SHAKE THE WORLD * PERHAPS THIS YEAR * TEA QUOTES * Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter * Vol. 11 Feb. 20, 2010

TEACHING PEACE,
LIVING PEACE

COULD 2010 be the year? Could this be the year we talk about peace? Out loud? To each other?

It's not that we don't think about peace. Many of the holiday cards we send include wishes for peace. We sing about it, too. John Lennon's "Imagine" is sung at many a New Year's Eve event.

But the truth is that we don't talk much about it. For example, peace is one of those topics which gets little discussion in our schools. Our study of history is primarily anchored by wars. Very little attention is given to the years between the wars.

Another example: Did you study peace in college? Or ever take an adult education class devoted to peacemaking? It's not likely. There are only a few peace studies courses in the entire US. And even fewer peacemaking courses in adult education programs.

OUR OWN field, social work, was founded by women and men who devoted much energy to peacemaking - from the neighborhood to the world. Jane Addams received the Nobel Peace Prize for her extraordinary peacemaking efforts. Addams and others founded the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Jeannette Rankin, another early social worker, devoted her Congressional career to seeking foreign policy alternatives to war.

But very little of this history makes its way into social work classes. Policy courses and textbooks devote little time and space to social work's legacy of peacemakers. Community practice courses spend little time on peacemaking.

I don't think this neglect of peace studies comes from a belief that war is preferable.

Rather, I believe it comes from the idea that peace is impossible. One look around our planet offers plenty of evidence for that view. There are so many wars in so many places.

Also, a significant share of the US economy is dependent on war. Our country is the leading arms merchant in the world.

But those things will not change unless we talk about alternatives to war. Let's make this year the year we talk about peace. We can look back at social work's founding mothers and fathers for some inspiration. We can look at others who spent their lives seeking peace instead of waging war, from Martin Luther King to Nelson Mandela, from Cesar Chavez to Dorothy Day.

We can also challenge the exclusion of peacemaking from our classrooms and our communities. We can ask: Where are the peacemakers in our studies? Who are the peacemakers in our communities?

Finally, we can be inspired by the example of Bill Sackter. He is one peacemaker who has touched the lives of all who are reading this Newsletter. His life and spirit offer us a place to start on a journey of peacemaking.

IN A GENTLE WAY, YOU
CAN SHAKE THE WORLD

This coming week in Aberdeen, SD, there are a series of events planned on the theme of peacemaking. You can attend a talk about Gandhi, see the play "A Thousand Cranes" find out more about the life and legacy of Bill Sackter, and more. Events are being held at Presentation College and at the Red Rooster Coffee House. Here's a brief look at what's planned:

Wednesday, March 3, 7 pm. Bill On His Own (Film)

This true story of one man, Bill Sackter, and his Iowa City coffeeshop, has been an important catalyst in a movement around "abilities awareness." After 50 years in a Minnesota state mental hospital, Bill Sackter meets Barry and Bev Morrow and moves with them to Iowa City. There, Bill becomes the proprietor of a small coffeeshop and an inspiration to many. Mickey Rooney plays Bill in the film. Free. Discussion follows with Tom Walz. retired social work professor who played a key role in getting Bill's Coffeeshop started.  Red Rooster Coffee House, 202 S. Main St.

Thursday, March 4, 3:30 pm. Lessons from Gandhi (Workshop)

Tom Walz talks about how we can learn from Gandhi and how we can apply those lessons to social work and society. Former director of the University of Iowa School of Social Work and UI professor emeritus, Walz has been teaching about Gandhi in classes and workshops for more than two decades. $5 ($3 with a donation for local food shelf). Presentation College, 1500 N. Main St. Room NU 27, Nursing/Social Work Bldg.

Thursday, March 4, 8 pm. A Thousand Cranes (play)

The true and poignant story of Sadako Sasaki, whose life has inspired millions to work for peace. It begins with Sadako learning she has developed leukemia from exposure to radiation from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It ends with her friends and classmates organizing a successful effort to create a peace monument in her memory. This play is presented by Friends of Floyd (FOF), the theater group at Presentation College. Free. Red Rooster Coffee House, 202 S. Main St.                                                                  

Friday, March 5, 7 pm. Rainman (film)                                                                                       

Dustin Hoffman portrays Raymond Babbitt, an autistic savant, in this award-winning film. Based on the real-life story of Kim Peek. Screenwriter Barry Morrow has been invited to lead a pre-film discussion. He's expected to join by phone. Free. Red Rooster Coffee House, 202 S. Main St.

Saturday, March 6, 7 pm.  A Friend Indeed: The Bill Sackter Story

Was Bill Sackter, in Christian terms, a saint? Or, in Jewish terms, one of the tzadikim? Learn the story of the real Bill Sackter, a remarkable man who inspired people of all abilities.. (Check out the movie trailer at: www.billsackter.com) Free. Discussion follows. Led by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Bill's Coffeeshop. Red Rooster Coffee House, 202 S. Main St

STORIES FROM

THE TWO TOMS

My first meeting with Tom Walz didn't go so well. It was 1968 and I was trying to get into a summer class he was teaching at the University of Minnesota.Getting into the class required the instructor's permission which I didn't think would be any problem given my background in community organizing. But Walz turned me down.

Then there was Intro to Social Work -- the class where we walked out. And another class which met at 11 pm. Chances are you'll hear more about these and other stories if you attend the Gandhi lecture or the showing of "Bill On His Own" in Aberdeen next week. One Tom will be introducing the other, which always leads to a few stories. (If you can't be there, get a copy of "Memoirs of a Maverick Professor," the just published autobiography of Tom Walz.

   -- Tom Gilsenan

STILL WISHING FOR
NATION OF PEACE

"Some of us were beginning to hope that we were getting away from the ideals set by war...

that we were ready to accept the peace ideal, to be proud of our title as a peace nation;

to recognize that the man who cleans a city is greater than he who bombards it;
and the man who irrigates a land is greater than he who lays it waste.

Then came this war, with its gilt and lace and tinsel,
and again the moral issues are confused with exhibitions of brutality."

   -- Jane Addams (1899)

QUOTATIONS FOR
TEA DRINKERS

Where there's tea, there's hope - Arthur Pinero

When we sip tea, we are on our way to serenity - Alexandra Stoddard

Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea -- Henry Fielding

I hire tea by the tea bag -- Martin Amis

Two loons for tea -- Name of a Seattle pop music duo

Twinkle, twinkle little bat
How I wonder where you're at
Up above the world you fly
Like a tea tray in the school -- Lewis Carroll
_______________________________________________

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus lie in Iowa City for 35 years. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop reopened recently after a semester-long remodeling which included the addition of a new kitchen. It's open weekdays.

Uptown Bill's Small Mall is a crosstown cousin to the original coffeeshop. Located at 401 S. Gilbert, Uptown Bill's includes a coffeeshop and other business owned or managed by individuals with disabilities. It's open seven days a week.

Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of the coffeeshops. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of the coffeeshop. In June, Tom G. will become the director of Uptown Bill's. A selection of back issues of the Newsletter can be found at the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook and at the Coffee and Community weblog: http://coffeeandcommunity.blogspot.com.