Quote from Brave Hearts, Rebel Spirits

Brave Hearts, Rebel Spirits: A Spiritual Activists Handbook 

by Brooke Shelby Biggs

Anita Roddick Books, West Sussex, England, 2003         251 pages

This book is dedicated to all those uncelebrated hell-raisers, truth-tellers, and risk-takers who have lived what they believe with such grace, honor, and courage. Not all of them could fit inside this book, so this book is, instead, a gift to them . . . (p. 1)

Philip and Daniel Berrigan, Catholic Priests and Anti-War Activists: 'Radical Josephine priest Philip Berrigan stands in front of a slightly open file cabinet, staring solemnly into the breast pocket of his trench coat. Moments after this grainy photograph was snapped in October 1967, Philip pulled a vial of blood—a mixture of animal blood and his own—out of the pocket and poured its contents over dozens of draft files. As they waited for their arrest, the group passed out Bibles and politely explained to onlookers and dumbfounded draft board employees that the blood symbolized that of American soldiers and Vietnamese, as well as the blood of Christ. That action marked the genesis of a remarkable phenomenon: the American Catholic nonviolent, direct-action anti-war movement. That day, Philip became the first priest in America to be arrested for an act of civil disobedience. He would not be the last; indeed he opened the flood gates of religious anti-war activism.' (pp. 10, 12)

Isabell Coe, Wiragariee, Aboriginal Tent, Embassy Diplomat: 'As Isabell Coke inched her way up Glastonbury Tor, the small group awaiting her at the top of the hill had a clear view of the approaching sunset. . . The climb was a physical struggle for the 51-year-old Coe, the pain in her hips making it difficult to walk, but she was there to lead a sacred Aboriginal ceremony and would not be held back. . . As custodian of the Wiragariee tribe, she is calling for the war on her people to end—the war that began when the British first landed on the shores of Australia, the war that goes on today. White politicians talk about reconciliation but have done little of consequence, to Coe’s mind. ‘Even when our people are dead, they lock up their spirits in jail. We are still fighting for sovereignty, and we are not going to go away, we will always be there’.' (p. 81)

Neta Golan, Buddhist Jew, Middle East Peace Activist: 'In the summer of 2002, Neta Golan sneaked into both the besieged compound of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the Church of the Nativity where dozens of Palestinians were holed up against mortar fire from the Israeli army. Before she and a handful of activists from around the world arrived, Arafat’s compound had been shelled twice, and three Palestinians inside had been killed. After she arrived, the shelling stopped. Neta Golan, an Israeli Jew, believes she and her fellow activists created an impossible situation . . . The only hope for resolution from that moment became negotiation. ‘It was dangerous, and we were scared, of course we were scared,’ says Golan. ‘But it worked.’ (p. 176)
-- quote submitted by Sharry L.

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