If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.”
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Rome's Standing for Peace invites all members of the public to stand with us each week: Our Mission: WE STAND as a group of citizens who believe in the pursuit of peace. WE STAND against the use of war to resolve social conflict or to solve national problems. [See remainder of our mission statement below].
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Our mission is to witness for peace
Standing for Peace group members say their mission is to witness for peace Standing for Peace members say they are not protesters.08/03/08By Mike Colombo, Rome News-Tribune Deputy Editor http://news.mywebpal.com/index.cfm?pnpid=680Since mid-May they have been standing quietly Saturday mornings on Broad Street in front of the Carnegie Building with their signs. Two signs are always present: “Standing for Peace” and “We Support Our Troops.” The wording is important to organizer Rex Hussmann, who considers his efforts at pointing public attention to the war in Iraq not a protest, but a witness. Hussmann, who lost a brother during the Vietnam War, said he could “no longer be silent in the face of what I believe to be a disastrous war.”But how Standing for Peace participants work out that mission is crucial to him.They stand silently, hoping to avoid any confrontation. They let their signs do the talking. “We reject any communication, sign or behavior which is disrespectful to our country or which disparages any person or group,” according to the group’s statement of values. “We witness by standing silently or in single file for one hour weekly at a specified time and location,” the statement of values continues.A portion of the mission statement says: “We stand with our military troops and their families who have sacrificed so much in the service of our country.”The group averages about 13 people each Saturday, standing for one hour from 11 a.m. to noon. Rome’s Meredith Stewart is one of them. She remembers times earlier in her life when she did not speak out. She said she often remained silent during the Vietnam War and civil rights era. “I was busy getting an education and raising a family,” she said. Her husband, Horace, is also by her side on Saturdays. He had a twinkle in his eye recalling when one passer-by yelled at him to “go home.” Rome is his home, and he said the desire to make his home a better place is his motivation to stand.Floyd County’s Ben Harrison is a Vietnam War veteran. Like many Americans, he said, he supported the war effort when it began but said he “doesn’t like the direction this is going in.” Nearly all of the participants say they have been surprised by what they say is, in general, a positive response from the community. Irma Garcia Rose said she has even seen some her own stereotypes shattered, getting an occasional kind word from someone she feared would only offer criticism. She said she has also been inspired by what she sees in the cars driving by. “You can see the children turn to their parents and start a conversation,” Rose said. That dialogue, Hussmann said, is what it’s all about. “We stand against the use of war to resolve social conflict or to solve national problems,” the mission statement reads. “We stand for the use of diplomacy to settle national and global issues.”
Standing for Peace in Rome
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