Ah, the Peace Testimony -- a part of the Quaker tradition that is difficult for many of us.
A few years back I cut out a large paper circle and pasted it up on the wall near the picture above the facing bench in our Meetinghouse. On the circle were the words, “What is it about ’thou shalt not kill’ that you do not understand?” I attached a streamer of paper from the circle to the mouth of Jesus in that picture. I guess that was a sort of sassy unQuakerly thing to do…
This week the American Friend’s Service Committee sent out an odd fund raising letter. It is titled, “One Minute for Peace”. The campaign goal is to raise an amount for peacemaking equal to what the United States will spend on war and the military next year in just one minute. $1.98 million.
Here is what the US budget looks like for next year:
58% – War Defense and Nuclear Weapons
6% – Health and Human Services
6% – Transportation
4% – State
4% – Education
4% – Other Programs
3% – Homeland Security
3% – Housing and Urban Development
2% – Justice
1% – Each on NASA, energy, Treasury, Interior, the Environment, Commerce…
So, in the spirit of the Quaker Peace Testimony I would suggest that the emerging tea bag movement - all a-twitter about government spending - examine “thou shalt not kill” as a huge hint in terms of big government out of control. What does it say about us when our biggest national budget priorities are committed to violence, and military might?
Reducing the military budget is the best thing we can do for our children and the future.
Peter
It is very striking to find that Napoleon, whom we think of as a believer in nothing but military force, realized at last his mistake. In the far-away isolation of St. Helena, he wrote this fine confession: “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and myself have founded Empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force! Jesus Christ alone founded His Empire on love; and at this hour millions of people would die for Him..
“Now that I am at St. Helena alone, chained upon this rock, who fights and wins Empires for me? What an abyss between my deep misery and the eternal reign of Christ, who is proclaimed, loved, adored and whose reign is extending over all the earth!”
A. Ruth Fry 1950