Tag: civil disobedience

The Unseen Slaughter

In the early 1970s, I spent two summers slinging pork loins in a Chicago meat-packing factory. Rose Packing Company paid a handful of college students $2.25 an hour to process pork. Donning combat boots, yellow rubber aprons, goggles, hairnets, and floor-length white smocks that didn’t stay white very long, we’d arrive on the factory floor. … Continue reading “The Unseen Slaughter”

Speaking Truth to Power

There’s a phrase originating with the peace activism of the American Quaker movement: "Speak truth to power." One can hardly speak more directly to power than addressing the presidential administration of the United States. This past October, students at Islamabad’s Islamic International University had a message for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. One student summed … Continue reading “Speaking Truth to Power”

Palestinians and Israelis Follow Thoreau, but Is Anyone Watching?

Sometime in 1846, Henry David Thoreau spent a night in jail because he refused to pay his taxes. This was his way of opposing the Mexican-American War as well as the institution of slavery. A few years later he published the essay "Civil Disobedience," which has since been read by millions of people, including many … Continue reading “Palestinians and Israelis Follow Thoreau, but Is Anyone Watching?”