Peace Is Active Book
Voting makes a difference.
Getting involved makes a difference.
Supporting the goal of peace makes a difference.
Peace Is Active by Tom McCann (Little Creek Press, 2022)
-
Peace Is Acive by Tom McCann: Please buy directly from the wonderful independent book publisher Little Creek Press , Mineral Point, WI
Chapter 1: Peaceful Purpose
I was five years old when my friend ran away from my dad with a look of fear in his eyes I had never seen before.
My friend was a refugee from Laos named Kao. He was five years old just like me. His family fled to the United States during the war in Vietnam and settled in my hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
I had no idea why he was afraid of my dad.
In addition to working as a custodian for the local school district, Dad was a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserves. He had military duties one weekend a month and two weeks each summer at Fort McCoy near Tomah, Wisconsin. Dad was one of the good guys. Fighting for liberty and justice for all. Defending America. Keeping us safe.
Dad would sometimes return home wearing his military uniform. Kao was afraid of soldiers. His family was forced to flee their home because the war in Vietnam was also fought in his country. To him, soldiers represented the violence his family was trying to avoid.
Dad was lucky. He was never sent to Vietnam. He was sent to South Korea to be a lifeguard at a swimming pool on a military base a few miles from the North Korean border. Many of his military friends were not so lucky. If Dad wasn’t a lifeguard, he might have had a more dangerous assignment. He might have been killed. I think about that when I see lifeguards each summer.
Once I was old enough to understand what soldiers do, my pride for Dad was overshadowed by my worry for his safety. The threat of war was real. The United States was in a “cold war” with the Soviet Union and tensions could boil into a “hot war” at any point. I spent some of my elementary school years hiding under my desk during nuclear bomb drills. I wasn’t sure how my desk would save me from the heat and radiation of a nuclear blast.
War is a very dangerous place for civilians. Dads, moms, and kids often die or get seriously wounded. Families are forced to flee their homes. War is terrible. I felt really bad for Kao and other refugee families. I wanted to keep Dad safe, but I wanted everyone else to be safe too.
Growing up in a military family gave me purpose in life. Ever since I figured out what Dad was training for, peace on Earth has been my goal. I didn’t want him to die in a war. I didn’t want my family, or any other family, to suffer the brutalities of war. It’s obvious that living in peace is way better than living in war. For everyone.
Now, here’s the great news. Lots of people all over the world are working on the goal of peace. Many have been very successful in numerous ways. We’re getting better at doing business with each other instead of invading each other. For the first time in history, democratic republics are becoming the predominant form of government on Earth rather than dictatorships. Sometimes we take ridiculously sad and stupid steps backwards, but the steps forward have been far more plentiful for many generations.
Life on Earth is getting better. The technological and medical advances during the past few centuries have been incredible. More people have access to doctors, indoor plumbing, and education than ever before. We have advanced tools to monitor air and water quality. We continue to make incredible advancements.
We’re getting closer to achieving the goal of peace on Earth. We still have terrible outbreaks of violence, but the number of wars per decade has dropped rapidly the past few centuries. This is great news. A peaceful planet is the best strategy for all of us. We all want to be safe. We all need food, clean water, and legitimate ways to provide for ourselves and our loved ones. We’ve never been closer to the goal of peace on Earth than now. We have the ability to live in peace.
Since Dad was serving in the military, I wanted huge peaceful steps forward as quickly as possible. I cheered for any politician, musician, or scientist dedicated to the goal of peace. Since the threat of war had scary consequences for my military family, I wanted to do something to help avoid wars.
History shows random people often change the course of history. This is especially true in the digital age. Anyone from anywhere can say something or do something that ends up going viral. Millions of people can be reached very quickly and cheaply. We communicate with each other in ways that were not possible for prior generations. For many years, I had a poster in my bedroom with a quote from President John F. Kennedy that said, “It’s time for a new generation of leadership. For there is a new world to be won.”
We never know who will change the course of history. There are millions of scientists on this planet, but only a few of them will make discoveries that are life-changing discoveries. There are millions of leaders on this planet, but only a few of them will get elected and do great things. We need billions of people pursuing the goal of peace so lots of us will be in the right place at the right time to make a positive difference.
The truth is, we all have the power to change the course of history. We all make decisions that influence the future. Who we vote for, what we purchase, how we spend our time, how we treat other people. These things all influence the future.
Sometimes the course of history is changed in unexpected ways. We might help a random stranger who goes on to make a great discovery. We might donate money to a refugee charity that helps a young woman grow up to be a peaceful world leader. We don’t always know how our actions will influence the course of history.
On the other hand, sometimes we know exactly how our actions influence the future. We live longer if we eat healthier. We feel better if we get enough sleep. We breathe easier if we limit air pollution. These are all decisions we have the power to make.
Since I grew up in a military family, I became one of the billions of people on Earth wanting to create a more peaceful future. Maybe I could help in some way. Maybe I would be in the right place at the right time. Maybe I would do a good deed that ripples throughout history in unexpected ways. Maybe I would somehow stop a war before it begins. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but Dad was training for war. Peace on Earth was my goal.
Since my mom took my two brothers and I to church every Sunday, my first thought was to promote peace as a religious leader. I remember seeing clips of Martin Luther King, Jr. showing how inspirational he was. Unfortunately, priests can’t get married in the Catholic Church so the thought of being a religious leader ended during puberty. My decision was further cemented when I realized all religions all over the world are far more human than divine.
I really enjoy music. I thought about writing songs to encourage global harmony. I heard John Lennon singing about giving peace a chance. I sang in school choirs growing up. I even sang inside Westminster Abbey Cathedral in London during a high school choir trip. Maybe I could make a difference with music.
I had a lot of great teachers. They taught me to focus on the facts and always be open to new ideas. My mom was a first grade teacher. I was always proud of her for that. Maybe I could teach and motivate students to create a peaceful future.
My parents often watched the nightly news. I watched the news with them. I saw talented journalists sharing stories from all over the world. I wanted everyone to know what was going on in the world. I started thinking about being a journalist.
Then I saw political leaders changing the course of history by winning elections. I saw progress on peace deals, human rights, and clean water rules. Being a musician, teacher, or journalist would allow me to influence other people, but politics seemed like it would give me the best chance to make a real difference in the world. Politics can lead to millions of people being lifted out of poverty, millions of people getting access to doctors, and millions of people living peaceful lives by electing peaceful leaders instead of warmongers. I started thinking about getting involved in politics to make the world a more peaceful place.
My original goal of stopping wars to save Dad was a nearly impossible goal to set for myself. If Dad died in a war, it would be ridiculous to blame myself for not being able to stop a war from happening. I decided I would be proud of myself as long as I was trying to make the world a more peaceful place in whatever way I could.
Chapter 2: Old Abe
Making a difference in the world seemed impossible for someone like me from northern Wisconsin. Then again, I grew up hearing stories about how my family played a role in the history of the United States. The most famous “difference maker” in my family was a pet eagle.
My great-great-grandparents traded corn with members of the Chippewa tribe to adopt a young eaglet. My great-great-grandfather, Dan McCann, migrated to Wisconsin from Ohio to work in the northern Wisconsin timber industry. He married my great-great-grandmother, whom I thought was Native American, but it turns out she grew up in a tribe from what we now know as Canada. I always thought I was part Native American, but I guess I’m part Native North American.
I’m not sure if Native “American” is the right phrase since many people lived here generations before the name America was used. A European merchant named Amerigo Vespucci wrote two widely read pamphlets in 1503 and 1505 about new lands being explored. Map makers needed a name for the lands Amerigo wrote about so they started using the Latinized version of his name, America.
I’m not sure if “native” is the right word either. Some of my ancestors were just the first ones to arrive. Tribes migrated to northern areas because they heard wild rice grows on the water. During the agricultural revolution, European farmers migrated to Wisconsin to grow crops. During the industrial revolution, people migrated to Wisconsin to work in factories along the shores of Lake Michigan. We all come from immigrant families.
It would be great if different groups of people could solve their differences without wars, but that wasn’t the case during the American Civil War from 1861-1865. It was a war with enough bullets and cannonballs to rip dads and brothers apart, but not enough medical advances to put them back together. When local soldiers were leaving from northern Wisconsin to fight in the Civil War, my great-great-grandfather sold the pet eagle to the troops who were heading to Madison for military training at Camp Randall.
The troops decided to call themselves the “Eau Claire Eagles” after buying their eagle mascot. They named the eagle “Old Abe” in honor of the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Old Abe arrived at Camp Randall screeching and squawking. Old Abe was often perched on a wooden stand carried by the soldiers from Eau Claire. When the eagle would screech, the soldiers would cheer. Old Abe encouraged the home team at Camp Randall by jumping around; just like Badger football fans would jump around Camp Randall Stadium generations later.
Our family pet became famous in the civil war for motivating troops in over 30 battles. There were reports of Confederate generals offering rewards for anyone who could “kill that yankee buzzard!” After the war, the story of Old Abe was told in newspapers across the country. Old Abe continued to be a military mascot featured at rallies and parades for many years.
After the death of Old Abe, our family pet was preserved and put on display at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Eau Claire Memorial High School has an “Old Abe” eagle mascot. Soldiers from one of the most storied military divisions in the United States Army, the 101st Airborne Division, are known as the “Screaming Eagles” with a patch on their shoulders emblazoned with an image of our family pet eagle.
Our family pet set a high bar in terms of making a difference. Old Abe was in the right place at the right time. If our family pet could influence the course of history, then anything is possible. I wasn’t sure how I would make a difference in the world, but I was going to try. I was determined to do something to help the world be a more peaceful place.
Peace Is Acive by Tom McCann: Please buy directly from the wonderful independent book publisher Little Creek Press , Mineral Point, WI