EVEN IF YOUR VOICE SHAKES

Mary Beth Sullivan was presented with an award from PeaceWorks for her dedicated work for peace

Cartoonist and activist Anne Gibbons from New York City joined us for the weekend...her words in pink hanging on the line

Peter Woodruff from Arrowsic, Maine makes his point

It's been a busy weekend here. Friends Ann and Ivan arrived from New York City on Friday just in time to go swimming at my favorite pond. Then on Saturday we were at the annual Peace Fair in nearby Brunswick which is organized by the local group PeaceWorks.

From 10am to 4pm on Saturday I sat under the big tent at the Bring Our War $$ Home table along with University of Maine-Farmington student Nicole Moreau talking with people, selling posters and bumperstickers, and handing out literature.

I've done this same routine several times during the seven years the Peace Fair has been happening but there was something different about yesterday. First off, we sold more stickers yesterday than any other time. No one defended Obama when I blasted him for being a corporate tool. One guy bought seven of our Bring Our War $$ Home posters at once.

It's obvious that folks have reached the end of their rope. They are starting to see that no political party is going to bail them out. They are seeing that Obama's game is stale and that he is a phony. They are realizing they must start to get engaged. Putting a bumpersticker on their car is a declaration of intent - an intention to engage in the process of taking power away from the illusionists.

Mary Beth strung a clothesline and asked people to write a message that was in their heart and hang it out for all to see. By the end of the day the line was full of determined statements and visions of an alternative society - one not based on war, greed, and environmental destruction.

The only way we prevent more Hiroshima and Nagasaki's, more Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya's, is for all of us who believe otherwise to be heard and not to give up or give in.

As Mary Beth says, "Speak out, even if your voice shakes."