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Good Friday——
Dismantling Empire: Building a Culture of Peace
Some three hundred people gathered in the early morning at the corner
of the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab, for the annual Good Friday gathering
for worship and witness. A number of the folks were new to this gathering.
This year we focused closely on the impact of U.S. empire upon the peoples
of the earth. The U.S. empire was well developed before the advent of
the nuclear weapons program that has for many years been a critical
factor in maintaining it.
Rev. Michael Yoshii began his presentation with his own family history.
His parents' families were interned during World War II. His wife's
family were survivors of the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He reflected
on the many instances of darkness over the land and the ways in which
darkness is cast aside:
In the text from Luke we notice that between the sixth hour and the
ninth hour, there was "darkness over the whole land…."
We recognize this as a cosmic darkness --- the reality of demonic forces
which invade human life from time to time, but sometimes more than others–and
in some places more than others. It says that in this time of darkness,
the sun’s light failed and the curtain of the temple was torn in
two. And it was in this context, that Jesus breathed his last breath,
and committed his spirit to God. It was also in this context that the
centurion recognized the innocence of Jesus, and the presence of a spiritual
truth embodied in him, even as he was dying. And what we know from the
continuation of the story is that while the demonic forces killed the
body, the spirit of truth could not be destroyed.
Rev. Yoshii spoke of hearing in 1981 the testimony of Japanese Americans
about the dark chapter of their history "where we had been caught
in the middle of two nations at war". It was out of that experience
that after the events of 9/11 Japanese Americans came swiftly to defend
Asian, Arab, and Muslim communities who were immediately targeted and
put under a microscope.
Rev. Yoshii brought before us the illegality and immorality of the
Iraq War and and the courage of Lt. Ehren Watada who has refused to
deploy to Iraq, after studying the events and rationale leading us into
Iraq. In his court martial, the truth about the war was not allowed
to be discussed. But those who hear the testimony of Watada see in him
the light of truth and the bearer of wisdom about the War in Iraq. And
behind him now are numbers of veterans who have been to Iraq, and vow
not to return --- who have seen enough of the darkness, and want to
shed light for the American people to see the truth behind this war.
Rev. Yoshii reported on his recent United Methodist-sponsored fact
finding mission to the Philippines to interview families of victims
of the extra-judicial killings which have escalated since 2001. Farmers,
labor organizers, human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, and
religious leaders are being targeted for political killings carried
out by military related assassins:
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines [NCCP], which hosted
our trip, has clearly analzyed the relationship between the policies
and politics of the United States and the current situation in the Philippines.
The darkness of the U.S. Empire casts a huge shadow over the Philippine
islands ----
Spirituality and the Culture of Peace
In a new initiative established in 2004, called "Peace for Life"
facilitated by the NCCP, and now staffed by Carmencita Karagdag they
speak of drawing upon the resources of faith to give life-giving strength
to defend and protect life against the evil forces that seek to annihilate
it. Today it is spoken of as the challenge to resist an empire that
negates the very essence of life. They describe the empire in this way:
"By empire we mean the combined economic, military, political
and cultural domination by a powerful state, assisted by satellite states
and aided by local elites of dominated countries, to advance its own
interests on a global scale. US dominance of $400+ billion in military
spending per year and bases in over 150 countries --- conjointly with
transnational corporate power makes up the heart of today’s empire."
In an article entitled "Nourishing A Spirituality of Resistance
in an era of Empire" United Methodist Deaconess, Darlene Marquez-Caramanzana
suggests that through the resources of faith, the Filipino people can
embody a spirituality that resists the forces of destruction in our
midst… while creating a new culture of peace which distinguishes
itself from the alliances of Empire building that much of the religious
world is part of. I witnessed those resources of faith in the Filipino
people we met on our trip. The resiliency, the strength, the willingness
to stand in the face of darkness, and like Jesus commit their lives
to God even in the face of death. Bishop Alberto Ramento, with the Filipino
Independent Church, before being killed in his home last October, knowing
that he was on a hit list, proclaimed that he would continue to do the
work of God, even if his life was at risk.
Rev. Yoshii gave us a call to action, closing with the words of Marquez-Caramanzana
as she paraphrases the scripture from Joel 3:9-11:
"People of faith, prepare to resist with the peoples of the world!
Turn your churches into sanctuaries of peace and refuge to the victims
of the empire;
Turn your theologies into reverberating sounds of the people’s
deep longings, protests, and hopes;
Turn your rituals into songs of liberation, echoing the message of
peace, justice, life and liberation;
Bring an end to the breathing of the Empire!
Onward with our journey towards the Promised Land!"
May the God of Justice and Peace lead us through. Amen.
Following the service we walked to the gates, stopping to reflect along
the way at the Stations of the Cross of Empire at which U.S. history
was briefly sketched.
I Trail of Tears —— Native American
Genocide & Ethnocide
II The Middle Passage —— Slave Trade
& a History of Violence and Exploitation
III Manifest Destiny —— Imperial Military
Actions against Independent Countries and Territories
IV Web of Control —— Bases, Military
Testing Grounds, Sweatshops around the World.
V Killing Hope —— Undermining and Destroying
Democratic Government
VI Acquisition of Hawaii in 1893 with the Overthrow
of Queen Liliuokalani
At the gates of the lab the grief of this overthrow was presented in
dance by Colleen Tani Nakamoto.
Sixty-four people were arrested at the gates of the Livermore Labs
this year. Among them were two young people who came to Livermore with
their parents and were arrested with their father. Their story follows.
Michael Ring-Martinez is 13 years old and entering into 8th grade at
Harriet Eddy Middle School in Elk Grove, CA. Cori Ring-Martinez is 15
years old and entering into her junior year at Laguna Creek High School
in Elk Grove, CA. Along with 62 other people, in April, they were arrested
at Lawrence-Livermore Laboratory in Livermore CA to protest the Iraq
War and the ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction at the
lab. The following are their reflections regarding the arrests and subsequent
required participation in an Alameda County, CA "Aggressive Offenders"
Class.
Michael Ring-Martinez:
"April 4th, 2007 was the day my sister and I, along with 62 adults
were arrested for obstructing a public roadway during a protest at Lawrence
Livermore Laboratory. It was Good Friday, and the protest was a mix
of religious understanding and outrage at the use of nuclear weaponry.
We were taken by the police one by one, then walked away from the entrance
into a line of people in which they made us take out everything from
our pockets and put handcuffs around our wrists. We then were loaded
onto different buses and driven over to a set of cages which they led
us in to. Before the bus loading, my father asked if all three of us
could be kept together and the police obliged. Finally, they led us
out of the cages, got our information, took our picture, drove us back
and let everyone go.
About six weeks after this powerful experience, we got a letter in
the mail notifying my parents that my sister, Cori, and I were to attend
an Aggressive Offenders class on a Saturday from 9am to 3pm for kids
18 and under for breaking the law. After contacting many of the other
participants in the protest, it became clear that out of the 64 people
who had been arrested, Cori and I were the only two who had been given
any type of sentence or punishment for the protest. So, on May 19 we
both attended the Aggressive Offenders class. It turned out to be very
easy and laid back, but still a huge time waster in which the only interesting
thing in the class was hearing the stories of other students. I found
myself thinking what a great contradiction it was that we were stuck
in the class. We were trying to stop this horrible war and bring some
more peace, and where do we end up? In an Aggressive Offenders class.
That is my account of what happened in these odd turn of events."
Cori Ring-Martinez:
"I recently stumbled across a stub of a newspaper article that
left me reeling and shaky. Despite the daily reports of death and disaster
occurring overseas and at home, it struck a nerve. Perhaps it was because
it was Memorial Day weekend, perhaps because the youngest man who died
that day was only a year out of high school, or perhaps because the
oldest of them died in the prime of his life.
Most days, I would have glanced at the item and, deciding it was too
depressing to start the morning off, have moved on to the next page.
I found myself instead staring at the names of eight young men no longer
in this world who gave their lives to defend and protect something they
believed in, and were even willing to fight to the death against the
Iraqi people who felt the same way. And as I was staring at those names
of the recently dead, their names, age, rank and hometown listed with
such cold precision, I remembered why I care so much. I care because
those young men were a piece of the future that was taken from us, and
for what? More death and more lies.
A precious gift is being stolen from us. The most valuable thing we
have to offer: our lives and the potential and hope that they hold.
All of this is being thrown away without care for the consequences and
without end in sight.
It is imperative that this catastrophe ends, because we are losing
the best and the brightest, the young and the foolish, our future, all
the things that make our lives beautiful in this increasingly ugly world
of greed and war. We are losing them and it seems we are letting them
go without a fight.
Our world is dying and the hope seems to be dimming. Relatively speaking,
human lives are but a blip in the vast universe, less than a speck in
comparison to the stars. But that speck is what appreciates that the
stars shine so bright. We have a beautiful gift, and what we do with
it is our choice. I don’t know yet what to do with my own gift,
but I know I can’t waste it while I’m trying to figure it
out.
That’s why I decided to go a step further than our family’s
usual ongoing activism and participate in a nonviolent, illegal direct
action the war. Along with 63 other people, including my father and
younger brother, I was arrested in front of the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear
Weapons Laboratory on Good Friday, April 2007.
I am 15 years old, a sophomore in high school, and a member of the
human race. And as a member of this species, I cannot in good conscience
allow the slaughter of my fellow human beings. I see carnage and I see
war and I see greed. My happiness is being taken from me, and while
it pales in comparison to the deaths of the innocent, it deserves its
own mourning in a way. Without happiness, our lives become empty of
all that makes them worth having in the first place.
I needed to do something, as much for peace of mind as for some way
of stimulating a society that is falling at our feet while we look at
each other, dazed, confused and pointing fingers. I felt a sense of
duty not unlike, I’m sure, those young men felt when they signed
their lives away in the belief they were defending and protecting their
country. In a way, I feel I am defending and protecting life. This war
is worse than a drain, it is a parasite, sucking the country dry of
all that it has to offer, with only the few who control the war benefiting
from it, as our children, both Iraqi and US, die around us.
It was a moral sense of duty and a sense of adventure, I must admit,
that propelled me to undergo this rather unusual pursuit, at least for
a 15-year-old living in Elk Grove, California. When I first considered
participating in the event, I didn’t immediately think of the legal
consequences. In fact, it wasn’t really much of a concern for me
until my father brought it up as one of his. Living in a mostly suburban
middle class environment, I haven’t had much opportunity to have
run-ins with the law. The truth is the prospect wasn’t daunting
as much as exciting. I admit I relished the experience. Anyway, from
what the others who had participated in the event in previous years
told us, the police had always been polite and the protest went peacefully
and without much commotion. The consequences were said to be light and
quick. My father’s concern was more that my brother and I would
be separated from him during the proceedings and sent to juvenile hall.
Well, it turned out that we stayed together throughout the action, arrest
and detainment, and were released while it was still quite early in
the morning.
Throughout the entire proceedings, we were under the impression that
the consequences would be fair and probably minimal. We would receive
notice through the mail if we were being prosecuted and had a court
date, or if there was a fine to pay. We were surprised one day to receive
a letter from the Alameda County Probation Department summoning my brother
and me to a course for youthful "Aggressive Offenders." (This
in spite of the fact that we officially were arrested for jaywalking,
an infraction that, as we learned in the Aggressive Offenders class,
should have been punishable by a fine of up to 250 dollars.) Even our
instructor was unable to explain to us why we were in the class. To
me, the irony of youth peace activists being sent to an Aggressive Offender
class just points to the obvious cracks, holes and inconsistencies in
our judicial system. The class did provide a window into the state of
our country as seen through the faces of those other youth who were
summoned to the class. What I saw saddened me: the loss of hope and
a room full of heart-breaking masks shielding us from the pain of disappointment.
I don’t regret going to the class, or getting arrested, for that
matter. It only made clearer how our society is failing so many people
in so many ways.
Our meaning is being sucked away from us and our life force drained
away. The rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are
being ignored, while thousands rot in prison cells and thousands more
are killed on the battlefield. My deepest fear is that it is too late,
that we cannot be saved. But, somewhere I know that perhaps because
I am only 15, perhaps because I have some remnants of that child’s
soul I miss so deeply, I know I have not lost all hope for this world
to be the bright and happy place I imagine it can be. And it is precisely
because of this hope that I can keep my head high and my heart clear,
and continue the struggle for peace and justice alongside my sister
and brother human beings."
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