The U.S. policy of ever-increasing amounts of military aid that spans administrations belonging to both political parties is of concern and asks for a Friend’s witness to the Testimony of Peace. In recent years an alarming amount of money specifically meant to buy munitions has been given to Israel and Ukraine. In the same gesture, congressionally mandated ties required of that money to humanitarian aid have been cancelled. It is beholden upon Friends to consider testimony to the violent intentions of the U.S. government.
The testimony of peace is understood by The Meeting as inward faith. The Meeting asks each member and attender to express this testimony according to the guidance of the Spirit. The Meeting’s guidance is that peace concerns peaceful activities rather than opposition to war. The spirit of this Minute is that the concern is about the activity of violence in the light of the testimony of peace.
Quakers have given various messages in testimony against violent actions. These messages have been statements against killing other people. War is the aggressive act of killing people for a government to achieve its goals. The most obvious vehicle of war is the bullet. And missiles and bombs are also bullets, so to speak. The Meeting points out that setting a goal of achieving political success through acts of war without concomitantly conducting humanitarian actions is misguided. The Meeting acts to make the statement humanitarian aid is required to be a part of a military aid package in order to satisfy the demands of peaceful people. Further, The Meeting insists the great amount of aid provided to Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Israel is inconsistent with the demands of the government to guarantee peace in the United States of America. The Meeting affirms that the great volume of military aid provided to these foreign governments serves the domestic needs of those governments in the absence of the needs of the citizens of the United Staes of America. The Meeting stops short of the statement that the bumming of bullets from U.S. citizens is in service of special interests in those countries. In its defense, The Meeting insists when foreign governments ask it for bullets in order to kill their friends and enemies, in other words, to use aggressive violence against innocent civilians in order to achieve political objectives, they have asked the members of The Meeting to go against the Golden Rule, that is, “Do to others what you would have them do to you.” (Matt. 7:12) Generally, it is the statement of Quakers that ‘do to you’ refers to Christ’s commandment to love each-other as so he loves. (cf. Jn. 13:34)
The Meeting insists on calling the governments of Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Israel bums. The demand, and agreement, that the government of the U.S. purchase bullets, missiles, and bombs for them and for the purpose of killing their political opposition -including innocent men, women, and children goes beyond the requirements U.S. citizens have as a good neighbor, or even an ally. Our government’s lack of temperance to this demand by refusing to require significant humanitarian aid in order to satisfy the requests of foreign governments is objected to by a political party.
The Meeting remains non-partisan. The Meeting asks members, attenders, and interested person to be guided by the spirit to deliver its message in order to act to speak to our government. The Meeting counsel’s peaceful activities in place of any duty to confront or protest any official representative.