Lansing Peace Relay

THE PEACE RELAY

"Until mankind can extend the circle of his compassion to include all living things, he will never, himself, know peace."
Albert Schweitzer (Theologian and Nobel Prize recipient, 1950)


Lansing, Michigan has a dedicated group of peace activists that actively practice community involvement and freedom speech. Every Friday since before the war began, members of the Greater Lansing Network Against War and Injustice (GLNAWI), gather at 12:30 at the state Capitol for a Peace Vigil. They utilize conflict resolution techniques and a spirit of compassion when communicating their stance against the war and injustice worldwide.

On Friday, January 26, 2007 GLNAWI held their first Peace Relay. They visited Senator Levin, Senator Stabenow, and Representative Rogers' offices to express that the US should withdraw its troops in Iraq without delay. The day was bitter cold but the sun was shining as the activists traveled to present appeals to end involvement in Iraq.

The Peace Relay included bikers, joggers and a car caravan. I joined the group on Michigan avenue on the way to Mike Roger's office. I usually contact my elected officials via e-mail and I was excited about the encouragement to visit them in person.




I was saddened by the response that GLNAWI received at Mike Rogers’s office. The staff member that was assigned to greet the public was discourteous. Constituents of her employer, Representative Rogers, stood in their elected officials office and wanted to speak and be heard. She looked irritated, distracted by her computer screen, and answered the phone several times during the short time we were there.



I was taking photographs and she waved her arms at me for doing so. When the local media arrived and attempted to take a wide shot of the event she stated to him that it was against the policy of the office to take photographs of staff. I found that policy odd. Considering that Rogers is a public servant and she is the receptionist at the office, that policy seemed out of the ordinary. I wonder if the policy would be bent if President Bush or Miss. Rice were visiting? I was relieved when she spoke to the reporter and explained herself, instead of frowning and shaking her fingers.



Ann Francis, the spokesperson for the GLNAWI Peace Relay was polite and kind to all of the people that she encountered.



Our visit to Senator Stabenow’s office was a very different experience. The group was treated with respect and given focused attention. The office representative took us into a meeting room and was open to discussion, even when one person present spoke out against some of the Senator Stabenow’s recent votes.





Many of the participants ended their day by boarding a bus to Washington D. C. for the national peace protest that was happening the next day.



"Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
Robert Kennedy

"A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves."
Bertrand de Jouvenel (1903-1987) French political philosopher