- It was February 2, 2001, and I had been invited to travel
to Portland, Maine, to attend the sentencing of 77 year old peace activist
Philip Berrigan. Philip did not deny that he and other demonstrators broke
through a fence at a Maryland Air National Guard base and damaged two A-10
Thunderbolts.
-
- Berrigan said that the A-10 aircraft use armor-piercing
ammunition that contains depleted uranium which he believes is the source
of Gulf War Syndrome and the cause of numerous deaths and deformities of
adults and children in Iraq and in our soldiers. He told the judge, of
comparable age, "I was acting according to my conscience and the precepts
of non-violent principles and laws". Berrigan was sentenced along
with Susan Crane, 57, to a year in Federal Prison. Would that he had been
an Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, etc., criminal; or had been involved in the billions
of the Savings and Loans heist (Neil Bush-Silvarado) he'd have been a free
man.
-
- Philip Berrigan and members of Plowshares, had found
weapons of mass destruction, and symbolically went about destroying these
annihilating weapons of mankind. Phil would have been lauded, had he found
them in Iraq, but here on American soil, he was branded a criminal. Some
weapons are more equal than others-it all depends where they are found.
-
- It was a cold gray day. I'd never been to Portland, and
gazed ever so briefly at the blur of blues, greens and netting, of various
seafood restaurants and the choppy ocean waters beyond. There was a small
band of supporters outside the courthouse. I thought to myself, watching
the great love they had for one another, that the rest of the world would
never see this grave injustice being perpetuated against this man of Forever
Peace. I'd never met Philip Berrigan (though I read his books), and was
quite taken with his gentle, giant, demeanor and front porch welcoming
smile, that invited you into his life.
-
- His blue eyes sparkled with some private mischief and
his white hair was covered with a tweed cap. He seemed more intent on comforting
his followers, than being dragged off to prison that day. I spoke briefly
with him, impressed that he'd take the time. During the lunch break, the
driver of the vehicle, in which we'd made the trip and I, stopped into
a hole in the wall coffee shop. There at a table near the window, sat Philip,
his "friends" and brother Daniel, eating clam chowder. No lavish
last meal this. We bought coffee, and quickly left this small group to
themselves, not wanting, as strangers, to intrude in their last moments
together. I was secretly envious of the laughter, love, and peace that
emanated from this band of peace activists. People you would want to know.
-
- Confusing isn't it? The season identified as peace on
earth to men of goodwill, with war raging, and local farmers, loggers,
and truckers being sent off to this chaos for a year and a half! And so,
for "freedom-peace-liberation-regime change", people of one land
occupy another and kill and kill and kill. The men who make all the money
from this war business, count their loot, buy stock, and vacation on the
Riviera or exotic islands watching it all from a distance.
-
- "This is the rule of love: the good that we desire
for ourselves we desire for our neighbors also; and the evil that we are
unwilling to undergo we wish to prevent from happening to our neighbor.
All who love God will have such a desire toward everybody." St. Augustine.
-
- We self-righteously denounce those, who in the name of
conscience, would try to save mankind from the madness that has the very
real potential to destroy us all. What juries and judges perceived as lawbreaking,
"being a danger to the community", Philip Berrigan and his fellow
activists for peace, saw as allegiance to international law and treaties
forbidding nations to prepare for wars of annihilation. In a 1996 autobiography,
Philip writes, "If a house full of children is burning, it is necessary
to break down the door to rescue them. In our trials the government refused
to allow the necessary defense, arguing we could not prove that nuclear
war was imminent. We explained that nuclear war could happen at any time.
It was imminent because the government was designing, building and deploying
nuclear weapons. It was imminent because our air, water and food supply
were being poisoned with radioactive isotopes. All weapons, nuclear and
conventional, reflect the spirit of murder, rather than hope."
-
- From the right, Philip and friends were ridiculed as
professional prisoners, whose actions had no effect on public policy. From
the left, he and his friends were accused of destroying property-damaging
weapons, and that this was violence. "It is a curious argument",
Philip wrote, "one I've heard many times. Warheads whose sole purpose
is to vaporize cities are hardly to be thought of as legitimate property.
Bombs that indiscriminately murder millions of men, women and children
are not property." Linguist and political dissident Noam Chomsky called
Philip and his brother Daniel, "heroic individuals, willing to do
what many realize should be done, regardless of the personal cost, with
a simplicity of manner. There are not too many people of whom this can
be said." And so Philip Berrigan died Dec 6, 2002, having spent years
in prison for his beliefs. People know the name of an O.J. Simpson, a Koby
Bryant, a Michael Jackson, but Philip, trying to save mankind of annihilation
and shredded children never made the top of the news. His final message
was left unfinished. I sincerely believe because we have been left to finish
it.
-
- We live in a world of approximately 6 billion people.
On the one hand you have in comparison, a small cadre of a few thousand
plus; who in their summits, meetings, dinners, gatherings, board rooms,
war rooms and secret sessions decide who will live and who will die; who
is expendable collateral damage, who are the herds of human resources to
be dumbed down, to compliant passive servitude; what minerals, lands, timbers,
waters and natural resources will go to such and such a conglomerate, dividing
up the plunder.
-
- Then, there are the hundreds of thousands, millions really;
the hirelings, who carry out the messy part of the business in dispossessing
people's from their lands, disappearing some, bombing others, and beating
and gassing those who dare to dissent in the streets. There's a pecking
order here, with some attaining high office and appointments, cabinet positions,
agency heads and mouthpieces. Others include attorneys, medical off icials,
scientists,, military commanders, police departments, media personalities,
regulatory personnel and the like.
-
- We applaud the peacemakers and sometimes even attend
organized events. The well rounded life should have us involved in some
kind of community action. But there it ends. We object to injustice, to
war, to hunger and people being dispossessed. In our sympathy, it is possible
to encompass the whole of humanity, costing us nothing! Our outcry, our
anger and outrage; is but for the moment, having no lasting effect.
-
- We protest feebly. Least in our protesting there might
come a cost to our personal lives, our comfort zones, our standing in the
community; what will the neighbors, church members or relatives say?
-
- Perfect Love casts out all fear, and here may lie the
obstruction, the barrier to our making a real difference. How can we honestly
say to ourselves that we love those that are thousands of miles away, whom
we will never meet, let alone have to feed, comfort and grieve with? If
we can't even love those in our communities, how can we love the stranger
and cry out for them? There are the excuses. We are offended at the lack
of culture, the social standing, the language of another, who may speak
out of turn (according to our way of seeing things).
-
- We find this the perfect reason to voice our righteous
indignation; as if we were without flaw, without blemish, without fault!
With a harumph, we dismiss anyone who dares to offend our expectations
or sensibilities. It's called hypocrisy and the easy way out. We are called
to love the unlovable and to touch the untouchable; not merely those who
meet our imaginary plumb line. Would that we would manage such passion
and outrage over real issues; such as the homeless, hungry, suffering in
our own midst; due to the corruption of the system that serves the interests
of the idle rich, powerful and well-connected! But no, it's much easier
to fault those of lesser credentials, the powerless. No cost here.
-
- Love asks that you give up fear, resentment, shame, hurt,
and any expectation of reciprocated love. Love asks that you forgive all
wrongs done. This does not mean you forget harm done or continue to place
yourself in harm's way. You are to claim full responsibility for your acts.
Love commands of us that we simply give of our hearts freely and unconditionally.
-
- Vishal Ghariwala tells us, "Love is without a doubt
the greatest gift of the Divine. Love is truly Divine. It represents love
of the highest form; Unconditional Love. Many of us have a very vague idea
of what unconditional love is. The reason is simple. Society never gave
any importance to the term, "unconditional'. When two good friends
become sore enemies, the love which once existed between them often miraculously
disappears, simply because of the subconscious agreement based on CONDITIONS
such as; this friendship is valid if and on if .....and if and only if....and
if and only if. If any of these CONDITIONS are not met, then....we shall
see about it."
-
- "Love will always be a weakness as long as it is
conditional. Love which hurts is CONDITIONAL love. In a loving relationship,
when something happens, contradicts your 'expectation' and 'preconceived'
thoughts, you experience a state of shock and disbelief. Hidden underneath
is anger, which will almost always be transparent. Anger results because
reality contradicted your idealistic thoughts. You directly experienced
what you thought was impossible. The idealistic thoughts somehow became
CONDITIONS that supported your relationship. When those CONDITIONS failed,
your emotions were crippled. And you blamed it all on love. Nonetheless,
it must be realized that love cannot hurt, because Love is divine. If you
feel and experience pain in a loving relationship or friendship, then it
simply means that there is a dose of CONDITIONAL attachment and judgment
present."
-
- "The pain which results when two people separate,
results because a connection is broken. Imagine a cord, something like
an umbilical cord, connecting you to your friend or partner. Now imagine
a pair of scissors cutting that cord. That is the reason for the pain.,
if there is no attachment, there would be minimal or no pain at all. But
then again, it there such a thing as deep love with non-attachment? Indeed
there is such a thing. However, it is extremely difficult to find a person
who exhibits this type of love. Once you realize in truth that everything
in the cosmos is interconnected, you realize that you will always have
the inner-connection."
-
- "For example: Control and manipulation in a romantic
relationship clearly shows how shallow one's love can be. Love is a tremendous
energy that reveals its true power only when it is not manipulated and
allowed to flow freely. It is a universal law that love always returns
to the sender, in amounts much greater than that which was sent out by
the sender. Therefore, if you cannot see that love, it may be that you
are incapable and do not want to see it at all. The power of love is only
truly seen when it is unconditional."
-
- The Light. The greatest gift of love that I ever received
had nothing to do with romance (many times lust not love), expectations,
monetary gain or peer acceptance. It came quite unexpectedly and unsought.
It came through a mute, twisted, stunted child unable to speak or to respond
to my care of him.
-
- His name was Danny, eight years old and all of 35lbs.
He'd been placed in an institution at birth, due to his cerebral palsy
and brain damage. I'd been called in on my day off to work in the nursery
part of the institution. This was a new experience for me, as I worked
mostly with adult males with severe behavioral problems. I was assigned
to feed and take care of this minute blond haired child, who was lost in
the adult size bed they had him in. Feeding him took some time as you had
to manipulate his jaw to get him to swallow the thin gruel. This effort
took all of two hours for just a small portion. There was no response from
Danny as I chatted and tried to get his attention. It was a magnificent
August day, with a small sparrow sitting on the window-ledge behind Danny's
headboard. Things we so take for granted, like watching the antics of the
small bird, Danny had never experienced.
-
- There were no words to explain the overwhelming love
I felt towards this misshapen little child, who resembled a broken bird
fallen from its nest. With all my heart, I wished that I had the power
within me, to heal his atrophied limbs so that he might run in the fields
outside his window. There was no toy that I might buy that he would recognize
let alone be able to play with. His little hands were frozen and rigid.
What could I give him became my overwhelming thought? After lunch I carried
him back to the cavernous institution bathroom. He was so tiny and fragile
that he fit on the counter-top beside the sink. I washed him up, changed
his diaper and put clean pajamas on him.
-
- Entering the dimly lit hallway outside the bathroom,
it hit me, the gift I could give him. I realized that this baby, all of
eight years old, had never known the love of a mother, never the cuddling,
never the kisses, never the songs. The hallway was empty and dark, with
staff occupied in the front of the building. I rocked him in my arms, kissed
him and told him that he was mommy's boy and I was so proud of him. As
I sang a lullaby to him, that's when it happened, the most awesome moment
of my entire life.
-
- This column of light came down right through the ceiling
and encompassed us in a circle. It was at this same moment, I realized
that as we look at the Danny's in life, with their twisted limbs and spasms,
we should not feel superior. If for a moment in time our anger, lusts,
jealousies, greed, mean-spiritedness, prejudice, pride and abuses towards
others could be made manifest in the flesh, how much more handicapped than
Danny we would all be. I saw that I was just like Danny only inside out.
And then the light was gone and as I finished my song Danny was cooing,
holding onto my finger.
-
- I went back to my building the following day. A few months
after the Gift of Light that was Danny, a woman came into the area where
I was working and remarked, "Did you hear what happened?" I replied
"No, what is it?" She then proceeded to tell me that little Danny,
over in the nursery building, had been found dead the night before. Apparently
the staff had all been in the break room watching the World Series. Danny,
in a bed much too large for him, slipped through the side bars and hung
there in the dark unable to help himself or cry out. I stood stunned for
a moment, waiting for the rage and anger to rise up in me, at the negligence
that had brought about such a terrible needless death. It never came. As
odd as it may sound, my grief was not for Danny, gone from his years of
silent suffering, but grief for the living, those who through indifference,
laziness and a callous disregard for broken humanity, had missed the light
offered to them.
-
- The Child of Light and the Man of Peace; messengers for
such a brief time, to a world of such depravity, slaughter, disease, famine,
and plundering greed; all in the name of "freedom-liberation-democracy
etc." Fathers and mothers, middle-aged, going off to desert lands,
while those who profit and market war, vote themselves raises and design
more horrific weaponry to shred the feet from dancing children, the arms
from innocent boyhood. For what, billions and billions of dollars in contracts,
dividend checks, trophy homes, exotic vacations? The cannon fodder of both
sides are given cheap ribbons or medals and then dutifully forgotten.
-
- Several months after the Man of Peace died, I again visited
Portland, Maine, and took a picture of a dancing bird in the light. I am
reminded, when looking at it, of Danny and Philip and their message to
us all. In the midst of citizens being beaten, gassed, (democracy run amuck)
and shot with stun guns by fellow citizens (?) in armored black; because
they seek peace and a world of economic equity; the mayhem of holiday shopping
distracts from the crisis at hand. And so in the blare of Jingle Bell Rock,
the bleached specter from Never-Never Land, warnings of plague, plans for
what new experience to seek, new lands to travel, the drum beat of war,
and shredded children; we miss the gifts of real value right in our midst
in the giving of unconditional love towards our fellow man. You don't "Shock
and Awe" people into Democracy or liberating love! The Man of Peace
now with the Child of Light telling you so. They are gone, but not their
message. Philip left us to finish the message. "Do you hear what I
hear........."
-
-
- "The great tragedy of life is not that men perish,
but that
- they cease to LOVE." --W. Somerset Maugham
-
-
- Comments
-
- From Cliff Gieseke
- 12-7-3
-
- Judith,
-
- Man of Peace -- Child Of Light ... This is the most beautiful,
most powerful writing I've seen for this Christmas! I immediately passed
it to local San Antonio activist, teacher, poet, etc. of many yearsTom
Keene and others.
- Peace be with you.
-
- P.S. - I often think of Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez' frequent
use of the word "gratuitamente" (gratuitously) in courses he
taught at the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio I attended.
-
-
- From T Shirley
- 12-7-3
-
- You pegged true Love ~ kudos
-
- ...blessings T
-
-
- From Ellen P.
- 12-7-3
-
- Dear Judith,
-
- Thank you for your lovely tribute to Phillip Berrigan
and the touching
- story of your experience with Danny and the circle of
light.
-
- I read your articles from time to time on Rense.com,
and in general
- appreciate them very much for your ability to echo --
in a more poetic
- way -- the sentiments of myself and my friends. Some
I forward to
- friends and family.
-
- But this article today was one of the most moving, and
I think it will
- deeply touch people's hearts.
-
- Thanks again.
-
- Warm wishes,
- Ellen P.
- Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- (native Philadelphian)
-
-
- From Timothy B.
- 12-7-3
-
- Judith,
-
- Thank you so much for your article posted at Rense.com.
Beautifully written, I was moved to tears. You've distilled the essence
of what's important, not just this time of year but always, and how we
were meant to live. Love is not about holding up plastic turkeys for propaganda
photo-ops while exhorting decent young people to maim and destroy for "freedom."
It's not about promoting "democracy" with mortars and tanks,
and micro-nukes. It's about killing with kindness, loving your "enemy,"
or those you will never understand and will never understand you. I heard
a slogan, coined during the Vietnam era, that always made wonderful sense
to me despite - or maybe because of - it's crude but forthright delivery:
Fighting for peace is like f*cking for chastity. Baldly put, granted, but
succinct.
-
- If we want peace, we demonstrate peace. If we want to
promote democracy, we demonstrate what that is. What are we demonstrating,
with our cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions? America had a golden
opportunity to show the planet the right way, the way our Creator would
have us be, on a global scale - and America as a nation has squandered
it. Perhaps, in our own personal lives some of us can heed your call and
have the courage to show unconditional Love in small ways, this season
and every day of the year. My hope is that, if we can persevere on a personal
level, with the small things that aren't really small at all, we'll survive
the phony rhetoric of the Leader of the Free World, indeed overcome the
hostility and paranoia and lies. And be the loving beings we're meant to
be.
-
-
- From Tom C.
- 12-7-3
-
- I enjoyed the truth, wisdom and love that you recent
article -Man of Peace, Child of light expressed.
- I have nothing but respect and admiration for the work
that you are doing. It is an inspiration to me and drives me to learn to
express God's will in my beliefs, thoughts and -perhaps most important
-actions.
-
- Thanks. God bless you.
-
-
- From Lucille
- 12-7-3
-
- Dear Judith,
-
- An absolutely beautiful set of stories and a most beautiful
event with Danny. I have no words to express how happy I am for you and
Danny, Judith, to have experienced true divine love, with such an angel.
He lives in Truth, Love and Light now, I'm sure never to suffer again,
only to experience the Love and Joy of his and your Divine Mother. God
Bless you and keep you, all your days.
-
- Most sincerely, with warm regards,
- Lucille
-
-
-
- From Christine Ross
- 12-8-3
-
- Dear Jeff,
-
- As a Roman Catholic, I strenuously object to your article
that describes Philip Berrigan as a "man of peace." I am scandalized
that this man is held up as a saint. How can a man be at peace if he is
at war with God?
-
- Philip Berrigan was ordained to the priesthood in 1955,
and made a solemn promise, or vow, to lead a life of celibacy in service
to God. One of the ways that we make peace with God is by keeping our vows
and for priests, to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in reparation
for sin.
-
- He abandoned the priesthood, the Mass, and his vows to
marry an ex-nun.
-
- It is not pleasing to God to abandon the religious and
priestly state. Martin Luther, who also abandoned his vows and the priesthood
to marry an ex-nun who abandoned her vows and the convent, had a different
view of his own misconduct. His wife said to him one beautiful starry night
"See how the stars are shining." He replied "O beautiful
light, but it is not for us." "Why, are we disinherited from
Heaven?" "Perhaps, because we have abandoned our state; we are
too deeply plunged in sin, and it is too late to repent." In these
sentiments, Luther died. Stories from the Catechist, page 168
-
- It has long been recognized by the Catholic Church that
wars are God's punishment for sin; the Blessed Virgin Mary repeated this
statement at Fatima in 1917 in the famous apparitions there.
-
- When you offend a friend, you stop offending him, say
you are sorry, and make an effort to make amends by either sending flowers,
a card, lunch, etc.
-
- In a like manner, we must do the same with God and stop
wars by the practice of penance: participation at Mass, fasting, prayer,
and almsgiving (voluntary charitable donations to the needy - paying taxes
does not count). History teaches us that wars have been averted by the
practice of penance, St. Genevieve of Paris stopped wars in her lifetime
through the practice of penance.
-
- Philip Berrigan was ordained to the priesthood to teach
and preach the Catholic religion, not make foolish, ineffectual protests
that scandalize the faithful, accomplish nothing, and mislead the public
into thinking that this is proper conduct for a Catholic and a priest.
The way to change hearts is through penance, prayer and fasting, not making
public assaults on military facilities.
-
- Sincerely,
- Christine Ross
From D. Hartman
12-8-03
Looks to me like Berrigan made two excellent choices in life. Casting off
the shackles of the Roman heresy against nature and fulfilling his roll
as a man (for God said "it is not good that the man be alone"
and "and for this reason shall a man leave his father and mother and
cleave unto his wife" -- God knows better than the Pope! ) AND taking
up a life of resistance, protest and advancing the cause of peace. "Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."
Amazing... both Biblical positions rejected by the Catholic comment writer
C. Ross. Isn't that typical? It just goes to show you what happens when
people involve themselves in a cult that worships the dictates of fallible
men as though it were the wisdom of God. So much so that being a peacemaker,
he is somehow 'wrong.' Jesus' words and teachings mean nothing to the antichrist
Roman Catholic heretics, it's that simple. They would have us forever in
war and death and destruction, for that's all they know.
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