Commentary: A decade of standing for peace

Ten years ago this month, more than 100 Healdsburg Peace Project members and supporters gathered on the Plaza to protest the threat of a U.S. invasion of Iraq.  The protesters believed that the U.S. had no right to invade a sovereign country and that the reasons for war given to the American people were lies. History eventually confirmed this, and the price paid has been horrible.
Little did any of us suspect that on September 20, 2012, an anniversary commemoration in the same spot would mark a decade –521 weeks– of Peace Project vigils.  Every Thursday evening from 6 to 7, rain and holidays included, a group of usually 10 to 20 people have stood on the Plaza holding the Peace Project banner, signs and flags, thanking passing motorists who honk their support.
Our anniversary is not an occasion for celebration only. It is with sadness and frustration that we note our country is still waging war.  But it is an opportunity to celebrate our ten years of opposition, of persistence, of fellowship, and the successes we have had. We have not stopped the wars, but we believe the strength of opposition among groups like ours all over the country has so far prevented the U.S. from expanding the wars even more broadly. We believe, for instance, had the anti-war movement not persisted during the past decade, Bush and Cheney would have realized their clearly stated goal of attacking Iran, and that war would still be raging.
The history of the original Healdsburg Peace Project goes back to the onset of the Gulf War in 1990. Weekly vigils were held for the duration of that war, and for a few years afterwards the Peace Project held informational community events including films and speakers. It was when the war drums began to beat for the invasion of Iraq in the fall of 2002 that the reincarnated Peace Project burst onto the Healdsburg scene.  At that first vigil, some members of the original group were present — and so were dozens of new participants who were to bring fresh energy, creativity and passion to the Project.
The newly reborn Peace Project began organizing public events including dramatic and satirical street theatre and speakers ranging from David Harris to Michael Parenti to Cindy Sheehan. Every year from 2004 through 2010 the Peace Project marched in Healdsburg’s annual Future Farmers Country Twilight Parade. In 2004, the Peace Project began producing a local cable television program: a talk show called “What’s Left.” Each month different activists discussed a new local or national issue.  Topics included the Iraq War in the light of history, Progressives’ reaction to the 2004 election, green living in Healdsburg, and the Healdsburg Labor Hall. The show aired weekly for two years.
The Peace Project teamed up with local Progressive groups, including the United Farm Workers and the Healdsburg High School Progressive Club, whose faculty adviser, Rebel Fagin, was given special recognition for peace activism at an annual award ceremony of the Sonoma County Peace and Justice Center. Project leaders showed some 50 Progressive films for the public over a five-year period, typically attracting audiences of 50 or more. This summer a “War and Peace in Healdsburg” display at the Healdsburg Museum featured the Peace Project.
Community members are invited to come out and join us on this 10th anniversary. We meet along the West edge of the Plaza on Healdsburg Avenue. Bring flowers, musical instruments, signs, candles, anything to help make it a big and memorable event.  We will also be missing and remembering good friends and fellow defenders of peace who have died during this decade: Peggy Brainard, Merrilyn Dennis, Shannon Goss, Albert Slendebroek, Bob Hawthorne and Bob Boardman.
Join us if you can. Support us as you drive by if you can’t join us. We are still here, and it doesn’t look like we’ll be going away soon.
Laura Beach, Robert Nuese and Heidi Marino are Healdsburg residents.