mobilization

DeiMosz / Shutterstock.com

DeiMosz / Shutterstock.com

Edmund Burke once said, "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." So what is at the heart of the endless stream of violence in our country — is it guns or is it something a lot harder to eradicate — passivity?

The overwhelming response would likely be "it's the guns, stupid." But in this fight, the individual with the loaded AK-47 rifle may be only slightly less dangerous than the passive citizen, the average person who may think "something should be done about guns,” but fails to stand up and make their voice heard.

'Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Mathew Ahmann, Executive Director of the National Catholic Conference for Interrracial Justice, in a crowd.], 08/28/1963' photo (c) 1963, The U.S. National Archives - license: http://www.flickr.com/commons/usage/How should music rank among the ever-growing list of time-tested nonviolent methods such as boycotts, marches, strikes, sit-ins, and vigils?

Anthony Shadid of the New York Times reports that a song, "Come on Bashar, Leave," is spreading across Syria, boldly calling on President Bashar al-Assad to step down. (Bryan Farrell also wrote about it at the Waging Nonviolence blog.) The article suggests that a young cement layer who chanted it in demonstrations was pulled from the Orontes River this month, his throat having been cut, and, according to residents of the city of Hama, his vocal chords torn out. Hama is where, in 1982, then-president Hafez al-Assad, father of the current president named in the song, gave orders to the army to massacre more than 10,000 in putting down an Islamist upheaval. Today, boys 6-years-old and older vocalize their own rendition of the original warbler's song instead. As the song has sped across Syria, demonstrators have adopted it for themselves.

Jim Wallis 12-02-2010

"I thank my God every time I think of you.

Julie Clawson 11-17-2010
Seeking justice for the oppressed. Working to end the connection of child slavery to chocolate. Helping heal a devastated Haiti.
April Fuhl 4-01-2010

Though Jim Wallis is allegedly on vacation with his family this week, we were able to obtain footage of a top secret meeting between Jim and Fox News commentator Glenn Beck!

100401-glenn-beck-jim-wallis-star-wars

Aaron Graham 3-04-2010
Eight million more Americans are now in poverty. Well
Arthur Waskow 1-28-2010

Tuesday morning -- just two days ago -- I wrote to half a dozen leaders of progressive thought and action in America, each separately, the letter that follows.

As our nation mourns the untimely death of the King of Pop, I am grieving over the death of a lesser know man: a man whom many will never know, but whose mark on the world is significant. Two weeks ago, Rev.

Jim Wallis 5-08-2009
Before our Mobilization to End Poverty, a member of our staff sent an e-mail to some members of the media in which he mistakenly referred to it as "the first big mobilization of the Religious Left
Kevin Lum 5-08-2009
Historically, the number of individuals who say they have no religious affiliation in America ranges between 5-10%, but a new poll conducted by Robert Putnam (of http://www.amazon.com/gp/p
Troy Jackson 5-05-2009

Last week my son and I spent three days in Washington, D.C., as part of the Mobilization to End Poverty. We heard challenging speakers.

Eugene Cho 5-04-2009
Recently, I had the privilege of spending http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/my-official-announcement-to-en..." href="https://sojo.net/%3Ca%20href%3D"http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/my-o">http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/my-o
Kaitlin Barker 4-30-2009
The four days of Sojourners' Mobilization to End Poverty has come to an end.
Molly Marsh 4-30-2009
Day two of the Mobilization to End Poverty included a trip to Capitol Hill to lobby senators and representatives on issues related to poverty and social justice.
Jim Wallis 4-27-2009
Last night, the Mobilization to End Poverty began with the over 1,100 faith leaders and activists gathered together from across the country.
Jeannie Choi 4-24-2009
Sojourners staff is hard at work preparing for the upcoming Mobilization to End Poverty. I decided to take my handy little flipcam around the office to see how everyone was doing.