When President Obama speaks on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial tomorrow at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, I'm sure he will invoke the memory and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As we as a nation find ourselves on the brink of more global conflict in Syria, what I pray that the President will be mindful of in his remarks is that Dr. King was a peacemaker and was opposed to war (one of the "triplets of evil"). For, me, Dr. Glen Stassen's (Fuller Theological Seminary) framework for Just Peacemaking (as opposed to "just war") is helpful - 1. Support nonviolent direct action. 2. Take independent initiatives to reduce threat. 3. Use cooperative conflict resolution. 4. Acknowledge responsibility for conflict and injustice and seek repentance and forgiveness. 5. Advance democracy, human rights, and religious liberty. 6. Foster just and sustainable economic development. 7. Work with emerging cooperative forces in the international system. 8. Strengthen the United Nations and international efforts for cooperation and human rights. 9. Reduce offensive weapons and weapons trade. 10. Encourage grassroots peacemaking groups and voluntary associations.
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