve problems we all share – problems with the air we all breathe, and the oceans we share – builds alliances and trust.

– Trade with other countries is a way to maintain friendships and alliances.

I think so much of what Leo taught us all those years ago is timely now, too. I’ve been asking myself how our nation’s leadership is doing with the whole “maintaining peace” thing, and I’d have to give them all a failing grade right now. In fact, it seems like our leadership is doing the exact opposite of what brings peace.

Just a Thought…

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Can you imagine what our world would look like if, instead of wasting our time worrying about feeding our egos and naming buildings after ourselves and seeking revenge on those we think are our enemies, we instead spent our time being kind and fair, and making sure we did right by each other?

Just a thought.

Alrighty. Carry on then…

“Of the People, By the People, For the People”

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As Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address – our government is “of the people, by the people, for the people.” It’s not meant to dictate to us. We are meant to dictate to it.

I have recently been involved in some interesting discussions about our Bill of Rights and what it means – particularly the provision in the First Amendment for peaceful protest.

I think there are things that should be considered non-partisan: decency, fairness, equity, kindness, wisdom, honesty. And there are certain things that no party should tolerate: cruelty, inhumanity, bigotry, racism, misogyny, dishonesty.

In a thread on a friend’s FB wall, one poster pointed out that 56-67 ICE detainees died during the time of the Obama administration. (Note that according to The Guardian, “Thirty-two people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] custody in 2025 – making it the agency’s deadliest year in more than two decades, as the Trump administration moved to detain a record number of people.”)

In a comment to another poster, I wrote: “…thank you for reminding us all that this is a non-partisan issue, and whenever our Bill of Rights is ignored – no matter what administration is in charge – it is our duty to protest to make sure we keep our rights.”

To which, that poster replied, “…well the left treats it like Its (sic) a partisan issue and only sends (sic) to have a problem because trump is doing it. If you’re gonna protest then you need to protest when the left does it or allow when the right does it too. Its (sic) not rules for thee and not for me.”

To which, I posted the photo below – of me marching in a local migrant farmworkers’ march in 2012, during the Obama administration.

And no, I certainly don’t think any of us should EVER “allow” cruelty, injustice, inhumanity – regardless of which party is sitting in the White House. Activism – fighting for the rights of others, and for our own rights – doesn’t begin when one party gets in office, and end when another party gets in office. It should be, I think, a lifelong commitment to our country, and our world.

Another poster posted a response that gave me my first laugh out loud of the day. I’m still cracking up. 😀 Here’s a screenshot of that conversation…

I’m finding a sense of humor is essential to keeping one’s sanity in these interesting times. 😀

Not What We Are, But What We Could Become

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Something changed in my thought today, and I’m not sure I’m going to explain this well, but the change in my thought brought me a weird sort of comfort. I stopped being disappointed in my country, and found myself disillusioned instead.

It came to me that this vision I’ve held of my country as a noble place of freedom and “the land of opportunity” has always been an illusion. We’ve never been that. There have been good people in this country, for sure – people of courage and integrity, kindness and compassion – but there has always been racism and bigotry, greed and me-first-ness in this country, too. My nation isn’t unique in this – most every nation on this planet has dealt with the insanity we’re seeing so brazenly exhibited in the U.S. right now. But today it became clear to me that we’re no better than any other country, and sometimes we’re a lot worse.

And accepting that – accepting that we’ve always been flawed – has sort of relieved the stress of trying to “get back to” what I thought we were. Now I’m looking forward to moving past what we’ve always been, and helping my country progress towards what it could be. The time has never been more ripe for progress in the United States, and in the world.

“You were chosen. All of you. Not because of who you are, but because of who you might become.” (A line from Now You See Me 2)

Don’t Tell Me You Don’t Like Him, But You Like His Policies

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Nope. I don’t even want to hear one more person say to me, “I don’t like him personally, but I like his policies.” Which of his policies, specifically, do you like?

You like that we woke up this morning to find we’re in a war with Venezuela?!

You like his racist policy of using ICE to target law-abiding citizens of this country – citizens who happen to be Latino – and hauling them off without warrants or due process to “detention” facilities?! https://www.propublica.org/…/immigration-dhs-american…

You like that the tariffs he imposed on imports have raised the prices of our groceries even more?! https://www.npr.org/…/grocery-prices-tariffs-food…

You like that he’s used his power to try to keep the Epstein files from us?! You support his policy of treating victims of rape and sex trafficking as if they don’t matter?! https://www.npr.org/…/epstein-files-release-trump…

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/assault-allegations-donald-trump-recapped

You like his policy of pardoning drug traffickers, insurrectionists, and fraudsters?! https://www.ms.now/opinion/trump-pardon-fraud-victims

You like his policy of seeking revenge on people who have tried to hold him accountable for his crimes?! https://www.reuters.com/…/usa-trump-retribution-tracker/

You like his policy of using his power to censor his critics?! https://www.pbs.org/…/trumps-censorship-and-control…

If these aren’t the policies you were talking about, maybe you can enlighten me on just which policies of his you DO like. Because, from where I’m sitting, there’s not a lot of good going on in his “policies.”

If you voted for this man, okay. But if you CONTINUE to support him – even now, even after all the hell he’s brought to our nation, and to our allies, and to the world – please enlighten me as to why.

Thoughts on Love from Noemi Ban, a Holocaust Survivor

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I had the great privilege of knowing Holocaust survivor Noemi Ban. I invited Noemi to come to my class and speak to my eighth graders about her experiences as a survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Her sharing was powerful and inspiring. Afterwards, Noemi asked me if I could drive her home, and she invited me into her house. The first thing I saw when I stepped into her home was a photo of her family – her parents and siblings – taken before the Holocaust. Noemi told me it was the only picture she had of her family. Her father had found it in the rubble of their home after the war. The photo was precious to her. She’d lost her mother and siblings in the death camp’s gas chambers almost as soon as they’d arrived at Auschwitz.

My friend, Diane Sue, who was a close friend of Noemi’s, told Noemi’s story in the book, Remarkable Resilience. I am feeling a sense of urgency right now to share this excerpt from Remarkable Resilience: The Life and Legacy of Noemi Ban:

“I imagine that my story has opened your eyes to the ease with which hatred can grow and destroy. Hate can be perilously insidious, beginning as a seedling that grows into a powerful tree, and, before we know it, we are surrounded by a dark and dangerous forest. Hate can destroy a person, or can destroy a civilization. Why is it so easy for some people to hate their fellow human beings? We asked that question when imprisoned in Auschwitz, trying to understand why the Nazis hated us when they didn’t even know us. Similarly, we may ask why some people hold so much animosity toward certain groups even in today’s world…

“I realize my reaction to what happened during the Holocaust could easily have been hatred. Many trauma survivors find it difficult to let go of their anger or resentment. I feel fortunate that I not only survived, but that I also avoided having my heart poisoned by hate. Those who hate can become bitter and lose their perspective on the beauty of life. I learned in Auschwitz what hate can do and I refused to do to myself what the Nazis did to me. If I focused on hating the Nazis, then I would still be their prisoner. And how can you live a peaceful life with hate in your heart? Some people wonder if I have forgiven the Nazis. Although I am working on it, I doubt I will ever be able to say that I have completely forgiven them. Nevertheless, when someone asks if I hate the Nazis for what they did to my family, I can honestly say I don’t hate anyone. I feel sadness, anger, and hurt, but not hate. There is another way to live life, and that was my choice—to live with love. “

Thoughts on This Memorial Day

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Thoughts on this Memorial Day:

In 1961 – when I was just four – our country went through the tensions of the “Bay of Pigs.” I don’t remember anybody explaining to me what was going on, but I remember my mom and dad exchanging secret looks. I remember knowing the grown-ups were afraid.

Two and a half years later, our president was assassinated. I was in second grade. An announcement came over the school’s loud speakers that all students should return to their rooms. I was alone, walking in the hall – I think I’d just delivered a message to the office or something. I could feel the urgency in the voice over the intercom. We all were sent home from school. The next week was Thanksgiving, and I remember my dad and my Uncle Emery (retired Army officer) weeping. I didn’t often see my dad or my Uncle Emery weeping. It was a dark time.

Five years later, Civil Rights leader, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated and, a few months after that, JFK’s younger brother was assassinated. By that time, my dad had climbed Mount Kennedy with Bobby Kennedy and considered him a friend. The assassinations of MLK and Bobby Kennedy brought more darkness to our country.

In 1969, our country began drafting young men – most of them still teenagers – to fight in a war on the other side of the world. The draft ended in June 1973 – a year before I graduated from high school. I wonder how many of the young men I passed in the halls of my high school were ordered to Vietnam?

Conflict and war didn’t end with the Vietnam War. I don’t need to go through the list – you all know.

But when I was asking myself this morning to try to identify that time in my life that might be called “the good old days” – I realized that I’ve always lived in a world with tension and conflict, hate and killing. I was blessed to have a happy childhood with loving parents, inspiring teachers, and healthy adventures in the outdoors – but beyond my own personal circle, there was darkness.

My teaching major was history. As I studied world history, I remember having an epiphany that all the wars fought in the world have been connected – that we’re really still fighting the First Peloponnesian War. Greed for land, greed for spices, greed for oil, greed for money and power – all the wars are related – leaders sending young people off to kill and be killed so their leaders can get more of whatever it is they want.

The world has always had its heroes, too – the humble unknown people who go about quietly doing the right thing, sharing the good they have, creating beauty, treating others with kindness and compassion. I meet these people every day on my walks and trips to the store – heroic people who don’t even know they’re heroic – people who do the right thing because they can’t NOT do the right thing.

And I see the progress towards liberty and love that humanity continues to make. Nothing can stop the progress. Once we’ve moved forward, it’s impossible to go back.

We live in challenging times – some might say “unprecedented” – but that in itself gives me hope. The more blatant and brazen evil becomes – the more it exposes itself for what it is – the easier it will be to see it and overcome it. With love. With the courage of progress. With the quiet heroism of kindness. Nothing can stop progress. Nothing can stop the power of Love.

Don’t Tell Me You Don’t Like Him, But You “Like His Policies”

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The despicable, hateful, fear-inducing, violence-inciting things he says that target my friends in the LGBTQ community and the Haitian and Puerto Rican immigrant communities, and those who’ve served and died in the military, tell me everything I need to know about his “policies”

No, I was not better off under his presidency. And the economy is only going to get worse if he’s elected and his plans for the economy are implemented – his tariffs would bring up the cost of groceries and deporting millions of farm workers would, too.

I don’t want to hear even one more person say they don’t like him, but they like his policies. His policies are all based on hate and greed.

Insurrection Should Have Been a Deal-Breaker for Every Patriotic American

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No, I’m not voting for Harris because she’s a woman. If Trump was a woman, and Harris was a man, I’d still be voting for Harris.

No, I’m not freaked out by the flags that proclaim “WITCHES FOR KAMALA.” I am freaked out, though, by the Confederate and NAZI flags I’ve seen at Trump’s rallies.

And you can tap dance around it all you want, but the Trump-led insurrection of January 6th should have been a deal-breaker for every patriotic, stars-and-stripes-flying, law-abiding, Constitution-loving American.

Here’s what I witnessed live in front of my television on January 6: I witnessed Trump urging his followers to march on the capitol and “fight like hell” – I watched his followers climb over barricades, clash with capitol police, stab the police with flagpoles, crash through windows, and enter the capitol building with Confederate battle flags. I watched legislators being rushed out of the building by security because their lives were in danger. I saw a gallows for Pence set up. And we were wondering where the National Guard was – why hadn’t they been called in? Surely Trump could have called them directly – he was the commander-in-chief, he didn’t need to go through official channels.

I had a friend who actually went to the rally – she was a Trump supporter and still is, I think – but she left after Trump spoke and got on a bus and went home and I don’t think – even though she was there for the speech – she’s ever actually realized what happened after the speech. I feel like I had a better view than she did at that point. What my friend did was practice her First Amendment rights – she came to peacefully protest the lie she’d been led to believe – that this was a “stolen election.”

What happened after my friend left, though, was criminal. Our Constitution guarantees that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” For me, the key qualifier there in regards to January 6th is “peaceably.”

I was, frankly, traumatized by what I saw that day. How could this happen in the USA?!
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Link to footage from January 6th.

FEMA Memes

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So there’s this meme popping up on some of my friends’ FB walls like those little animals in a Whac-a-Mole game. The meme goes something like this: “Why is our government spending all this money on illegal immigrants when it’s not doing anything for the hurricane victims?”

Which. What?!

If you do a little research, you’ll find that “As of Sunday, FEMA says it has provided more than $137 million in assistance to six states in the southeast, including 7,000 federal personnel, nearly 15 million meals, 14 million liters of water, 157 generators and more than half a million tarps. The agency also says more than 3,000 North Carolina residents have been rescued or supported by more than 1,200 urban search and rescue personnel, with recovery efforts aided by National Guard and active duty troops. North Carolina has also received $100 million in federal transportation funds to rebuild roads and bridges washed out by the storm.” (NPR)

In addressing Trump’s claim that the federal government is only offering $750 to “people whose homes have been washed away.” NPR explains: “The $750 Trump refers to is what’s called Serious Needs Assistance, an initial direct relief payment intended to help cover emergency supplies like food, water, baby formula and other basics. The serious needs assistance is one of many changes to FEMA’s individual assistance programs that took effect earlier this year, along with displacement assistance to cover immediate housing needs while residents sort out long-term options. FEMA assistance also covers storm-related damage to homes and personal property.” In other words, the $750 is simply the first immediate initial payment given to people to get the things they need right now to stay alive. It’s not the ONLY payment they’re going to get.

Here’s the link to the source for that information: https://www.npr.org/…/fema-funding-migrants-disaster…

Regarding illegal immigrants costing the United States a lot of money: Just what kind of money are we spending on illegal immigrants? I mean. I don’t see undocumented immigrants living lazy lives of luxury, you know? So I wondered just how illegal immigrants affected our economy and googled that. Here’s the AI answer that popped up:

“The economic impact of illegal immigration on the United States is complex and controversial, but economists generally agree that the effects are positive:
Economic growth
Illegal immigrants contribute to economic growth and increase the size of the U.S. economy.
Tax revenue
Illegal immigrants pay more in taxes than they collect. In 2022, undocumented immigrants paid $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes, $6.4 billion in Medicare taxes, and $1.8 billion in unemployment insurance
Consumer benefits
Illegal immigrants benefit consumers by reducing the prices of goods and services.
Employer benefits
Illegal immigration provides clear benefits for employers.
Labor market dislocationsIllegal immigration may cause some short-term dislocations in labor markets.
Low-skilled native workers
Illegal immigration may slightly depress wages for low-skilled native workers.
Economists estimate that legalizing the illegal immigrant population would increase U.S. gross domestic product. The New American Economy estimates that legalization would result in $68 billion in additional state and local tax revenue, $116 billion in additional federal tax revenues, and $1.4 trillion in estimated GDP growth.”

AI-generated

A bunch of links were provided:

https://www.newamericaneconomy.org/…/undocumented…/#

https://en.wikipedia.org/…/Economic_impact_of_illegal…#:

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/…/illegal-immigrations…#:

https://www.congress.gov/…/HHRG-118-JU01-20240111-SD013…#:

-Karen Molenaar Terrell