Big deal! So I face the remote prospect of jail time for "refusing to obey a lawful order" at the Pentagon -
Leafletting. Folks from the Plow Share's movement and others like them have spent years, 10's of years in jail! Yes, for
leafletting at the
Pentagon I maybe let off (as I was the first time in January) or at worst face months of jail. My body is quite upset at the idea of months in jail but my Spirit is fine, as long as it is the best use of my Life.
But, it is entirely my responsibility, my only responsibility in this, and in life more broadly to guide the use of my life as constructively as possible. Hence my musings in this post. Your comments would be valued as I discern what I am called to do.
THESE ARE MY CURRENT THOUGHTS (expanded below):
- My focus should not / MUST NOT be on making some "Legal" point or advance.
- My focus should be to offer an opportunity (no matter how remote) that MIGHT spur a dramatic MORAL CONVERSION within anyone touched by my action, now or in the future.
- My efforts should be to be a Brother providing an opportunity to a sibling (judge, onlookers) to "wake up" to their sub-humanity, and move to their birthright - HUMANITY (EMPIRE LICENSES SUB-HUMANITY ).
- I should take responsibility for how much risk (time in jail) / opportunity this Moral Opportunity presents and decide accordingly how much risk to take.
1. MY FOCUS SHOULD NOT / MUST NOT BE ON MAKING SOME "LEGAL" POINT OR ADVANCE.
- There is no more time for the slow reformation of our "Legal" process. It is not my responsibility to block others from this pursuit, but it is my view that this path is too slow, when we just don't have the time. If I kill time, I kill people.
- TO ENGAGE AN EVIL SYSTEM ON ITS TERMS IS TO LEGITIMIZE / EMPOWER, PARTICIPATE WITH THE SYSTEM. What purports to be a "Legal" system in this country is the opposite; it is patently a system to impose the will of the overprivelaged, or overprivelaged-wanna-bees on the poor and weak. It feeds off of cooperation. Gandhi was correct in asserting our moral duty to NOT cooperate with evil.
2. MY FOCUS SHOULD BE TO OFFER AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MORAL CONVERSION.
- With Gandhi again I find agreement - Moral Conversion is the most difficult goal, and the most necessary for us to cling to. And even if all of us are not to cling to that goal, I feel that for my entire adult life this has been my goal; I am suited to it; I desire it; I find it worth my life, so at least, for me, this is the right goal.
- WE ARE OUT OF TIME ON PLANT EARTH; THE TIME FOR CHANGE IS NOW OR NEVER; THE CHANGE WE NEED IS A QUANTUM LEAP; MASS MORAL CONVERSION IS THAT LEAP. START LOVING IS CALLED TO ATTEMPT TO SPARK THAT QUANTUM LEAP.
3. My efforts should be to be a Brother providing an opportunity to a sibling (judge, onlookers) to "wake up" to their sub-humanity, and move to their birthright - HUMANITY (EMPIRE LICENSES SUB-HUMANITY).
IF I DECIDE THAT THIS OCT 12 COURT APPEARANCE IS WORTH IT:
- MY ACTION SHOULD BE TO BE PRESENT AS A BROTHER OUT OF RESPECT AND CONCERN FOR HIS SISTERS AND BROTHERS (IN THE SYSTEM.) I WILL HAVE NO COUNSEL. I THINK JESUS MEANT IT WHEN HE SAID - DO NOT GO TO LAW. LAW IS SIMPLY SANCTIONED WARFARE - ONE PERSON "AGAINST" THE OTHER. IT IS NOT AN ACT OF LOVE OR SISTERHOOD; IT IS EVIL VIOLENCE.
- I WILL "AGREE" WITH THEIR CHARGES THAT I DID WHAT THEY SAID - WENT ON THE SIDEWALK TO LEAFLET WHEN THEY SAID "NO."
- I WILL LOVINGLY AND FIRMLY REFUSE TO AGREE WITH THEIR WORD "GUILTY" BECAUSE MY ACTION WAS EXACTLY TO AVOID BEING "GUILTY" OF VIOLATING OUR "MOTHER'S" / HUMANITY'S / HIGHER-LAW'S DEMANDS - "DO UNTO OTHERS ALL THAT YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU." If I worked in the Pentagon, you bet I would want armies of sisters and brothers to leaflet no matter what to bring my attention to being the world's largest oil polluter / planet murderer.
- IN DOING THIS (ABOVE) I WILL GIVE THEM A CHOICE (yes it is a choice they can and almost certainly will avoid "facing"): THE CHOICE BETWEEN TREATING ME AS I TREAT THEM - AS A HUMAN, AS A BROTHER / with HUMANITY; OR TREATING ME AS AN INANIMATE OBJECT - TRASH / IN-HUMANELY, AS IS THEIR HABIT. THIS IS THE MORAL CHOICE I WANT TO PRESENT THEM WITH. THIS IS THE MODEL JESUS PROVIDED, when He thought the time was right for him to make such a costly move.
4. I should take responsibility for how much risk (time in jail) vs opportunity this particular Moral Opportunity presents and decide accordingly how much risk to take. With two weeks to ponder this further, and hoping for input from you, my current, strongly held thought for weeks now is to proceed as outlined above, despite the wonderful input I have received to the contrary so far [take a lawyer, contest that the order was "lawful," cuz it "wasn't; it violates free speech! Will help us correct the legal system....]. Why?
Please tell me your thoughts, if you like; but feel not an ounce of pressure to do so. Start. See Comments below.
ps: Several hours after writing this post I saw Blood Diamond.
