Active peacemaking

I've been all too quiet on this blog. It's not turning out to be an active collaborative give-and-take hub of Quaker thought and discussion, but rather a place where I occasionally implore people (you) to come join us and make one Quaker meeting see if it can make a difference.

I have always said that if you can keep one Quaker meeting alive, you have at least demonstrated a commitment to peace and justice through your very presence. Actually I would say that to everyone anywhere geographically, just go find one or start one and if you can't do that, join us or make one online. The world needs people who care more about peace than about the things they are killing each other over, and we peacemakers need to be organized enough to actively propagate the tools of peace and the insistence that peace is what's best for all of us, all the time.

We spend considerable time fretting about the various wars, in particular Israel-Gaza, and its victims, who will live with generations of terrorism and bad will because of inability of anyone to take a strong step between the two sides, rattle their cage, and get them to do the right thing for their people. I have no more sympathy for Hamas, who hides its hostages in hospitals and schools, than for Israel, which gets all thhe most modern guns and weapons to aim at those hospitals and schools, and says, your fault, you're killing your own people. Both sides are killing their own people. But enough of my rant. Where are the peacemakers? The ones who are trained to step between warring parties and change things?

In a Quaker meeting you can find people who are actively solving problems, whether we're talking homelessness, war, family disputes, whatever. That's why I say, go find one, or go make one. Blessed be the peacemakers. Don't waste your time on earth, or back off from conflict like I often do, unsure what the heck anyone can do about these confounded situations. Someone has to do something. ust letting them fester, or go on for years and years, clearly isn't the answer.