Peace Gateway -- Peace Links, Groups & Organizations in Canada and beyond

Peace Gateway a People and Planet Gateway & Guide
Peace Links, Groups, Organizations & Resources, in Canada and beyond

Peace, the Planet and You

No thinking person can hope for a healthier, more sustainable world without also considering the most pressing issue of all: peace. Peace, environment and sustainability are inextricably linked. To try to separate one from the other is short-sighted and self defeating. We must act as though peace is an integral part of sustainability.

Year after year, war causes untold loss of life, pollution and destruction of ecosystems. Each new war engorges the military industrial complex – a term coined by President Eisenhower to describe a self-perpetuating system that subverts democracy, the economy and the media. Trillions of dollars are spent on militarization, while peace and environmental projects exist on a fraction of that amount.

But to a large degree, war is a result of the lifestyles, actions and inactions of ordinary people. Such as rampant materialism and demand for cheap fuel – coupled with a token interest in energy conservation, renewables, sustainable living, social involvement, politics and peace. By avoiding the topic, we evade our responsibility as citizens and consumers, and ensure an unsustainable future.

It's time for all of us to educate ourselves about war and peace... to participate and support those individuals and organizations who are doing credible, fundamental work... and to apply a skeptical eye to the media, government, and the vested interests of war.

War might always be part of the human condition. But if we continue to accept it to the degree we do today, we could find ourselves with nothing left to fight for. This page is a starting point for those interested in learning more, connecting with groups and organizations – and doing whatever we can to contribute to positive change.

– Peter Blanchard, www.Planetfriendly.net

Peace Links, Resources, Participation, Opportunity

(1) Peace Films, Video & DVD

"We have met the enemy and he is us." – Walt Kelly

(2) Peace Groups, Organizations, Participation & Employment

· Peace Groups & Organizations – the Canadian Peace Alliance has a directory of peace groups and websites across Canada. The Canadian Peacebuilding Coordinating Committee also has a directory. For the USA and worldwide, see the peace sections of: Google Directory or its source the Open Directory | Idealist.org | Infoshop.org | Yahoo Directory.

· Peace Jobs, Contracts, Volunteering – GoodWorkCanada.ca sometimes lists peace jobs (as well as environment, sustainability and related themes). Many more peace opportunities can be found on the websites and e-mail lists of peace groups and organizations in Canada, the USA and beyond.

"A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves." – Bertrand de Jouvenel

(3) Peace Links, Articles & Resources

Wikipedia offers dozens of cross-referenced articles and resources on Peace, War, Nonviolence and related topics. Google Directory's section on Peace offers organized links to many related organizations and resources. Or explore these links by topic:

· War and the Environment – Google Directory | Google search

· The War on Iraq – Google Directory | Wikipedia (2) (3) | Planetfriendly | News
· Wars of the United States – Wars of the United States | Addicted to War

· Sustainable Development – Google Directory | Wikipedia | Definitions
· Business & Economics: Peaceful and Sustainable – Planetfriendly

· Propaganda – Google Directory | Wikipedia | Definitions
· Independent & Alternative Media – Google Directory (2) | Wikipedia | Planetfriendly

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." – George Orwell

(4) What You Can Do

Many of the above links and organizations offer specific ideas and things you can do to for peace. Here are a few ideas of broad relevance:

"In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I did not speak up, because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak up, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak up, because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I did not speak up, because I was not a Catholic. Then they came for me... and by that time, there was no one to speak up for anyone." – Martin Niemoeller, Pastor, German Evangelical (Lutheran) Church (1892-1984)

"Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles." – Abbie Hoffman, U.S. activist (1936-89)

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron." – Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." – Albert Einstein

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that." – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." – Mahatma Gandhi


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