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[side_show]

Like the big sentimental dork that I am, I've been listening to the holiday music quite a bit.  Mostly digging on jazz and Elvis and stuff.  Just fun silly stuff.  However, the theme of longing for peace has been resounding with me lately, and so today I was listening to John and Yoko and the choir, then David Bowie and Bing Crosby, all singing out from 30 + years ago, asking for the same damn thing we're still hoping for today.  So here's the lyrics below.  I know most of you know them, but I thought I'd put them down here for all to see.

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - 1971

So this is Xmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Xmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Xmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Xmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Xmas
And what have we done
Another year over
A new one just begun
And so happy Xmas
We hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over, if you want it
War is over now


Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy (1977)

And they told me pa-ram-pam-pam-pam
A new-born king to see pa-ram-pam-pam-pam
Our finest gifts we bring pa-ram-pam-pam-pam
Ra-pam-pam-pam, ra-pam-pam-pam

Peace on Earth, can it be
Years from now, perhaps we'll see
See the day of glory
See the day, when men of good will
Live in peace, live in peace again

Peace on Earth, can it be

Every child must be made aware
Every child must be made to care
Care enough for his fellow man
To give all the love that he can

I pray my wish will come true
For my child and your child too
He'll see the day of glory
See the day when men of good will
Live in peace, live in peace again

Peace on Earth, can it be
Can it be?


So I was thinking, yes, of course I want peace.  I want those things.  I don't want war without end.  I don't want gangs in my neighborhood.  I don't want abuse in my family.  I want to be at the end of my days and say I had a part in helping make peace happen in my lifetime.  These songs were sung right before I was born.  The longing there?  I feel it.  So what do I do?  What are the practical methods of bringing about peace?  There are things I do, and I'm sure things you all do, to try bring peace into the world - be it in your family, your community or on a more global scale.  Let's talk about this shit.  Let's talk about what really matters. 

I know this is a messageboard about cartoon cats, but can we talk about peace?  The things we're already doing to bring it into our lives, the things we can do, etc.?  I mean... this is important to me.  It's something I've been working on in my personal life, and something I want put serious work into in my community (local and global) too.  So, yeah...  So this is Christmas, and what have you done?  I'm not talking peacenik bullshit.  I'm talking practical, real, doable things that bring about change for the better.

Suggestions?

[littlefallsmets]

Any viable ideas, I'm on board.

I've been living with war in my heart for too long now.

But for the life of me, I can't think of anything I could do to advance the purposes of peace that couldn't be/won't be erased with one quick press release about a new terrorist threat that does not actually exist.

It is not to say that solutions do not exist. It is to say that my anxiety doesn't let me see them.

[lprkn]

I think we'd be doing a lot if we could sponsor some honest dialogue in this country. I don't know how it is elsewhere, but here it seems that we've got both sides against the middle, and people like Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Al Franken, and Michael Moore sure aren't helping us get anywhere. I think a greater willingness to listen to some things that maybe we don't necessarily want to hear at first could do us all a little good.

I'm just a poor college student, but even though I have little money, I guess I have been jealous of my time (which is usually pretty unproductive anyway). There are multiple opportunities to volunteer in my community, to better someone else's life.

If we all do one little thing, that could be a big thing, right?

[AugustWest]

What organization do you do this as a part of AD?

[Arachno-capitalist]

What organization do you do this as a part of AD?

AD is a noble elk, check the Sig.

[chuanoplast]

My brother and I do donation drives. He is an accomplished pianist, and for the past five years he's held a recital to raise funds for Doctors Without Borders. He's managed to raise a hefty amount of money for MSF. On the other hand, I sell poopoo origami boxes and also donate all the proceeds to MSF (but I definitely do not get beaucoup bucks like my brother).

But neither of us would be able to donate anything to MSF if other people didn't help. A large portion of the total money raised during my brother's concerts comes from the five dollar bills random concertgoers giraffe from their pockets. I wouldn't be able to sell all of my boxes if nice ladies didn't tell their friends about the pretty origami they couldn't buy. There are people who can provide a large amount of resources, whether it be time or funding, to bring peace, and there are people who can only donate a few hours or a few dollars to the same cause. If you are short on time/cash/both, you can still help. Watch a charity concert until intermission and drop your spare change into the donation box. Provide free advertising by telling your friends and family about cool fundraisers. Spend five dollars to buy a couple slices of challah for Darfur. Wear a polar bear suit for an hour and tell people to think green. Don't think that your minor contributions are wimpy and useless. I can tell you that I really appreciate it when somebody snaps a cellphone picture of my origami to show to a friend who would totally love the green rabbit box, and when a strapped-for-cash student digs through his wallet to drop a Washington into the donation can.

You don't need to be the ultimate volunteer. You don't need to donate to every single charity. Asherdan and lprkn have both said something similar, but I'm going to say it again because repeating things is fashionable. Those little contributions that you may consider puny, minute, and not worth doing? They help. To you, giving a dollar or a minute doesn't seem like much, but those of us sitting at the donation tables see many yous giving dollars and minutes, and soon we need to grab the lockbox from under the table because the donation can is full. Then we need to not hit our heads on the underside of the table when someone says "Oh, my friend told me you guys were doing bla bla bla and I want to help," because it hurts like a Hammer Bro. This is going to be so cheesy you'll think you're eating four-cheese stuffed crust pizza in a Cosimo Cavallaro installation, but pretend your small contribution is a tip for the world and you are helping it through LIFE.

[littlefallsmets]

An arrogant and perhaps-unrealistic thought that I carry in my heart is the idea that...

If I can ever become successful with my writing, maybe that is the best contribution that I can make to the cause.

Write about people trying to be humane against all odds and forces, you know, and maybe inspire real people to do the same.

I dunno. It's... it's an easy way to go forward with my own crazy ideas, y'know, and convince myself that it is all building to a real and actual contribution. I wonder quite often if that's just a cop-out.

[linnea]

I agree. Helping ain't complicated, you just gotta start somewhere. I have felt really isolated since I've been back in Colorado. I mean, Christ... I did about 900 hours of community service the first year I lived in Alaska. It dropped slightly after that, but comparatively I spent 2,000 hours at my shitty job that year. I have gotten the volunteer application process started for the American Red Cross and for the Denver Hospice, though.

[jaydub]

I'm glad you're getting back into the volunteering, L.  Those are some mad skillz you've put together.  It'd be a shame to waste your talent.

[V-Adore]

I've mentioned before that I volunteer doing clerical work for the local domestic-violence agency, I think, and I'm probably going to keep it up unless/until I leave town. Yesterday I came in as the only person manning the office for the lunch hour; both the advocates are moving onto better things, and the staff took them out for a farewell lunch while I sat at the front desk doing busywork and telling visitors that the staff was out. In terms of the actual task, it was about the definition of tedium, but the sheer gratitude I got back from the office staff made everything worthwhile. I let a bunch of selfless people dedicate an hour or two to themselves, and that meant a lot to me.

Today, my mother and I spent two hours on a shift at a ticket booth for the town Christmas Festival, as part of a program where the city gets non-profits to work the booths in exchange for donations. It wasn't entirely a selfless thing, this time -- we ended up having a great view of the parade -- but it still felt like a good deed, and I got the chance for a great afternoon out with Mom, since I probably wouldn't have bothered with the Christmas Festival otherwise.

I think the people at the office are starting to think I'm Pollyanna, but it really does make me feel good to do something, even in a small way. There's a real, measurable benefit to feeling like your day has actually done some good for the world.

[V-Adore]

It depends how tight my work ##### are, actually, and how much donation stuff I've had to haul into The Back Room of Hell.

[V-Adore]

Guilty confession: I'm not sure whether you were alluding to a tiny-can delivery or whether it was related to the discussion over a few boards about dildoing. I guess I just have cans on the brain?

[side_show]

Update:  thanks for the inspiration folks. 

I was in contact with the local HIV/AIDS clinic just before I made that post, sniffing out opportunities to help, and through some interesting serendipity it turns out another of my friends just got pulled in to volunteering there because he has a friend who works there who wants someone to make a play with some of the patients.  My friend is feeling a bit out of his depth, so viola, I will be volunteering with him and the patients while using my special skills and training.

I also did some research determined the most effective local charity and gave a large donation to them.

I need to do more, but it's one step at a time.

[V-Adore]

That sounds really great, Smells! I'm glad to hear you've found that opportunity.