Hank Williams Jr.’s signature country classic, “A Country Boy (sic) Can Survive,” extols rural independence. While I certainly revere pastoral ingenuity, it is a fact that a greater percentage of rural people suffer poverty, and for longer periods.
Wichita-to-KC PeaceWalk, 9/5
Long on talking, long on walking. A band of Charles Carney’s friends gathered Sept. 5 for the Admire-to-Miller part of his Peace Walk from Wichita, KS, to Kansas City, MO.
Wichita-KC Peace Walk, Aug. 11
Neighborhoods in Wichita have long suffered from poverty and neglect in stark contrast to the wealth generated by nearby Spirit (formerly Boeing) Aerosystems. The US could end homelessness for $20 billion, 1/37th of the U.S. military budget.
We walk in peace in 2022
On a warm evening, 15 of us gathered to share ideas about the Peace Walk being planned for spring 2022 from Wichita to the National Security Campus in south Kansas City, Mo. Note: The next Peace Walk planning will be Friday, Aug. 20, 6:30-8 p.m.
To Kansas City, Memorial Day 2021
City of Fountains,
Are you weeping,
This day of remembrance?
What seeds have grown to harvest
From the “blighted” soybean field
Unprecedented (buy the book!)
Ron Faust, PeaceWorks-KC’s own poet laureate, is out with a new book of poetry. Titled Unprecedented, Faust wrote it during the presidency of Donald Trump. The cover displays two mountain ranges under clouds of darkness. These represent the two sides of every issue, Faust explains.
On-line Reader’s Group to Explore “The Warmth of Other Suns”
"Warmth of Other Sons" online book study, Tuesday evenings, 7:00 to 8:30, July 6, July 20, August 3, and August 17.
Cosponsors assail war, nuclear weapons
For the first time, PeaceWorks-KC this year asked several groups to cosponsor its Memorial Day observance and share reflections. Theodore John, of Veterans for Peace, said, "I've seen the destruction of conventional war. I can't imagine a nuclear war."
Israel uses blueprint: displace people on land with resources
It is important to recognize the blueprint the Israeli government is utilizing to displace the indigenous peoples of Palestine. This system employs violence to physically relocate a population in order that the resources of the land on which they live may be extracted.
Lois Swimmer reflects on dangers of war and its weapons at peace witness
“This place that makes parts for war affects a lot of people. Militarism is impacting our community of poor people," said Lois Swimmer at PeaceWorks-KC's 10th annual peace witness May 31 for Memorial Day.