Go M.A.D.

Hello Friends,

That is Christi, me, and Jeff (my two "kids") at the big springs near Camp Kinawind. It is a peaceful spot deep in the woods with clean fresh water coming up from the ground and the North Country Trail passing near by. Every parent should be able to enjoy an afternoon with family at such a place.

That is not unrelated to my decision to go to Palestine. When talk of going to war with Iraq started, I did my part albeit ever so small to stop that action. I was quite frustrated when the USA went (in my opinion) to war for unjustifiable reasons. That reconnect with peace organizations led me to the Michigan Peace Team. I attended their beginning training and found a mission and a camaraderie that spoke to me. Diane Nash said, "If violence truly brought about positive social change, by now we'd be living in a utopia" I believe that we simply must find a better way to resolve conflicts. I also believe that I have led a very privileged life. I have benefited from the systems that operate in this world and those systems are very unfair. I liked the way President Obama said to his daughter shortly after his election, "“Right the wrongs you see and work to give others the chances you’ve had.”

I felt it was time in my life to go M.A.D. - Make a Difference! That was not a new feeling but it is a new era, a period in my life when health is still good, family is grown, finances are stable, and time is available. In short I had run out of excuses. Maybe some of you have similar thoughts and are or have been totally frustrated by the many many problems in this world. And how is one person like me to choose the best challenge to address let alone ever hope to make a meaningful difference. Recently Nancy gave me the book, "Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. Shane is a Christian activist who addressed that very issue. Shane wrote about my kind of frustration and he seemed to be understanding it very well. Then he turned on me saying something like (my words not his), b.s. with the lame excuses. Get out, meet people, an issue will present itself, and then get to work. So I did.

What does the picture have to do with this posting? ...feel free to answer.

More later....Fred