[Peace] Acting for Peace at Work

[Kranich, Kimberlie]

FYI,

Here's an email I sent to my colleagues at WILL this morning.

Kimberlie

-----Original Message-----
From: Kranich, Kimberlie 
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 8:26 AM
To: Everyone at WILL
Subject: SPAM: Rice, Not Bombs!


Dear WILL Staff,

If you are looking for a peaceful way to resist President Bush's move
towards "preventive" war with Iraq, please read below.  Maeve and I have
brought everything you need to participate:

rice, envelopes, American flag stamps, baggies, Bible verse Romans 12:20,
and the address of the President of the United States.

A similar grassroots campaign was underway during the mid-1950s.  Because
hundreds of thousands of bags of rice were sent to President Eisenhower, the
bags of rice were one deterrent to his use of nuclear weapons against China.

The announcement of this action is not a criticism of anyone who is in or
has served in the U.S. military.  This is a peaceful act of resistance to
President Bush and his new policy of "regime change" and "preventive war"
against Iraq.

Stop by my office any time you like and you will see a box with all of the
supplies you need to participate.

Thank you for your consideration.

Kimberlie & Maeve

"Nonviolence or non existence."  - Martin Luther King, Jr.

-------------------------

There is a grassroots campaign underway to protest war in
Iraq in a simple, but potentially powerful way. It might be
more noticeable than yet another petition.

In order for this protest to be effective, there must be
hundreds of thousands of such rice deliveries to the
President. We can do this if you each copy this message and
send to your friends, family and mailing list.

There is a positive history of this protest! In the 1950s,
Fellowship of Reconciliation began a similar protest, which
is credited with influencing President Eisenhower against
attacking China. Read on:

"In the mid-1950s, the pacifist Fellowship of
Reconciliation, learning of famine in the Chinese mainland,
launched a 'Feed Thine Enemy' campaign. Members and friends
mailed thousands of little bags of rice to the White House
with a tag quoting the Bible, "If thine enemy hunger, feed
him."

As far as anyone knew for more than ten years, the campaign
was an abject failure. The President did not acknowledge
receipt of the bags publicly; certainly, no rice was ever
sent to China. "What nonviolent activists only learned a
decade later was that the campaign played a significant,
perhaps even determining role in preventing nuclear war.
Twice while the campaign was on, President Eisenhower met
with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to consider U.S. options in
the conflict with China over two islands, Quemoy and Matsu.
The generals twice recommended the use of nuclear weapons.
President Eisenhower each time turned to his aide and asked
how many little bags of rice had come in. When told they
numbered in the tens of thousands, Eisenhower told the
generals that as long as so many Americans were expressing
active interest in having the U.S. feed the Chinese, he
certainly wasn't going to consider using nuclear weapons
against them."

Place 1/2 ounce of uncooked rice in a small plastic bag (a
snack-size bag or sandwich bag work fine). Squeeze out
excess air and seal the bag. Wrap it  in a piece of paper on
which you have written, "If your enemies are hungry, feed
them. Romans 12:20. Please send this rice to the people of
Iraq; do not attack them."

Place the paper and bag of rice in an envelope (either a
letter-sized or padded mailing envelope) and address them
to: President George W. Bush

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Drop this in the mail. It is important to act NOW so that
President Bush gets the letters ASAP.