Here’s a reminder about Monday’s Memorial Day vigil at 10:00 AM at the Liberty Pole in Rochester. Please open the attachment, which is an opinion piece (about peace) that Doug Noble wrote in 2015! As we know, matters are even worse four years later. We peace activists need to do many things. One of them is to be at the vigil!
Arnie Matlin for GVCP
From Doug Noble:
Antiwar Vigil on Memorial Day Monday May 27th!
For years local antiwar activists have used Rochester’s highly militarized Memorial Day parade as a public opportunity to remind the community about this nation’s ongoing but unnoticed wars worldwide, and the many who have died in them. Not welcome in the parade with our NO WAR signs, we have for many years had our own peace parade immediately following the Memorial Day parade.
This year we have chosen instead to stand en masse in a silent, respectful antiwar vigil, with appropriate banners and signs and fliers (NO WAR with IRAN, NO WAR with VENEZUELA, etc.) at the Liberty Pole on the corner of East and Main. Best to arrive at Liberty Pole at 10:00 AM.
Memorial Day is a day of remembrance. So it is important that we remember our long US history of illegal war and regime change, and the lies used to justify them. George Santayana told us that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Now especially, with new lies threatening Iran and Venezuela, we must remember the endless lies – most recently, the Gulf of Tonkin and WMDs – so as not to repeat the still ongoing horrors of the past.We must remember. We must not be fooled. We must not be condemned to still more war and atrocity, perpetrated in our name.
We invite our broad community of activist and faith organizations to spread the word to join us, as individuals not as organizations, on this Memorial Day.
Because the Liberty Pole and surrounding area are public spaces, there should be no need to get a permit. It’s a free speech issue. If we get hassled or worse, there’s a good public story that could come from it. But I doubt anyone would bother.
Because Memorial Day is a holiday I expect the city parking garages, like at Main and Scio, will be available and free.
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For more information: Doug Noble, Peace Action & Education
dougdnoble@gmailcom 585-442-3383
—— End of Forwarded Message
Doug-Noble-editorial.doc