[Sosfbay-discuss] [Fwd: Fw: Contagious Love Experiment]

Tue Oct 27 16:41:05 PDT 2009

Veterans For Peace Chapter 101 will host Josh Stieber and John and John 
Conor Curran at the San Jose Peace Center on  Saturday,   November 7 , 
at 6:00 pm. 

Join the hospitality.  

Some of us will  serve  Pot Luck Soups.

Fred, on behalf of  VFP.

Wes Rolley wrote:
> Mentioned here before.  This is good.
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: 	Fw: Contagious Love Experiment
> Date: 	Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:05:21 -0700 (PDT)
> From: 	Kalmran Alavi <calm_ron at yahoo.com>
> To: 	Wes Rolley <wrolley at charter.net>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Forwarded Message ----
> *From:* James Walsh <jwprod1956 at clearwire.net>
> *To:* Organizer Newspaper <theorganizer at energy-net.org>; Peace and 
> Justice List <peaceandjusticesjc at lists.riseup.net>; PNN 
> <editor at pnn.com>; tccp list <tccplist at sbcglobal.net>
> *Sent:* Mon, October 26, 2009 8:02:35 AM
> *Subject:* Contagious Love Experiment
>
> My Friends,
>
>  
>
> Please help spread the word. Forward to all who might be interested.
>
>  
>
> Jim Walsh
>
> 209-981-0544
>
>  
>
> **
>
> *Press 
> Release:                                                                                               
> Monday, October 26^th , 2009*
>
> *What: Speaking engagement sponsored by Peace and Justice Network of 
> San Joaquin County*
>
> *Who: The Contagious Love Experiment , Iraq Vets Speak Out *
>
> *with Josh Stieber and John Conor Curran*
>
> *Where: First Unitarian Universalist Church *
>
> *            2737 Pacific Ave. Stockton*
>
> *When: Friday, November 6^th , 2009 7:00 p.m.*
>
> *Admission free. Donations will be accepted.*
>
> */Two Young Veterans Walk and Bike Across Country with a Message of Peace
> /*
> Armed with only backpacks containing essentials and items to document 
> their journey, Josh Stieber and John Conor Curran are on the move.
>
> The Iraq War veterans are traveling across the country on foot and 
> bicycles, spreading a message of peace on what they call the 
> “Contagious Love Experiment.”
>
> A soldier turned conscientious objector, Stieber, 21, decided that if 
> he believed war created more problems than it solved, that he would 
> journey to learn about, promote, and invest his "war-money" to 
> peaceful alternatives. Stieber says one of his inspirations is "a guy 
> who said 'give away your wealth to those in need and love everybody"
>
> This is a very different view of what religion means than when 
> Stieber, a Gaithersburg , Maryland native, with the backing of his 
> conservative church, enlisted in the army as an infantryman based on 
> his religious beliefs.
>
> “My view of strength and duty was that I was right, everyone else had 
> it wrong and one way or another people needed to be forced into what I 
> believed-religion, democracy, etc. and that would make the world a 
> better place. Listening to other perspectives” says Stieber "was what 
> I considered to be weak".
>
> After a 14-month tour in Iraq , Stieber became a conscientious objector.
>
> “When it got to the point to where our strategy seemed like we were 
> trying to out-intimidate the supposed terrorists, I realized that 
> forcing someone to agree with you at the point of a gun doesn't change 
> much, when that force is gone, nothing has changed. What does matter 
> is the internal condition which can be guided by love just as easily 
> as fear.” says Stieber.
>
> Stieber started the cross-country journey in Gaithersburg , Maryland 
> on May 28, 2009, and will be stopping in Stockton on Friday, November 
> 6^th for a speaking engagement at the First Unitarian Universalist 
> Church at 7:00 p.m. On his journey, Stieber is attending speaking 
> engagements and visiting a number of charities whose objectives he 
> admires and donating to them the money he was paid in Iraq . To date, 
> Stieber has walked from his home in Maryland to Boston to Cincinnati 
> before beginning on foot, visited seven charities, spoken at dozens of 
> venues and encountered the kindness of countless strangers for food, 
> shelter, and wisdom.
>
> “When it is culturally encouraged to be the most recognized, own the 
> nicest stuff, and to beware of somebody possibly doing better than 
> you, it has been extremely refreshing to meet so many people who 
> consider others as important as themselves and have a strong faith in 
> common humanity” says Stieber.
>
> But the journey has not been without contention.
>
> "Some people say that this trip is just me working off my guilt or 
> something and that I simply don't understand how the world works. Most 
> people say it respectfully, but there has been some criticisms stated 
> harsher.” says Stieber.
>
> Traveling with Stieber is Conor Curran, a Perrysburg, Ohio resident 
> and former Marine. Also a veteran of the Iraq War, Curran, 25, served 
> two tours in Iraq before his 2008 discharge. Now a peace activist, 
> Curran felt compelled to join Stieber after learning about the project.
>
> “In this new generation of warfare against an insurgency, time is our 
> enemy’s primary weapon,” says Curran. “The only way to fight back 
> against a weapon like time is with peace, understanding, and an active 
> dialogue. If we continue to fight an insurgency with violence and the 
> U.S. military machine of force, our resources will be devastatingly 
> depleted, while having created a wake of enemies in the process.”
>
> Curran joined Stieber in Toledo , Ohio and is accompanying him on the 
> remainder of the journey. The men plan to reach San Francisco by the 
> beginning of November. For more details of their journey see their 
> blog at: www.contagiousloveexperiment.wordpress.com 
> <http://www.contagiousloveexperiment.wordpress.com/> .
>
> For more information on this event contact Jim Walsh (209) 981-0544, 
> send e-mail to jwprod1956 at clearwire.net 
> <mailto:jwprod1956 at clearwire.net> or go to the PJN website at 
> http://www.pjnsjc.or
>
>  
>
>
>
> -- 
> "Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente
>
> Wes Rolley
> 17211 Quail Court, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
> http://www.refpub.com/ -- Tel: 408.778.3024
>
>
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