Pacifica Peace People Celebrate 10 Years of Peace Action in Pacifica

Written by Delia McGrath 

Pacifica Peace People (PPP) is honoring its 10th year of peace action in Pacifica. Our group came together spontaneously in June of 2003, a few months after the invasion of Iraq. Some 75-plus people swelled our ranks initially.

People were angry, stunned, beside themselves with grief and disbelief at such a reckless, indefensible action taken by the U.S. government. People wanted to express a unified, peaceful approach in response to such a horror.

PPP created presentations by expert speakers, showed documentary films, and held musical events at the Mildred Owen Concert Hall. One very special event was hosting Veterans for Peace singer/songwriter Country Joe McDonald on Veterans Day 2006. In 2007, we organized the Eyes Wide Open exhibit on Linda Mar Beach, displaying hundreds of pairs of combat boots to recognize every soldier from California who had been killed. We read the names of Iraqi people who were killed, too. All of these activities provided powerful images that showed the utter destruction and futility of war!

PPP began its counter-recruitment project in the high schools in our school district. This project, renamed Full Picture, continues to this day. What we do when the military recruiters are present is set up our peace table. We provide literature and inform students, giving them the full picture of what it means to enlist in military service. Students get an incomplete picture from the recruiters who are motivated to get young students to join.

We made numerous attempts in 2008 to have the Pacifica City Council pass a resolution naming Pacifica a City for Peace. Not one member of the council agreed to allow us to bring this request before them. We then decided ourselves to designate our city as such. In January 2009, PPP took out a full-page ad naming Pacifica a City for Peace. Hundreds of residents joined us in signing their names to this designation.

For six years we held monthly peace vigils on the corner of Highway 1 and Linda Mar Blvd. Thousands of Pacificans passing by in cars responded enthusiastically to our presence for peace. We conducted a nonviolent communication skills workshop in 2010, and offered a student peacemaker award that year at Oceana High School and the following year at Terra Nova High School. We are in our second year of offering mini-grants to teachers in both high schools as a way of engaging students in peace projects.

And for the past three years we have asked people to sign their names in a peace ad to draw attention to International Peace Day, Sept. 21. This year's ad is in today's Pacifica Tribune. We are delighted that hundreds of people agreed to join Pacifica Peace People in expressing a yearning for peace.

A "hearty" group of local activists continues to carry the torch for peace in our community. Many others engage with the projects and activities we sponsor from time to time. On Monday evening, September 9, 2013 some 35 people responded to Pacifica Peace People's call to protest/demonstrate in opposition to the proposed military strike against Syria.

At time of this writing, we applaud the administration's "pause" in its attempt to use force, favoring a diplomatic solution, one we wholeheartedly support. We will continue to promote nonviolent solutions in the future whether it be in Syria, Iran or any other country in the region or in the world.

PPP is resolved to continue its work for peace at every turn. We have reignited our vision to cultivate a culture of peace in Pacifica, our beloved community. This vision opens up many possibilities and will become our legacy here. We are determined to have our voices heard. We hope that world peace will become a reality one day. Please come walk with PPP in the Fog Fest Parade on Saturday, September 28; we'd love to see you there!

We invite you to join us — check our website for more information about ways that you can help:www.pacificapeacepeople.net. My appreciation goes to John Maybury, Leslie Davidson, Adrienne Zanini for valued comments and assistance.

Delia McGrath is a longtime Pacifica resident.