"Making Peace in a War-like World: How Can We Make a Difference?" is the subject of our next MAGNT meeting.

Come and have a conversation with our special guest, Charles Underwood, pacifist, lifelong activitist and Quaker.

Charles Underwood is a teacher and has been such for 40 years in the Congo, in Togo, West Africa, in Michigan, in the Phillips Neighborhood of Minneapolis, in Puerto Rico and in St Paul (Spanish immersion and Montessori). He's been a pacifist since age 16, recognized by his draft board at age 18, and is currently a Quaker. He's been a lifelong activist in language immersion, Montessori, peace, and Democratic Party concerns. He recently worked the Republican National Convention (RNC), as a street medic, and witnessed quite a few arrests and a lot of pepper-spray.

Anyone who followed the events of the RNC, would be interested in Charles. In his on words: "The RNC siege in St Paul was quite an eye-opener for many of us. We saw long impenetrable black-clad riot squads, clouds of chemical weapons, videos of young girls getting pepper-sprayed for offering flowers or saying, 'I love you.' We witnessed broken shop windows, jailed journalists, smashed patrol cars, targeted street medics, hovering helicopters, and raids where around 200 citizens had weapons drawn on them --sometimes for the crime of riding a bike while wearing mostly black.

"What’s a moral person to do under such circumstances? Should we keep offering flowers, or is this a little like talking about alcoholism with your friend when he is falling-down drunk? Should we pray more or meditate, or is this like imagining that the Pentagon will levitate if enough of us say 'Om' together? Should we break more windows and puncture more tires, but who wins under such an approach? And how did the Black Panthers fare under such an approach? Do we need bigger marches, more creative slogans to shout, better graphics, a niftier website, more eloquent letters to the editor? It sort of looks like things are getting more oppressive around here, but how can we change it? Or should we even try?"

Join us October 11 as we have a conversation exploring answers to the questions he raises. Ira Gordon and Rosemary Ritchie are the host/facilitators for this meeting.