Published Thursday, February 20, 2003
has local support
to 'Storm Castle'
Herald Staff Writer
What do members of the environmental Green Party, a Methodist minister, and a county controller have in common?
No, it's not the latest joke making the rounds.
What the group shares is a concern about the threat of war in Iraq, and they all plan to attend an anti-war demonstration in New Castle Saturday afternoon.
Sponsored by the Westminster College student-based Green Party, the two hour demonstration dubbed "Storm the Castle" begins at 2 p.m. in front of the war memorial at Jefferson Avenue and East Washington Street.
Organizer Ken Jae, 20, a Westminster sophomore from Pittsburgh, said the protest is "a grassroots approach."
"It shows kind of a regional solidarity movement. It's not just people coming together in one population area," he said.
The event will include speakers from the Thomas Merton Center, Pittsburgh, Westminster College professor Dr. Gary Lilly, a Vietnam veteran and chair of the political science and sociology departments, and New Castle City Councilman Mark Elisco, among others.
The Shenango Valley Initiative, a faith-based organization, has endorsed the demonstration.
"The majority felt we ought to support a coalition of diverse people coming together, speaking about the issue," said Bob Clarke, community organizer for the SVI.
Clarke said SVI will support statements released by the United States Council of Catholic Bishops and the World Conference of Churches that question the morality of going into a war with questions still unanswered and the negative effect on the people in that region.
"The discussion of the board revolved around the dignity of the human person. That life is sacred and right now the leadership of major Christian denominations are saying that there really needs to be more evidence to justify the morality of an attack or a preemptive strike," Clarke said.
SVI Board Member Rev. Miles Bradley, pastor of First United Methodist in Sharon, said he was concerned about a taint of racism against Muslims that he said colors some war support.
"Our society looks at people and makes assumptions about them depending on their culture, race or religion. There's a prejudice at work," said Rev. Bradley.
Demonstrating against a war isn't out of line with Christian beliefs, he said.
"My Christian faith says that my faith works out of the understanding that God created and loves all people, that we are sisters and brothers together. A particular culture and faith perspectives that we bring shouldn't separate us," Bradley said.
"It just seems to me there is no reason to begin a war at this point in time. It appears that the issues of racism and economics are at work rather than a real rationality and understanding of the world situation."
Mercer County Controller Tom Amundsen, another SVI board member who plans on attending "as a personal thing," said going to rallies doesn't make someone anti-American.
"Some people believe whatever our government decides is what we should do. If we have a differing view, than we're labeled a communist, and that really goes back to the days of McCarthyism."
He also said that his elected office has nothing to do with his opinion about a possible war. "One of the big reasons I'm so opposed (to war) is my faith. I have many friends who are veterans and totally support the veterans and the liberties they've given us. I just have a disagreement with the president concerning this policy," he said. "I think there's other ways of handling conflict than to go to war. The war is political. We're looking at it from our self interest. And we don't really seem to care what anyone else thinks."
For more information, call the Green Party at (724) 946-3815 or (724) 946-6475.