dance and dance and dance

so i've been wondering a lot recently about the proper attitude on War. What might happen in we (America) laid down our weapons of mass destruction? What might happen if we took our guns and turned them--through a process of heating and bending--into statues of peace? Thich Nhat Hanh is right when he says, "Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of the bombs are still here, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we will make new bombs. To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women." Also, "Nonviolence does not mean non-action. Nonviolence means we act with love and compassion." G-d, we have to lay ourselves down. David writes, "For your sake we are killed every day; Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Get up! Do not reject us forever. Why do you look the other way? Why do you ignore our suffering and oppression? We collapse in the dust, lying face down in the dirt. Rise up! Come and help us! Save us because of your unfailing love." Well my question to the world is this: Who is being slaughtered like sheep in the name of peace? Is it the Christians? Is it America? Is it anybody? (please tell me who the world sees as peacemakers). What might happen if we marched right into the belly of the beast and offered our neighbors some freshly baked cookies and a chance at peace, renewal, forgiveness? Maybe then we would become the bloodlust scapegoats (and maybe we would see a new world). And we know that whether we are high in the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord, the ultimate scapegoat and neighbor and friend.

We don't have to live like this.

We don't have to turn on the t.v. and watch African tribes enact genocide on one another. We don't have to watch the United States add to the destruction and death that is already so prevalent in this world. We don't have to support the lazy energy companies who would prefer dirty old technologies to new, shiny, clean ones. We don't have to buy cars and clothes and coffee that have bloody pasts. We don't have to be or feel guilty (since guilt is far from the real issue).

We can be the change we wish to see in the world. We can have peace and know peace and be peace and love in this world. We can wait patiently and confidently to see a new kingdom manifest itself in our own hearts and in the hearts of our neighbors across the entire earth. We can dance and dance and dance our way to our clean and bloody graves.

"May flowers and peace and happiness manifest with every step you take."