4/24/08

Isn't peace a conservative value?

by Beckye Randall, Publisher/Editor  

While I was standing on the corner of 4th and State, taking photos of the folks who’d shown up for a planned peace rally, I heard calls of support from passing cars. But apparently I didn’t stick around long enough.

One of the participants said they were “flipped off” several times while they held their signs and waved at cars zipping by. “Marysville does tend to be a bit conservative,” she explained.

I don’t get it.

Those gathered on that recent cold Saturday weren’t carrying political signs. There was no message to “end the war” or “bring our troops home” or anything remotely critical. Taking a cue from the Dalai Lama’s recent visit, the activists had created signs with messages of hope and peace.

“This is the century of dialogue.”

“Live the dream.”

“Dialogue equals peace.”

“Truth. Love. Nonviolence. Weapons of the Constitution.”

The way I see it, that small group of Snohomish County citizens and students were representing values that should be important to all of us, whether your political bent is liberal, conservative or (like most of us) somewhere in the middle.

Of course, the right to assemble peacefully is a keystone of our Constitution, as is the right to disagree with those assembled. But on the subject of peace, it’s hard to understand where the argument might lie.

The goal of world peace, formerly the naïve wish of beauty queens, is becoming increasingly critical to all of us. As the world’s population continues to grow and the relative “size” of the globe shrinks with increased communication and connectivity, events in Africa or New Guinea or Croatia impact our daily lives, even here in Snohomish County.

Displaying a hope for peace isn’t liberal. It’s American. It’s global.