Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Best Mothers' Day Ever!

FROM LAST YEAR & the Year Before- SAME OLD- SAME OLD (unfortunately)

Mother's Day - A Call for Peace
Each year the president issues a Mother's Day Proclamation. The original Mother's Day Proclamation was made in 1870. Written by JuliaWard Howe, perhaps best known today for having written the words to "TheBattle Hymn of the Republic" ... the original Proclamation was an impassioned call for peace and disarmament. In the years following the Civil War her political activism increased, as did her condemnation of war. Here are the words to the original Mother's Day Proclamation:
"Arise then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts,whether your baptism be of water or of tears! "Say firmly: 'We will not have questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us reeking of carnage forcaresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience. We women of one country will be too tender to those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own, it says "Disarm!Disarm!" The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.'
"As men have forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after histime the sacred impress not of Caesar, but of God.
"In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace."

Gee, wouldn't it be wonderful if the flowers, candy, dinners, etc. were foregone to accomplish this. It's not going to happen until we mothers say, you can't have our kids. And dads. And grandparents. And aunts & uncles. You just can't have our kids.

Margaret Chase Smith:
Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk. The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character.

1 comment:

Nomi said...

Eileen,
thank you for posting this.

I have just tried 3x to email Tom; each attempt failed. Please convey to him, my brother in blogging, that I no longer know where he is electronically.

Again thanks for everything, Eileen.