Us
Foundation was on the national and international steering
committees for A
Season for Nonviolence, A Reverence for Life, a globally
unified grassroots movement in commemoration of the 50th and
30th Anniversaries of the Assassinations of M.K. Gandhi and
Martin Luther King.
As individuals and as a society, we have evolved to the point
where violence is no longer recognized as a viable solution
to the chaos we have created and the consequences of this
chaos is what we now face. Violent actions and reactions are
the scars of social, educational, and economic wounds....the
voices of a spiritually inarticulate culture. The practice
of nonviolence is initiated by choice and cultivated through
agreement. The time has come to agree on this as a global
community- as if our lives, and those of our children's children,
depended on it.
Our vision is of a better world for all human beings. Further,
we are determined to base our actions on values firmly rooted
in our diverse inner beliefs and traditions. To this end,
we undertake " Gandhi/King: A Season for Nonviolence"
by applying our efforts and resources to identifying, then
bringing into full public focus the rich spectrum of grassroots
projects and programs by individuals and organizations who
are pro-actualizing a culture of peace.
Us Foundation sponsored a Season for Nonviolence event on
January 31, 1998 at Santa Barbara High School. This event,
which was opened by Mayor Harriet Miller, featured spokespeople
from a variety of religious denominations, music by Kenny
Loggins, and inspiring talks by Marianne Williamson and Gay
Hendricks. Local nonprofit organizations came together for
an ongoing "fair" and several individuals gave mini-workshops
around the issue of non-violence. Youth from City at Peace
closed the event with song.
Us Foundation also sponsored a multimedia essay exhibition
to honor this very timely and needed effort on our website
under http://www.usfoundation.org/Gandhi-King. The theme
of the essay exhibition is : "What is the Relationship
between Human Rights and Nonviolence?"
The categories for submission are: 1) Photo Essay, 2) Multimedia,
3) Music, 4) Text. People are requested to submit their entries
to the exhibition directly to the website.
1998 was also the 50th anniversary of the United Nation's
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. There is an alternate
version of this by Peace at Home, Inc., adapted into "peoples
language."
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