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Lessons from the Bastille
By Dr. Kathie Malley-Morrison
 July 14 is the Fête de la Fédération, generally known as Bastille Day in English speaking countries. The events leading up to that critical day in the French Revolution are instructive.
With his government facing economic crisis because of his war expenditures (i.e., his intervention in the American Revolution), King Louis XVI imposed heavy and regressive taxes on the middle class. He was unable to broaden his tax base because of the power of the small but entrenched and very conservative nobility. Do these problems have a familiar ring? Can you think of... Read more... |
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Signs of the times
By guest author Dean Hammer
The framework for my reflections is constructed from Dr. Martin Luther King's Speech delivered at Riverside Church in April, 1967 (a year before his assassination)...
In his wonderful cadence, Dr. King exhorted exhorted the audience by stating, "A time comes when silence is betrayal....A new spirit is rising among us... These are revolutionary times..." Read more...
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Milestones for Engaging Peace
On August 6, Engaging Peace will celebrate one year of publication. Our first blog post was launched on Hiroshima Day, 2010. And just last week, we published our 100th post.
Thanks to all who have contributed guest posts, comments, images, donations, and other support. Thanks, too, for sharing the blog and forwarding the newsletter to your friends and colleagues, so that readership and involvement in peace initiatives can continue to grow.
On the occasion of these milestones, please show your continued support by helping to sustain the blog and newsletter into their second year. Your financial contribution will enable us to continue providing great content that promotes engagement and activism.
Just click on the PayPal Donate button in the sidebar, and thank you!
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Children and youth peace corner
Book review by Rachel Tochiki
 The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq, by Jeanette Winter, tells the story of a real-life hero, Alia Muhammad Baker, a librarian at the Basra Central Library who managed to save 30,000 of the library's books from destruction.
Prior to the war, government offices had been moved into the library, and Alia had the foresight... Read more... |
