For Immediate Release                                               Contact:
September 22, 2005                                                Mark Lewis (719) 471-9400
12:00 PM                                                             CSAction.org
                                                                        Dave Therault 719-459-6471
                                                                                      Threshing Machine

Colorado joins the nation with peace march and rally on September 24

Colorado Springs, September 22

Camp Casey, Colorado Springs and the Colorado College Nonviolence Student's Group will join forces to produce a rally and march on Saturday, September 24 on the campus and at Camp Casey on the corner of  Nevada and Dale. The campus rally starts a 1pm, then marches to Camp Casey at 1:30 for music, food, and speeches. The rally will then march through Colorado College to the pedestrian overpass of Interstate 25 at Monument Park at 3:00.

The march and rally are in concert with Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, Gold Star Families for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, as well as the local groups Citizen's for Peace in Space, Pikes Peak Justice and Peace, and Springs Action Alliance.

The band, Creating a New Sense, will perform and speakers will include Vietnam combat Veteran, Jim Beckenhaupt, of Veterans for Peace, members of Iraq Veterans for Peace, and Colorado College students.
 
Dave Therault, organizer and Camp Casey, Crawford alumni said, "We are going through the same political, economic, and social cleansing that we did with Viet Nam, Watergate, and the civil rights struggles of the sixties. I hope we can learn this time."

"The concept that the military has to be at war to survive is the worst kind of religiosity, and as much a threat to peace as jihad. Is this what drives the pro-war movement? It's the same dehumanizing objectification that gives us the multitudes of faceless enemy kills in action movies and video games. Is it any wonder that America is now ridiculed and reviled?"

"I believe that a more evolved religiosity is evident among those in the peace movement; one that is based on a concept and experience of unity. It is an illusion that I and my enemy are separate. When one experiences the sameness, the same self in the enemy, one is less compelled to annihilate him. One is more apt to find ways to love him, or to at least truly only use military force as a last resort," Mr. Therault said.

Mark Lewis, Of the Springs Action Alliance said, "This march and rally are in solidarity with the national 'March on Washington', and the many rallies around the world on Saturday. We will do our part here in Colorado Springs to promote peace as the answer and war as the problem." 

"I like Mother Theresa's statement on the issue: 'There will be no peace until we remember that we belong to each other,'" Mr. Lewis said. "The two sides of this issue are divided along those lines. We, that believe we have a responsibility to all our brothers an sisters, and those that don't."

"Killing in war to bring peace is the diseased thinking of a dysfunctional mind!"

Complete coverage of the rally and march will be on the Springs Action Alliance website, CSAction.org and covered in that site's daily news. The entire event, will also be documented by Dave Therault on the ThreshingMachine blog.

 The march and rally will be peaceful and lawful as always and all attending are urged to practice nonviolence in language and actions.
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