Dissident Veteran For Peace: Creative Maladjustment Week

Dissident Veteran For Peace

"I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America." —Alexis de Tocquevile. Democracy in America, Book I, Chapter XV.

With a nod to the Most Rev. Dom Helder Camara: When I support Palestinians some call me an 'anti-Semite', when I try to explain why I stand in solidarity with Palestinians they call me a Nazi.

"WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." —Major General Smedley Butler, USMC (ret.)

"... no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end." —character of O'Brien in 1984, part 3, ch. 3 by George Orwell.

"Every prophet has realized that nobody loves you for being the enemy of their illusions. Every prophet has realized that most of us want peace at any price as long as the peace is ours and somebody else pays the price. That is why the prophet Jeremiah said, ' "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace,' ..." —The Rev. William Sloane Coffin. "Not to Bring Peace, But a Sword."

Thursday, July 07, 2016

Creative Maladjustment Week

Creative Maladjustment Week is July 7 - July 14. Here is a bit about the event from cmweek.org:

Philosophy and Principles

"There are some things in our world to which I'm proud to be maladjusted." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Who are the Creatively Maladjusted?

Critical thinkers: The creatively maladjusted focus on a problematic area of society (something to which people of good will simply can't be adjusted) with critical thought, examining the history of a bad idea, its branchings and consequences — the better to weed it out, roots and all.
Architects of alternatives: Not merely content with tearing down an existing structure, the creatively maladjusted offer alternatives and are willing to demonstrate those alternatives with good cheer and positivity in public places. They believe that loving and loud public action is the foundation of a true non-violent revolution.
Believers in humanity: Most importantly of all, the creatively maladjusted resist the pressure to dehumanize any and all of their fellow men. They believe in the inherent uniqueness and worth of every individual and demonstrate this belief in every action they take.

Creative maladjustment is a natural human response to oppression, an organic and highly adaptable way to oppose injustice.

What are they creatively maladjusted to?

The Creatively Maladjusted are active on a variety of important societal issues, including:

• Racial equality • Religious tolerance • Economic fairness • Peace • Ecological sustainability and energy security • Individual liberty • Fighting psychiatric profiling and human rights abuses in the mental health system • Transparent and corruption-free government • Community and family values

The creatively maladjusted are incredibly diverse in the societal problems they aim to solve, but they are united in their opposition to the basis of all oppression: "man's inhumanity to man."

See also: