[Peace] Fwd: Change the tide of war! Come to Channing-Murray this Wednesday!

[Jim Buell]

Hi all,

FYI, the local Unitarian ministerial intern, Matt Tittle, will be hosting a 
discussion on peace-related issues at the Channing Murray Foundation this 
Wednesday night (2/27) at 8 p.m. All are welcome. Channing Murray is at 
1209 W. Oregon, Urbana - 1 block west of Espresso Royale, and just across 
the street from the Foreign Languages Building.

As he writes below, Matt believes that grassroots discussion and nonviolent 
action can "prevent our government from escalating the war it is determined 
to fight in Iraq into a strategic policy that expands U.S. military 
involvement in other spots on the globe." He's invited me to forward the 
message below to AWARE and other peace groups around the community.

This may be of interest both because of Matt's unusual background - he's a 
former career naval intelligence officer now studying for the ministry in a 
denomination dedicated to peace and justice issues - and because of the 
emphasis he's hoping to focus on. I don't know just where his thoughts are 
tending on this, but it's certainly true that there are a great many change 
levers available to us in this town and university setting, and a great 
many connections to be made. Many of these are, of course, already being 
worked through AWARE, TPFJ, PRC, and so on. The new working group that 
Matt's interested in helping to form could lead toward different, equally 
worthwhile sets of connections, if there's good input from individuals and 
groups already engaged in these ongoing struggles.

Looking forward to seeing folks there Wednesday night. I'll report back to 
the list on how it goes.

peace,
Jim


>Reply-To: <tittle3 at insightbb.com>
>From: "Matt Tittle" <tittle3 at insightbb.com>
>To: "UU Student Organization" <tittle at uiuc.edu>
>Subject: Change the tide of war!  Come to Channing-Murray this Wednesday!
>Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 23:49:17 -0600
>X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.4510
>Importance: Normal
>
>Hi everyone,
>
>This message is primarily being sent to the Unitarian Universalist Student 
>Organization at the U of I, but I have included some others this time 
>because of the importance of our next Wednesday night gathering. If you 
>are getting this message, you are invited (bring friends too!)
>
>  We have had little or no attendance in the past few weeks at our 
> Wednesday evening gatherings at Channing-Murray.  I d like to re-energize 
> our efforts on Wednesday nights, and would like to start this week with a 
> thoughtful dialogue about the prospect of an American initiated war 
> around the world.
>
>  I know that many of you are very busy or have other obligations on 
> Wednesdays, but if you can make it, I d like to encourage you to do so 
> this week!  We will meet at 8 pm in the Channing Murray sanctuary. If you 
> ve never darkened the doors, Channing Murray is on the corner of Mathews 
> and Oregon near the quad (1209 W. Oregon, same building as the Red 
> Herring Restaurant)
>
>  There are many anti-war vigils, protests, events, and happenings around 
> campus.  My concern is that most of them are symbolic reflections of our 
> own frustration and feelings of helplessness in stopping the war.  No, 
> there isn t much we can do about war against Iraq at this point, except 
> continue strong anti-war protests here and around the world.  But, I 
> think we can stop the possibility of a U.S. initiated global conflict 
> that extends beyond Iraq.
>
>  Id like to initiate a grass-roots discussion of how it will be possible 
> to prevent our government from escalating the war it is determined to 
> fight in Iraq into a strategic policy that expands U.S. military 
> involvement in other spots on the globe.
>
>  For those who do not know, before I came to Urbana-Champaign to pursue a 
> career in education and now a career in Unitarian-Universalist ministry, 
> I was a career naval intelligence officer.  I have been a specialist in 
> National Security Affairs, Russian/Soviet area studies, and a nuclear 
> weapons inspector in Russia.  In the early 1990s, I was a crisis team 
> chief in Washington DC during the first Gulf War, and the Director of a 
> Strategic Studies Team at the end of the Cold War.  My 20 years in the 
> Navy has given me a lot of insight into what we are seeing on the news, 
> and what is being presented by our government as requiring immediate 
> military action against Iraq.  I DO NOT AGREE!!!!!  It used to be my job 
> to advise our policymakers on the seriousness of military threat from 
> other parts of the world, and on the level of compliance that countries 
> had in terms of weapons reductions and inspections.
>
>There is certainly cause for concern with regard to Iraq, North Korea, and 
>other places around the world, but the type of military action that our 
>government is about to embark on will not solve these problems, and have 
>incredible potential for escalation and loss of control.
>
>  So, I hope you will join us at Channing-Murray this Wednesday night to 
> begin a discussion about what WE can do, who we can network with to get 
> it done, and most importantly, how we can change the modus operandi of 
> our own country in trying to solve the world s delicate problems with 
> brute force.
>
>PLEASE join us for an important discussion and the development of an 
>action plan that we can use.  We will continue to meet each Wednesday for 
>the remainder of the semester.  Sometimes we will discuss our anti-war 
>plans and other social justice issues.  Other times we will take care of 
>our own spiritual and emotional needs with stories, sharing, and friendship!
>
>See you on Wednesday!  Invite some friends too!!!!!!!!  We will have some 
>beverages and munchies.
>
>Matt Tittle
>Intern Campus Minister
>Channing Murray Foundation
>1209 W. Oregon, Urbana, IL
><mailto:tittle2 at insightbb.com>tittle3 at insightbb.com
>217-390-9522