To the editors,

A PeaceWorks vigil has been active in Brunswick for the past 21 years. This letter is an invitation to all members of the Bowdoin community to join us when you can. Sometimes called “Honk for Peace,” we stand at the edge of the green opposite Walgreens every Friday from 5 – 5:30 p.m.

The Vigil began just after 9/11 as a statement against retaliation for the events of that day. We asked for wisdom and maturity rather than the dangerous choice of military violence. For the first month or so, there were 90 of us. When the retaliation began, our numbers waned in discouragement, but a core group has continued to meet weekly since, with a little time out for Covid-19.

The wars that have been waged in these 21 years have robbed our Federal budget of the social safety net so vital to the people of this country. Fifty-three cents of every tax dollar go to the Pentagon, leaving tragically little for education, health, environment and all the necessities of Real Security.

We invite you to add your voices and to rethink the way our tax dollars are spent. Join our call to bring our war dollars home so that we can find our way towards sustainable policies that lead to a culture of connection and compassion. We can find our way beyond racism, beyond homelessness, beyond health care for profit, beyond prisons for profit, beyond income disparities that are unacceptable and beyond climate devastation. All of it is connected, all of it waits to be changed by a new vision of who we are and who we want to be. Standing together makes a powerful statement in our own hearts and to those passing by. We stand to bear witness to our belief in a humane future. We stand as a source of public education that is sorely lacking in our corporate media.

Yours sincerely,

Rosalie Paul

Rosalie Paul is a member of PeaceWorks.