A Proclamation

Long time sufferers of this blog may remember my disassembly of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, written by Julia Ward Howe. It is a call to Christians to end slavery, but was misused to fire up the Northern Troops to "Kill for Jesus". I will not repeat that here but feel free to look up the words of that hymn, what a misnomer, and read of its glorification of gore without the churchly pomp of thundering music and chorus to hide it's call to murder.

In later years Ms. Howe appears to have wanted to undo the harm done by her lack of clarity in accidentally giving those who study war another weapon in their arsenal of propaganda. Looking around in 1870 at her world, it appears that she did not have much hope that men would see through the cloud of lies and cannon smoke and bible thumping, and preachers that somehow manage to make claims that Jesus wanted these people or those people brutally killed.

As it was in 1870, so it is today.

Somehow, our leaders have managed to convince enough people that Jesus wants us to devastate this or that sovereign nation. In the aftermath all of the reasons for this seem to have vaporized except for greed... so that we might have gasoline for even larger SUV's that can suck up even more of the very air we must have to stay alive, even for a moment on this earth. It is our air that is under attack from all directions as our nation refuses to take the proper steps to end the poisoning of our oceans and accelerates the destruction of our forests, this is where it comes from you should know, but does Jesus want all of this done? Julia Ward Howe must have decided that perhaps it was the wrong use of "In Jesus' Name" to jauntily march along singing her "Battle Hymn" looking for the next young man whose legs needed to be blown off for righteousness sake.

Julia did not like the idea of raising a child, instilling the values of her soul into that child, and then having her child taken from her and indoctrinated in the one obvious lie repeated by men of power throughout all history. She knew better!

You can not end hatred by manifesting more hatred!

Julia Ward Howe then wrote a proclamation, which would ultimately lead to the creation of this day that we celebrate as Mother's Day. In it, I see the great tenets of Liberalism and Progressivism so prevelant in the teachings of Jesus and other great religious traditions.

It is not a call for men to give women presents.

It is not a call for children to call home and "Love you Mom" over the phone from long distances.

There is no call to for men to honor women...though we do!

Instead, Mother's day was a call for women to rise up and kick their men in the ass for all the stupid things they do that cause harm in the world.

Regardless of what this day has become, I hereby ask for a return to its original call to the women of this nation and all who would love them!

In the words of Julia Ward Howe:

Arise, then, women of this day.

Arise all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or of fears. Say firmly, we will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies.

Our husbands shall not come to us wreaking with carnage for caresses and applause.

Our sons shall not be taken to us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.

We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.

From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes out with our own. It says, disarm.

Disarm.

The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.

Blood does not wipe out dishonor nor violence indicate possession.

As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first as women to bewail and commemorate the dead.

Let them solemnly take counsel with each other, as the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, and each bearing after her own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, but of God.

Julia Ward Howe

Mother's Day Proclamation 1870


Peace, Moms,

Steve