[UFPJ] Call for "Vote for Peace" Vigils During First Week of November

[Susan UFPJ <susan at unitedforpeace.org>]

UFPJ Calls for "Vote for Peace" Vigils During the First Week of November

Peaceful minds think alike. Two friends of UFPJ, Heshi Gorewitz of Rockland
Coalition for Peace & Justice in New York and Robert Randall of GlynnPeace
in Georgia, proposed that we issue a call for coordinated local vigils
during the week leading up to the midterm elections. It took little
discussion to realize that this was a great idea, and so we wanted to share
it with everyone.

We are committed to making sure that the issue of peace and ending the war
in Iraq is on the minds of voters and to reminding those running for
Congress that majority of the people of this country want this war to end.

If your group has a vigil planned between Nov. 1 and Nov. 7, how about
making it a "Vote for Peace" Vigil? If you don't already have a vigil
scheduled during that week, how about organizing one as part of this
nationwide effort? Vigils require little planning to pull together: Just
pick a time and place and spread the word. And then be sure to list it on
the UFPJ calendar:
<http://www.unitedforpeace.org/addevent>http://www.unitedforpeace.org/addevent

Suggestions for Making Your "Vote for Peace" Vigil Most Effective:

* Hold your vigil in a highly visible spot in your community. This might be
in front of your congressional representative's local office or at a
transportation hub or a shopping district. You know what will work best in
your community.

* Collect signatures on the Voters for Peace pledge: This pledge doesn't
end on November 7th. Our work to turn this country toward peace is only
beginning -- and will continue well into 2008! Collecting signatures is a
first step toward getting more people involved with your ongoing work.

* In your signs, speeches and chants, make the tragic costs of not changing
course very clear. Robert Randall of GlynnPeace has proposed that vigils be
focused on mourning those who will perish between now and the end of Bush's
presidency if we continue to follow the White House's disastrous agenda.
According to Robert's calculations, that will mean condemning another 2030
U.S. soldiers and at least 27,000 Iraqis to death, and allowing $154
billion more to be wasted. For a full description of his proposal, click
here:
<http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3415>http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3415

* Visit the National Priorities Project's website
(<http://www.nationalpriorities.org>http://www.nationalpriorities.org) and
find out what the Iraq War has cost your community. Use this information in
your signs and leaflets, and use it in any media work you do.

When we spoke to Heshi earlier this week, he shared this story: "During a
vigil in November, I was approached by a young man, wearing a simple
sweatshirt in what was a very wintery day. He held out his hand and thanked
me. I asked him to join us. He said that he would love to but he didn't
have time. I said to him that if he stood with us for a few minutes, he
would feel good. Again, he said that he really didn't have time. He looked
around and said that he was going back to Baghdad on Tuesday. He thanked me
and the group for what were doing. He said that it was because of people
like us that he and his fellow soldiers in Iraq had hope. As a veteran of
war, I understood."

Let's give ourselves, our neighbors, and our brothers and sisters around
the world some hope: We can end this war. According to our online calendar,
there are more than 100 regular vigils being held in cities and towns
around the country, and we know that there are many more out there. (If
your group's regular vigil is not listed yet please take a moment to add it
to the calendar right now:
<http://www.unitedforpeace.org/addevent>http://www.unitedforpeace.org/addevent)
Together we can send a powerful message of peace and turn this country
around.

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