Light a Virtual Candle for Peace

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Involvement at Hope College Course: Psychology of Peace & Gender

On Wednesday November 7, 2007, Sara, Norma, and Beth took part in a classroom discussion at Hope College. The name of the course taught by Jean Dickie is "Psycholgy of Peace and Gender". The goal of the exercise was to look at your values and where they came from and then to apply those values to leading a more peaceful life. The textbook in use was Working for Peace by MacNair. The quote for reflection on the board was:

"People are spurred into action not so much by knowing the right facts and numbers as by hearing stories and developing a worldview that makes sense of the confusion and contradiction in their lives."

Peace Quote & Music Video Link

"We discovered that peace at any price is no peace at all."- Eve Curie

Enjoy this John Mellencamp video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oRcPdAUP1k

More Book Reviews

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (author of the Kite Runner) is a compelling novel which follows two Afghan women through the last thirty years of Afghanistan's turbulent history. It chronicles life under Taliban rule and shows the impact of war and civil unrest on ordinary--yet very extraordinary--women. The stories of Mariam and Laila intersect when they find themselves married to the same harsh man. This book is recommended for Women for Peace because it shows vividly the impact of culture and war on women and widens the horizons of our awareness. Frankly it is a novel that is hard to set aside. It make keep you reading all night!

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolen provides the deep context of the Israel/Palestine confilct, through the portrait of two families who have occupied the same house. One sees first the Palestinian family, their love for the house and the lemon tree, and how they were forced to flee their home. Then one meets the Israeli family that come to love the same house. When Bashir (the Arab) visits his former home and meets Dalia ( a Jew) , a very unsual friendship begins. The efforrts of both families for peace are remarkable. The role of the house and lemon tree in this peace quest illustrates the hope and the despair of the two cultures.