Vets for Peace Holiday Card
A beautiful card to send to your pro-war friends and family.
Inside Left of card reads: Christmas Truce World War I combatants, during the 1914 holiday season, entrenched along the 500 mile front stretching from the Belgium coast to the Swiss border, overcame their conditioning to hate, loathe and kill one another, dropped their weapons, entered noman's land between their respective lines and, in spite of commanding officers' threats to charge those who would fraternize with the enemy with treason and send them to the firing squad, extended the hand of peace and goodwill. Mortal enemies became friends for a time. They played soccer, decorated Christmas trees, exchanged gifts, sang carols in their respective languages and, before being forced back behind their front lines by their officers, promised that when the shooting started again that they would fire high, harmlessly into the air. This spontaneous effort of the lower ranks to create a peace may have blossomed if it were not for the interference of their politicians and generals.
The Christmas Truce remains a moving manifestation of the absurdities of war.
"I like to think that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that the people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, US President
Back of card reads: Veterans For Peace includes men and women veterans of all eras and duty stations, many of whom served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf and current Iraq wars as well as other conflicts. We draw on our personal experiences and perspectives gained as veterans to raise public awareness of the true costs and consequences of militarism and war - and to seek peaceful, effective alternatives. Our collective experience tells us wars are easy to start and hard to stop and that those hurt are often the innocent.
The artwork for this card was designed and donated by Tara McNeish, a Fine Art major at Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania.
posted by storiesinamerica @ 10:10 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I just hope that public money is not being used to subsidize fine art majors at Theil College.
Good Lord.
I hope that public money IS being used to subsidize Theil College. In fact, it would be even better if it was subsidized by someone like Jack and all who think like him/her. That would be helpful in making up for all the money that's come out of my pocket to subsidize the biggest welfare program in this country, the military industrial complex.
Is it really asking so much that art majors be required to draw better than second graders before we subsidize them?
how far do you want to go with that thought? the nazis and the communists spent quite lavish sums on 'state approved' art. most of it sucked. well, i guess adolf thought it was good but then he was a failed artist himself.
Not very far. I'm not a big fan of art subsidies.
But now that you've brought up the subject...compare and contrast the "art major at theil college" artwork with this...
http://www.goodart.org/artofnz.htm
Concering the subject matter, I couldn't help but be reminded of this Jack Handy quote:
“If you're in a war, instead of throwing a hand grenade at the enemy, throw one of those small pumpkins. Maybe it'll make everyone think how stupid war is, and while they are thinking, you can throw a real grenade at them.”
But just to be clear...I believe that if you subordinate high art to low politics, you pervert both.
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