Area activists speak for peace
By Tony Moses
Staff writer
On Saturday, three speakers
addressed.the issue of achieving
peace and harmony in an emerging
global society.
The speakers, Leola Bullock,
Canton Michael Wiesser and Amrita
Mahapatra, spoke to a group of about
40 people in the Nebraska Union.
Bullock, a local civil rights
activist, explored nonviolent means
of achieving peace by drawing paral
lels between the lives of Mahatma
Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
“The works of these men have not
only helped create peace within our
selves, but peace towards others,” she
said.
“Violence towards other people
was never proposed.”
Bullock advised that “seeking
truth, learning how to love and trying
to be unselfish” were vital to achiev
ing peace.
Wiesser spoke about the impor
tance of acknowledging that “each
one of us is a member of the same
family.
“It sounds very simple, but the
salvation of the world will come
when we recognize that we are all
one.”
Wiesser emphasized the impor
tance individuals have in the process.
“Perhaps a sense of peace can
come from governments, but it is
unlikely,” he said.
“Peace will come from ordinary
people, and it will come when people
reject the labels that have been given
to us.”
A local actor and civil rights
activist, Mahapatra concluded the
speeches by envisioning how to
achieve peace.
“We are free today if we refuse to
carry the chains they give us,” she
said.
“The world is not going to change
by itself. We have to change it. And by
we, I don’t mean great leaders, I mean
you and me.”
Following Mahapatra’s speech,
the speakers answered questions
about other issues relating to global
peace.
une issue 01 concern was uie ruie
of ethnic pride and maintaining a
sense of identity.
“We should become a family, but
in a family, brothers and sisters are
not the same,” Mahapatra said.
“We should maintain ethnic pride
while spreading tolerance.”
Wiesser addressed the impor
tance of religion.
“The biggest mistake that has
happened in the world of religion is
that religion has not taught toler
ance,” he said.
The final issue addressed was the
role of affirmative action in attaining
peace.
While all three speakers believed
that affirmative action has no place in
a peaceful world, they said it is need
ed on the road to peace.
Wiesser said it is necessary to
guarantee representation for minori
ties.
“The majority can take care of
itself very well,” he said.
Bullock agreed that affirmative
action is still urgently needed.
“I consider myself living under a
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dictatorship: white rule,” she said.
The peace forum was sponsored
by the University of Nebraska
Lincoln International Affairs, the
Lincoln chapter of the India
Association of Nebraska and the
UNL chapter of the India Student
Association.
Arun Gandhi, grandson of
Mahatma Gandhi, was expected to
address the crowd, but he was unable
to because of an illness.
The groups may be able to
reschedule Arun Gandhi for March
25 or 26.
Throughout the forum, the need
for peace was emphasized several
times.
“Peace - what a seductive word it
is,” Mahapatra said. “It has almost
become a cliche without us ever
achieving it.”
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