Quakers, social justice and revolution

Since we really don’t know what will happen related to Keystone, and how soon, we are getting prepared in case.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Concerned Indiana citizens protest Keystone XL Pipeline Plan to engage in non-violent civil disobedience may result in arrests 

Indianapolis, Ind. (March, 2015) – About two dozen Indiana citizens will risk arrest on XX, March XX, because of the dangers they see in the controversial Keystone pipeline, which is planned to carry 850,000 barrels daily of oil extracted from the Alberta tar sands in Canada. The protest was triggered by the State Department’s approval of the pipeline in its just issued National Interest Determination (NID).  Scores of similar protests across the country, which involve more than 100,000 Americans in the largest single act of civil disobedience in U.S. history, seek to put last-minute pressure on President Obama to override the NID. The demonstration and civil disobedience will take place at the Minton-Capehart Federal Building, 575 N. Pennsylvania Street, at XXX p.m.  Federal officials have been apprised of the action by the protesters themselves. The protestors intend to raise awareness of this pipeline’s dangers. Climate scientists have concluded that tar-sands crude makes global warming worse than conventional oil because it adds about 20% more carbon to the atmosphere when mined, transported, and refined.  In addition, these groups emphasize how few permanent jobs the Keystone pipeline will create (35), the multi-million-dollar clean-ups caused by multiple breaks and leaks in existing tar-sands pipelines, the threats to the water supplies and soil health of farms and communities along the proposed pipeline route, and the polluted water and health problems already caused in the areas adjacent to the Alberta tar-sands operations.

Short profiles of three members of the KXL Resistance group:

GlendaRae Hernandez serves on the South Bend Human Rights Commission, works with the League of Women Voters there, and is a member of the Church of the Brethren. She believes it is “absolutely crucial to stop using fossil fuels and most especially the tar sands oil which is really bad news for the future of life on this planet.”

Jeff Kisling, a lifelong Quaker, is a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) who has researched infant lung disease at Riley Hospital for Children, for 40 years.  ”I have refused to own a car for forty years, knowing we can’t dump that much exhaust into the air.  Future generations are depending upon us to protect and keep clean the earth, air and water that all life depends upon.”

A Sister of St. Francis of Oldenburg, Indiana for the past sixty-six years, Claire Whalen says: “As a Franciscan woman, I have a deep love affair with Planet Earth and…all Earth’s balancing systems upon which life on this planet depends.”

The action is part of a national campaign by CREDO, Rainforest Action Network, the Sierra Club and 350.org. President Obama vetoed the Congressional bill that authorized construction of the pipeline last month, but that is different than an outright rejection. Those involved in the action believe the outright rejection of the pipeline is consistent with Obama’s stated commitment to deal with climate change.

“The eyes of the future are looking back at us, and they are praying that we might see beyond our own time.”

Terry Tempest Williams

Just a year before his assassination, at a Southern Christian Leadership Conference staff retreat in May 1967, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:

I think it is necessary for us to realize that we have moved from the era of civil rights to the era of human rights…[W]hen we see that there must be a radical redistribution of economic and political power, then we see that for the last twelve years we have been in a reform movement…That after Selma and the Voting Rights Bill, we moved into a new era, which must be an era of revolution…In short, we have moved into an era where we are called upon to raise certain basic questions about the whole society.

Each month we consider queries or questions related to a certain topic.  This month’s query relates to education.  Those of us who live away from Bear Creek meeting send in our responses:

Education provides the tools we use to make sense of the world and our place in it.  A poor education makes life more of a struggle.  Friends Schools have usually been leaders in providing excellent education because they focus on providing students with the tools they will need to tackle the future, stressing critical thinking, community building and practical experience.   Changes in technology, political and social movements, relationships and our spiritual life mean we will have to be able to evaluate changes and make decisions in totally new situations.  I especially appreciate this now as I try to see what the future looks like if the current political system is abandoned—a huge unknown, a huge opportunity.

In order to be an effective activist, a thorough education in the subject at hand is crucial to understand the factors involved, identify the root causes and potential solutions, and how to address them.  Crucial to the success of the Keystone Pledge of Resistance was the nation-wide training of 400 trainers, who then returned to their homes and trained over 4,000 people in nonviolent civil disobedience.  Native Americans and others have trained hundreds of others.  From recent readings of the civil rights movement of the 1960’s I learned how much effort was spent on similar nonviolence training then.  Many groups have provided similar training related to police abuse and the Black Lives Matter campaign—we actually trained people from that campaign using our Keystone Pledge of Resistance curriculum.

We have recently become involved with a cultural educational endeavor with the Quaker Story Project.  I have recently been the beneficiary of wonderful cultural educational experience with the community at the KI Eco Center.  One of the great things they provide the community are open discussions (education) about matters directly affecting our lives.

I’ve been learning about mind mapping, hoping that might help with discussions and work related to human rights.  Below is the current version–you’ll need to zoom in to see it.

UPDATE:  Even though it was dark and cold we had a brave turn out!  Thanks to all who were able to make it.

The link below is to sign up for a peaceful vigil (no civil disobedience) to be held on the Circle next Tuesday, January 13^th at 7 pm.  RAN, CREDO and 350.org are all combining forces for events that day.  We (Indianapolis Keystone Pledge of Resistance) are the sponsors.  This is in response to the Nebraska court decision, which denied land owner’s efforts to stop the pipeline.  That means the State Department can make a recommendation about the pipeline approval, so the President might be making a decision fairly soon.

https://actionnetwork.org/events/reject-keystone-xl-now-2

This Sunday, January 11, 2015, we plan to see what the children come up with as we try to write parables related to our environment.

It’s the beginning of 2015. One improvement I’d like to make for the New Year is to stop using email so much for communication. I like to share ideas with people, but don’t like the thought of sending messages that aren’t welcome.
So, I’m going to see how using a blog works, instead.

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something” ― Neil Gaiman