Originally published on the CGS blog on April 8, 2015.
Letters to Jake Series, Letter #7
Dear Jake,
I am proud to say that words my Cincinnati team wrote to share at the 2014 Greater Cincinnati World Peace Festival have been posted on the Globalsolutions.org website. The title is Embracing a United Federation of Nations and you can find it here.
The text begins with our vision of a world at peace, where all people have the Right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Many great thinkers, including Socrates, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Albert Einstein, and Martin Luther King have pointed the way. The web-pages that unfold when you follow the red prompts explain why this is a good idea, what it includes (and excludes), and what are the benefits. They also provide answers to frequently asked questions.
At our World Peace Festival which took place at the World Peace Bell in Northern Kentucky, I gave a brief speech entitled “We are citizens of the world.” I also introduced Father Ben Urmston, SJ, who had his 89th birthday on the day of the festival. It was so fitting to be able to honor Father Ben at the peace festival. He is a World War II veteran who has been working for peace ever since. He is the one who introduced me to the concept of a democratic federation of nations and the need for global citizenship. Ben firmly believes that war would not be needed if we establish world laws in a democratic manner and used them to protect universal human rights. We could use world courts to solve disagreements instead of bombs and guns. The laws would apply to every individual on the planet, and the leaders who made the decision to go to war are the ones who would be brought to court. That certainly would be a better way to govern the world.
I wish you were there with me to sing “Happy Birthday” to Father Ben. You would have enjoyed that. We could have used your good voice.
I am including some pictures of the festival for you to share with your little sisters. Looking forward to my next visit with all of you.
Love,
Gram
