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WAWA/WeAreWideAwake is my Public Service to America as a muckracker who has journeyed seven times to Israel Palestine since June 2005.
WAWA is dedicated to confronting media and governments that shield the whole
truth.
We who Are Wide
Awake are compelled by the "fierce urgency of Now" [Rev MLK, Jr.] to raise
awareness and promote the human dialogue about many of the crucial issues of our
day: the state of our Union and in protection of democracy, what life is like
under military occupation in Palestine, the Christian EXODUS from the Holy Land,
and spirituality-from a Theologically Liberated Christian Anarchist
POV.
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The Walls of Berlin and Bil'in |
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 Garth Hewitt: From the Broken Heart Of Gaza |
FACTS ABOUT THE WALL from friends in Bethlehem
Read the truth about the Wall and what is happening today in the Holy City of Bethlehem. |
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Eileen Fleming's Biography
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"We're on a mission from God."
The Blues Brothers "Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all...and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave...a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils."
George Washington's Farewell Address - 1796 "My aim is to agitate & disturb people. I'm not selling bread, I'm selling yeast."
Unamuno
"Imagine All the People Sharing All the World."
John Lennon "If enough Christians followed the gospel, they could bring any state to its knees."
Father Philip Francis Berrigan
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Tom Petty
"If I can't dance, it's not my revolution."
Emma Goldman
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Charlie Rose, 2005
Only in Solidarity do "We have it in our power to begin the world again"
Tom Paine
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"You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free."
John 8:32
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Declaration of Independence |
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We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that, among these, are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. -July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence |
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Home  A Greater Awakening Prophets, Doors, Walls: MLK, X, Lennon, Gaza and Thee
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Prophets, Doors, Walls: MLK, X, Lennon, Gaza and Thee |
Prophets, Doors, Walls: MLK, X, Lennon, Gaza and Thee
Published January 26, 2008
Prophets have authority and also the call, to speak to the great and the small
They call down kings and lift up the poor: Behold there's one at the door.-Pastor Gary Vance
In
the '60's two black men in America; one a Christian and one a Muslim
shared a similar dream with different philosophies and means to achieve
them.
Reverend
Martin Luther King, Jr. had "a dream that one day this nation will rise
up and live out the true meaning of its creed... that all men are
created equal."
Malcolm
X's radical creed was, "Anything you can think of that you want to
change right now, the only way you can do it is with a ballot or a
bullet. And if you're not ready to get involved with either one of
those, you are satisfied with the status quo. That means we'll have to
change you."
Both
men dreamed of a world freed from the bondage of prejudice and racism,
a world in which their children would not be judged by the color of
their skin, but by the content of their character. While King
consistently advocated for a brotherhood of all peoples and persisted
in only nonviolent actions to achieve it; not until after a pilgrimage
to Mecca, did X evolve in his spirituality and thus reject his
separatist beliefs and begin to advocate for unity and a world wide
brotherhood.
Both
can be said to have fully understood that there are "truths that are
self-evident: That all men are created equal and endowed by their
creator with certain unalienable rights;…[and] that, to secure [those]
rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of
government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the
people to alter or to abolish it."- The Declaration of Independence,
July 4, 1776,
Both
men engaged in the struggle to wake up good people whose ears were not
ready to hear, whose eyes were not ready to see and whose hearts were
not yet pierced to bleed for the least and oppressed of humanity. Both
men were shot dead before either could see any of their dreams realized.
A
few weeks before Rev. King bled to death on a patch of pavement in
Memphis, legend has it that he said:
"Peace for Israel means security, and we stand with
all our might to protect its right to exist…I see Israel as one of the
greatest outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of
what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of
brotherhood and democracy."
I cannot find documentation for that quote, but even if he had said it, King died ten months after the Israeli Military occupation of Palestine began.
On
May 14, 1948, The Declaration of the establishment of Israel
proclaimed: "On the day of the termination of the British mandate and
on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The
State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as
envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality
of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of
religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and
will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations."
The Hebrew prophet Amos prayed:
"Let JUSTICE roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."
I
contend that if King and X had lived, they would have followed the call
of Amos and would be at the front of the line in next Saturday's convoy
to Gaza that begins in Tel Aviv.
I
believe this because it has been said that the Palestinians have become
the 'N's' of the world, while in the '70's it was women:
We insult her every day on TV
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When she's young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb-John Lennon, "Woman is the "N" of the World"
The
governments of Israel and America contend that they cannot speak to the
democratically elected members of the Hamas government and thus they
have sanctioned atrocities and abominations upon the 1.5 million
innocent civilians [approximately 2,000 are Christian] who endure in
the largest open air prison in the word.
In
November 2006, I read an article written by Father Manuel, the parish
priest at the Latin Church and school in Gaza who wrote:
"Gaza
cannot sleep! The people are suffering unbelievably. They are hungry,
thirsty, have no electricity or clean water. They are suffering
constant bombardments and sonic booms from low flying aircraft. They
need food: bread and water. Children and babies are hungry...people
have no money to buy food. The price of food has doubled and tripled
due to the situation. We cannot drink water from the ground here as it
is salty and not hygienic. People must buy water to drink. They have no
income, no opportunities to get food and water from outside and no
opportunities to secure money inside of Gaza. They have no
hope...Without electricity children are afraid. No light at night. No
oil or candles...Thirsty children are crying, afraid and
desperate...Many children have been violently thrown from their beds at
night from the sonic booms. Many arms and legs have been broken. These
planes fly low over Gaza and then reach the speed of sound. This shakes
the ground and creates shock waves like an earthquake that causes
people to be thrown from their bed. I, myself weigh 120 kilos and was
almost thrown from my bed due to the shock wave produced by a low
flying jet that made a sonic boom...Gaza cannot sleep...the cries of
hungry children, the sullen faces of broken men and women who are just
sitting in their hungry emptiness with no light, no hope, no love.
These actions are War Crimes!"
I
shudder as I imagine the facts on the ground in 2008, which are that:
"The occupation of the Strip did not end with the "Disengagement"; on
the contrary: the passage of persons and goods, in and out of the
Strip, was made far more difficult by the Israeli authorities, no one
can get in or out, by land, sea or air, except with the permission of
the Israeli Security Service. As far as Gazans are concerned,
Disengagement did not bring any liberty, but just made occupation that
much worse!
"However
bad the suffering is of the inhabitants of Sderot, Ashkelon and the
Kibbutzim and Moshavim in the area under the barrage of Qassam
missiles, mortar shells and sniper bullets, it is in no way a
justification for a cruel siege which severely damages a million and
half civilians - men, women and children. The siege is an immoral act
and a violation of International Law - and from the practical point of
view, increasing the bitterness and suffering in Gaza leads to an
intensification of attacks towards the Israeli side, not to their end."
http://gush-shalom.org.toibillboard.info/ConvJan08.htm
As
a Christian of The Beatitudes, a global citizen of the world and
patriotic American, I grieve that the inhabitants of Sderot and the
inhabitants of Gaza are seen as enemies of the other, for both are the
victims of the brutal and vicious policy by the empire: the government
of Israel aided and abetted by my American tax dollars!
But
being one to always make lemonade out of lemons, I herald the good news
that the day before my 54th birthday, good people are doing something
in the spirit of a sister and brotherhood and heeding the call of the
ancient prophets to WAKE UP the world that only JUSTICE and EQUALITY
for all people can lead to security and peace for any and all.
The
very good news is that not the religious, but secular society have
become the prophetic voice that has risen up in the Holy Land and we
truly do "have it in our power to begin the world again" [Tom Paine]
and next Saturday, on the border of the Gaza Strip it begins with a
protest rally on both sides of The Wall!
People
of good will are coming together this Saturday to demand the Government
of Israel end the siege of Gaza and have united Israeli, Palestinian
and Internationals that will illuminate to our political leaders THE
WAY they must go: if there is ever to be security for Israel and peace
in the world.
Israeli
participating organizations are being led by the good works and
altruism of Gush Shalom, Combatants for Peace, Coalition of Women for
Peace, ICAHD - The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Bat
Shalom, Bat Tzafon for Peace & Equality, Balad, Hadash, Adalah,
Tarabut-Hithabrut, Physicians for Human Rights, Alternative Information
Center, Psychoactive - Mental Health Professionals for Human Rights,
ActiveStills, Student Coalition (Tel-Aviv University), New Profile,
Machsom Watch, PCATI (Public Committee Against Torture), will be joined
on the other side of The Wall by Palestinian human rights activists,
intellectuals, academics and business people from Gaza and the West
Bank.
ALL
are united by a commitment to peace, human dignity and human rights for
all people and are guided by ethical and moral responsibility and
international law which affirms that all people are equal and justice
must be served.
The
children of Sderot are not served when the children of Gaza are forced
to drink polluted water, but current reality is that hundreds of
commodities needed for the maintaining of a normal daily life are not
being allowed into the Gaza Strip, by order of the Government of
Israel. Even the entry of water filters - vital for purifying the water
drawn from Gazan wells, which are heavily polluted by brine, oil and
sewage have been prevented for more than half a year because of the
sanctions imposed upon the innocent for daring to democratically elect
a party deemed as a "terrorist organization" for rising up against the
occupation of their land.
Gaza
has become the largest ghetto in the world, a regional disaster, and an
abomination unto God that also puts innocent Israelis in danger because
of the actions of their government.
But
the good news is that on January 26, 2008 a convoy of justice will roll
down like waters in a righteous and mighty stream as Israeli's in the
forefront are delivering massive quantities of water filters and basic
foodstuffs such as flour, rice, oil, salt, lentils, beans to be freely
given as gifts for distribution to Gaza inhabitants who have been
driven by the siege to extreme poverty, despair and hopelessness
because the leaders of the world have failed to see, hear and feel in
their hearts that they are just human beings!
Civil
secular society is leading and guiding the religious and atheists
alike-as did Rev. King in the battle for civil rights –as sisters and
brothers committed to peace in respect for human dignity, and driven by
ethical and moral standards.
If you have ears to hear; hear!
If you have eyes to see; see!
If
you have a heart of flesh may it bleed for the least among us, who have
become the "N's" of the world for we truly do "have it in our power to
begin the world again"-Tom Paine
If we all DO SOMETHING!
Be
a part of "the change you want to see in the world" [Gandhi] in this
righteous flowing stream of justice, peace and nonviolent action by
following the lead of the good Jews at Gush Shalom http://zope.gush-shalom.org/
And
may the Mystery of the Universe fill you with PEACE: Shalom, Salaam
that you did something for the least among us. In celebration and in
honor of Reverend Martin Luther King's Birthday I offer this paraphrase
from Luke 4:14:22:
May
the Spirit of the Lord be upon you. May He/She/? Anoint you to bring
glad tidings to the poor. May He/She/? Use you to proclaim LIBERTY to
captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go
free, and that in the offering of a drink of clean water to the least
of all, that we may in sister and brotherhood proclaim a year
acceptable to the Lord; for all are created equal and endowed by their
creator with certain inalienable rights; such as clean water and food.
Prophets have authority and also the call, to speak to the great and the small
They call down kings and lift up the poor:
Behold there's one at the door
And many will be at THE WALL 01/26/08
Amen and amen.
And amen means: So Be It!
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"HOPE has two children.The first is ANGER at the way things are. The second is COURAGE to DO SOMETHING about it."-St. Augustine
"He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust." - Aquinas |
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UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Everyone has the right to freedom of
opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
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The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway. © 1968, 2001 Kent M. Keith " In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."-Mother Teresa
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“You cannot talk like sane men around a peace table while the atomic bomb itself is ticking beneath it. Do not treat the atomic bomb as a weapon of offense; do not treat it as an instrument of the police. Treat the bomb for what it is: the visible insanity of a civilization that has ceased...to obey the laws of life.”- Lewis Mumford, 1946 |
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The age of warrior kings and of warrior presidents has passed. The nuclear age calls for a different kind of leadership....a leadership of intellect, judgment, tolerance and rationality, a leadership committed to human values, to world peace, and to the improvement of the human condition. The attributes upon which we must draw are the human attributes of compassion and common sense, of intellect and creative imagination, and of empathy and understanding between cultures." - William Fulbright |
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“Any nation that year after year continues to raise the Defense budget while cutting social programs to the neediest is a nation approaching spiritual death.” - Rev. MLK |
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Establishment of Israel |
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"On the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations." - May 14, 1948. The Declaration of the Establishment of Israel
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