Jim's Peacemaking

 Dear Friends,    I’m Right and You’re an Idiot    7/20/17   The political left and right are saying and thinking this about each other these days. Thus we find ourselves paralyzed stuck in gridlock not talking to each other.  There’s a wall between us.  James Haggan’s book by this name seeks to face this dilemma head on as he draws on the ideas of 22 others one in each chapter.  He interviews most of them. Each is very deeply concerned for our life together. They include Pope Francis, Thich Nhat Hanh, Dali Lama, Karen Armstrong, and Noam Chomsky. Some of the wisdom Haggan reaped from them is things like “rather than highlighting our differences, we   should be working toward finding common ground.”  “We need to speak the truth but not to punish the other.” “We need to have respect for the other and always keeping in mind that the other might be right and we might be wrong, be open.”  “Self-r...

​ ​Dear​ ​Friends,​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​Forgiveness​ ​and​ ​Peace!​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​6/9/17 ​ ​“Who​ ​are​ ​you?”​ ​Asked​ ​my​ ​cousin​ ​Henry.​ ​“I​ ​am​ ​Jimmy,  the​ ​youngest​ ​of​ ​the​ ​six sons​ ​of​ ​Isaac​ ​and Meda​ ​Fitz.”   ​ ​Henry​ ​began,​ ​“When​ ​me​ ​and​ ​my​ ​first​ ​wife​ ​divorced,​ ​she  took​ ​about​ ​$7,000.​ ​I​ ​have​ ​no​ ​resentment​ ​toward​ ​her.  The​ ​same​ ​goes​ ​for​ ​the​ ​several​ ​people​ ​who​ ​stole​ ​money  or​ ​who​ ​didn’t​ ​pay​ ​me​ ​for​ ​my​ ​electrical​ ​work.​ ​I​ ​could​ ​talk  to​ ​them​ ​today​ ​without​ ​any​ ​hard​ ​feelings.  ​ ​ I​ ​responded,​ ​“That​ ​is​ ​wonderful.​ ​That​ ​is​ ​great​ ​to​ ​hear.  What​ ​a​ ​gift​ ​and​ ​a​ ​witness.”  “What​ ​do​ ​you​ ​do,​ ​Jimmy?”​ ​​ ​Henry​ ​went​ ​on​ ​to​ ​ask​ ​me.​ ​“I  am​ ​working​ ​at​ ​peacemaking.​ ​I​ ​do​ ​talks​ ​on​ ​making​ ​peace  with​ ​ISIS​ ​nonvi...

Queridos amigos,                                            Cargas una Pistola? "¿Cargas una pistola? ¿No tienes miedo de que te puedan robar? ", Esto preguntó mi primo durante nuestra reunión familiar anual de 175 personas. "Preferiría perder mi dinero que mi vida", respondí. Un amigo cercano respondió: "Jack Benny a menudo contaba esta broma: "Un sujeto me enfrentó una vez diciendo,  su dinero o su vida...  y yo le respondí,  lo estoy pensando.  " Mi compañero de vivienda colombiano agregó: "Una broma colombiana en respuesta a eso es  Toma mi vida porque el dinero lo necesito ." Otro primo añadió: "Si tienes un arma, puedes disparar a la persona equivocada". "¿Eres un partidario de Trump?" Le pregunté a mi primo hermano. "Sí, él está haciendo muchas cosas buenas", respondió. Yo respondí: "Como seguidor de Jesús, no puedo apoyarlo por los bombardeos...

​ Dear Friends.              Do You Carry a Hand Gun?       6/8/17 “Do you carry a hand gun? Are you not afraid you might get robbed?” Half kidding asked my cousin at our 175- person annual family reunion. “I would rather lose my money than my life,” I responded. A friend nearby responded, “Jack Benny often told the joke, “A fellow once confronted me, your money or your life, I said, I’m thinking.” My Colombian temporary roommate added, “A Colombian joke in response to that is “I think I need my money; take my life.” Another cousin added, “If you have a gun you might shoot the wrong person.” “Are you a supporter of Trump?” I asked the first cousin. “Yes, He is doing many good things.” he answered. I responded, “As a follower of Jesus I can’t support him because of the bombing: he is killing people.” He responded, “How many has he killed?” “I don’ know. But one is too many. Let’s still b...

 Ataque Mi Corazon                                  12 de mayo de 2017   Hola amigo, ¿Cómo estás? Esto es para hacerte saber que en abril he tenido un ataque al corazón y me han puesto 3 “stents” en mis arterias en abril. Por esta razón he tenido que cancelar mis planes para ir a Colombia este año y también un curso sobre “construcción de la paz” que planeaba tomar.                                                                            ...

Hello,                      My Heart Attack                 May 12, 2017 How are you? This is to let you know that I have had a heart attack and had 3 stents put in my arteries in April.  I have had to cancel for a year my plans to go to Colombia and to take a course on peacemaking. This has been a real jolt to me as my identity has been so wrapped up in peacemaking. Though thank goodness there was no other notable impairment.  I hope to be able to begin to do more direct peacemaking giving talks here in the USA this fall and next year return to Colombia.  I could add that at the end of March and early April before I became aware of my heart condition I gave a total of seven talks in St Louis, Iowa, and here in Evanston. They were on “Making peace with ISIS Nonviolently” and “Updat...

Dear Friends, “I murdered a person in California, after which I was in prison for about 20 years. If I were black I would still be in jail,” remarked Nash.  I had met him at Koinonia Community Farm, in Georgia. Nash works hard at supporting local Hispanics who live in fear of deportation by Trump’s executive orders. Nash showed me his house, which was a trial prototype for Habitat for Humanity. Clarence Jordan was cofounder of both Habitat and Koinonia. Habitat began when Clarence remarked one day, “Nobody should live in a shack.”  So they built houses for their black neighbors, who were living in shacks. In its first years the multiracial community was harassed with drive-by shooting at their houses and local boycotts that kept them from selling their pecan products or buying farm supplies from local businesses. They were shunned because blacks were part of the community. One business was bombed because they sold Koinonia some fertilizer.  Innovatively ...