automatic gunfire shot off right in front of my house! Then the guys in the truck that fired those rounds just sat there for a few minutes blaring gangster rap full blast for about 5 minutes, then left, then returned 2 more times, blaring this music. I was afraid to call the cops, afraid to do anything, I felt so intimidated. The cops ultimately got them within minutes, and it appears that their actions were not malicious.

However, this morning it got me thinking about all of the people cowering in their homes around the world, from the same thing - gunshots ringing all around them, and the impact this must have on their lives. You see it in the movies, you hear about it on TV, but the real thing is quite different.

As a mother, I have a 16 year old daughter who is beautiful and powerful. And I realized that if they actually do reinstate the draft, I would leave this country with her. This is the first time I have ever considered leaving this country! And I thought again, how can we take our power as women to stop the wars, stop the killing, stop the violence. We are over half of the population! And it came to me...

Below is something I am calling the Mother's Day Manifesto. It is a call to empowerment. It is a call to all women to stand up for yourselves and your children and to affirm your part in the call for peace in the world. If this rings true to your heart, I ask that you sign your name at the bottom and send this to every woman you know, to every pertinent organization you know, and to every government department, representative, agency and leader you know. Make a special email list and send it every day to these leaders in every nation until they hear us, until they stop sending our children to be killed for their ambitions! Moveon.org has a wonderful list of names for Government representatives that you can use.

Fathers may want to start a similar movement for Father's Day as well. And if you are a man recieving this, please forward to all your women friends.

And every Mother's and Father's Day - until these wars end, let us boycott the gifts, the cards, the fancy meals, and INSTEAD gather and rally in our local parks to let our leaders and media know that we want the violence to stop now.

With Love,

Shama

A Mother

shama@thepleasureparadigm.com

OUR MOTHER'S DAY MANIFESTO

We are the Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, and Mothers to be of the children of this nation. They are our future. They are our sacred and most precious gift to the world. We love them. We stand together, over half the population of this proud nation.

We have been taught that America is a country that is a helper and supporter of freedom and human rights for all the world. We have been taught that we are "the Good Guys." We have sold ourselves as a compassionate nation. And we have believed it.

Now it appears that our credibility in this role is sadly shaken for us and the world around us. Have our leaders betrayed us to think that we are something we are not? We, the people of the United States, stand for beautiful ideals of compassion and caring for others, yet we are not living it - in our lives or through our leaders. It is time for us to re-claim our government from the rule of the corporations and a select few who are not representing what we truly stand for. It is time to awaken to the truth and learn the facts. It is time to take a look at what is really happening and to raise our voices loud and long to demand that our leaders act in accordance with the sacred trust we have placed in them.

As of this Mother's Day, 2004, we have decided to take a stand with them and with all of you. We will cease to support violence to one another in this world. We will cease attending or watching films or TV shows with graphic killing or other gratuitous violence in them and will encourage our children to do the same. We will cease to purchase toys or games that promote killing or violence for our children. And we cease sending our children off to fight wars - and we will do whatever we can to avoid doing so.

We speak here to our leaders all over the world, to our corporations and even to the gangs in the streets. Find another way to settle your differences and meet your needs. We demand that you work towards cooperation and mutual support in your dealings, rather than competition and domination. Let us know how we can help you do this! Know that you will hear from us if you don't!

We demand an end to the terrorist wars on all sides of the fence. We will no longer support terrorism from our country or anywhere else!

We demand an end to secret experimentations on the citizens of this world!

We demand an end to the rape and pillage of other countries for the benefit of our own.

We demand legislation that will bring an end to dishonesty, secret conspiratory coalitions and organizations that devalue human rights and humane and ecological health in favor of their ambitions.

We demand that we change our laws and policies to reflect a respect for all people, all of nature, this planet and the Universe

We, citizens of this world, demand a new way based on loving support and caring for one another.

From this moment forward, in every way, let us treat one another with compassion and create as many "wins" for everyone as we can. We shall search, every day in our lives and business to make this our reality. The importance of profits and the well being of all are both important and can be mutually supportive.

From this moment forward, let Mother's Day be a celebration of Peace in the world. Let us gather in the parks to proclaim it, to demand it, and to live it!

Peace NOW,

Judith Malin

A Mother

To be a part of the solution for the problems of the world today, the best first thing you can do is to send love and compassion to the people and places involved, with the intent to enlighten minds and open hearts. Love is the most powerful force there is!

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