The Peace Tree

May we all plant “Peace Trees” and together reap a harvest of goodness some day soon.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.

On this platform of peace, we can create a language

To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.

At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ

Into the great religions of the world.

We jubilate the precious advent of trust.

We shout with glorious tongues at the coming of hope.

All the earth’s tribes loosen their voices

To celebrate the promise of Peace.

We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Non-Believers,

Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.

Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud.

Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves

And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation.

Peace, My Brother.

Peace, My Sister.

Peace, My Soul.

Excerpt from Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou

The Peace Tree

words and photos by C.A. Matthews

I have a thing for Christmas trees. I love to decorate them and collect ornaments from all over the world. Come the twelfth day of Christmas (Epiphany) on January 6, I’m compelled by the “social norm” to take down my tree* and store it and the decorations away until next December. (Who is this “Norm” and why is he always raining on my parade? Not very “sociable” of him.) The empty space in my living room where the Christmas tree once stood makes me sad, so I began a new tradition.

I put away the tall tree and put up a shorter, table-top sized tree* in its place. I decorate it with ornaments symbolizing love (after all, Valentine’s Day is in February) and peace. The past couple of years the little tree has become not a mere Christmas tree substitute but a “Peace Tree” dedicated to world peace.

I leave the Peace Tree standing as long as there is conflict anywhere on the planet. You guessed it—the Peace Tree hasn’t been put away for quite some time now. In the summer, I move it upstairs where I stand it on top a short bookcase in our bedroom. We put a window a/c unit in the downstairs window, and the little tree could get blown over if it stayed put, but it isn’t taken down. I see it every day, a reminder that humans are still warring with each other somewhere on the planet. We need world peace, and we needed it yesterday.

This holiday season I decided to give the Peace Tree a makeover.

It struck me that the Peace Tree could use some ornaments that are unique to it, decorations that boldly proclaim its purpose. They need to be lightweight, as the heavy bigger tree ornaments were beginning to bend the wires in its smaller branches. I thought of making a set of Chrismons out of card stock paper, simple symbols that decorate many churches’ Christmas trees. I’m not that artistic a person, so I finally decided to keep it simple (like last week’s post suggests). I decided to stick with one main symbol that represents peace, hope, and love combined. I chose to make white doves, the universal symbol of peace.

Although pigeons often get a bad rap—especially among city dwellers who don’t care for their park statues being “decorated” by pigeons—the white feathered pigeon or dove is greatly admired. Almost every culture on every continent has bestowed upon the dove some deep symbolic meaning.

The white dove represents the Holy Spirit in many Christian churches, the divine spirit descending upon humankind. Doves were seen as the spirits of dead ancestors in the Inca culture. The ancient Romans and the Greeks saw the dove as a symbol of the gods, a messenger between heaven and earth. The gentle dove can be a symbol of innocence and purity, love and fidelity, so it is often released at marriage ceremonies. Two doves holding an olive branch between them symbolizes peace being brought down to earth from heaven, bringing serenity and hope.

Any way you look at it, the dove is an admirable bird with a history going way, way back, testifying that the concept of peace on Earth isn’t a new idea. Our ancestors have been searching for this elusive peace since we first came down from the trees.

It seems to me the majority of humankind wants to live in peace and harmony. This begs the question: Why is it then that war is such a widely practiced behavior when there are so many praying and hoping for peace on a daily basis? If you read last week’s post, you’ll understand that a not so peaceful minority has grabbed power in most Western nations. They seem set on having their way or nuking the entire Earth in spite.

It makes no sense to me, this need by a small percentage (maybe 1%?) of humanity to hoard and steal our planet’s natural resources from others. You do wonder if these millionaires and billionaires came from broken homes or were regularly beaten as children and suffered deep psychological harm. As a rule, they seem to lack the power to love or to forgive others and move on from past slights or hurts. Unfortunately, they don’t keep their brokenness (demonstrated by their self-centeredness) to themselves. When they don’t get their way their temper tantrums can turn deadly.

For instance, surely anyone can see that arming and funding a genocide for over 14 months now in Palestine isn’t going to bring peace and security to that region, let alone the rest of the planet. The constant refueling of hate and bigotry and greed only causes more hate and bigotry and greed. Who benefits from all this negativity?

I know who—it’s the military-industrial complex and related industries such as Big Oil, right? But why do we the workers allow the MIC or Big Oil to have the final say on everything? Do we actually believe that war/conflict/genocide is necessary? Are we afraid we’ll lose our jobs building tanks, airplanes, and bombs or drilling for more fossil fuels if the world becomes a more peaceful place? Have we’ve been told by our bosses, our superiors, “Don’t ask questions!” one too many times?

Or do we have a death wish?

We seem to be living in an era where worshiping death is glorified and seen as a good thing. How sick is that? Are we all as emotionally damaged as the billionaires who hoard everything they can get their hands on and start wars to gain more? Why don’t we see the white dove holding out its olive branch of peace as a guide through the darkness and into the light of love, peace, and harmony?

Is it that we can’t see it or we won’t see it?

I don’t know, but with each passing day I’m becoming more and more convinced that I need to get a bigger Peace Tree and make a hundred more doves. We the People haven’t been able to get our point across to the powers-that-be with paper doves, prayers, emails, phone calls, and protest signs alone. The oligarchs seem deaf to our pleas and blind to their own violence.

Things might get worse before they get better. Way, way worse. There’s no need to pretend the world is getting closer to peace when the overwhelming evidence of genocide in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan… is saying the opposite. More and more of us are saying that We the People cannot rely on the powers-that-be to end conflicts, that we will have to force the peace issue on the one-percenters by the sword—or rather, the guillotine.

Perhaps if we take off the blinders of bread and circuses that distract us in the West and see what we’re doing to our fellow humans as an assault on peace, everlasting peace, things will be turned around before it’s too late. I certainly hope so.

Until then, we fight on. The Revolution Continues… And it will continue until the last of our swords are beaten into plowshares and “neither will they learn war anymore” becomes a true statement for all humankind.

Happy Holidays—Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice and a good Kwanzaa and peace to you and yours. May we all plant “Peace Trees” and together reap a harvest of goodness some day soon.

* I have artificial Christmas trees because I’m allergic to the pine sap and the needles on the real kind. I rather plant real Christmas trees than chop them down anyway.

Brother/Sister/Other Can You Spare A Dime (or a Dollar or Two)?

I’ve always been terrible at asking folks for money, but Substack isn’t and suggests that Substackers do so from time to time. I’ve been planning on posting some “paid subscribers only” posts this coming year, so it would be nice if I had a few more paid subscribers to share these writings with. I’m thinking of running a poll to get feedback on what sort of extra posts you’d like to read—fiction, non-fiction, different types of essays, excerpts from my semi-humorous memoir that I’ve been writing off-and-on for years… You get the picture. If you’re able, please contribute to the cause and become a paid subscriber today. Even occasional donations help me pay the bills. I thank you in advance for your kindness.

If each of my 1,200+ subscribers gave a dollar a month (well, maybe two since Stripe takes about 40% out of everything), I’d be overjoyed. I wouldn’t be forced to look for a day job to keep body and soul together, and I could focus more of my energy on writing. Writing full-time will keep me from standing on street corners with protest signs that embarrass the status quo—so the oligarchs will heartily thank you for your generosity, too. (Yeah, right! The oligarchs know where they can shove it. I got plenty of protest signs that need to be seen.)

Whatever you do, keep sharing this blog with others and spreading the message: There will be peace in our time if we keep working toward it! Power to the people!

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

The Meaning of Christmas (w/ Rev. Munther Isaac) | The Chris Hedges Report https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-meaning-of-christmas-w-rev-munther

Israeli Attacks in Gaza Kill at Least 32 More Palestinians Over 24 Hours https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/22/israeli-attacks-in-gaza-kill-at-least-32-more-palestinians-over-24-hours/

Israel targets Gaza refugee camps and kills more than 100 in 2 days https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/12/21/swbm-d21.html

The Middle East conflict is not going as well for the empire as it might seem https://www.antiimperialist.news/p/the-middle-east-conflict-is-not-going

A Call To Protect Gaza’s Healthcare System https://popularresistance.org/a-call-to-protect-gazas-healthcare-system/

Israel Is Closing Embassy in Ireland Over Country’s Opposition to Gaza Genocide https://truthout.org/articles/israel-is-closing-embassy-in-ireland-over-countrys-opposition-to-gaza-genocide/

Trump And Israel Can't Wait To Start Bombing Iran https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/trump-and-israel-cant-wait-to-start

Jewish Scholar's Book Reveals Zionism's Fascist Roots & Close Collaborative Role With Nazi Regime https://mark192.substack.com/p/jewish-scholars-book-reveals-zionisms

The Fenzel Plan: How the US Engineered the PA’s West Bank Crackdown https://www.mintpressnews.com/the-fenzel-plan-how-the-us-engineered-the-pas-west-bank-crackdown/288849/

Syria's new rulers are already mad at Israel and the West https://www.antiimperialist.news/p/syrias-new-rulers-are-already-mad

Palestinian Americans File Lawsuit Against US for “Abandoning” Them in Gaza https://truthout.org/articles/palestinian-americans-file-lawsuit-against-us-for-abandoning-them-in-gaza/

It’s Becoming Harder to Protest Gaza War on Campus—and Also to Teach About It https://scheerpost.com/2024/12/21/its-becoming-harder-to-protest-gaza-war-on-campus-and-also-to-teach-about-it/

Luigi Mangione Charged With Murder as ‘An Act of Terrorism’ for Killing of Insurance CEO https://scheerpost.com/2024/12/18/luigi-mangione-charged-with-murder-as-an-act-of-terrorism-for-killing-of-insurance-ceo/

Capitalists Should Be Removed From All Our Systems, Not Just Health Care https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/12/19/capitalists-should-be-removed-from-all-our-systems-not-just-health-care/

NYT Panics Over Outrage at Insurance Companies https://fair.org/home/nyt-panics-over-outrage-at-insurance-companies/

41 percent of young voters find killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO acceptable https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5044269-poll-finds-41-percent-find-killing-unacceptable/

Is public, quality healthcare possible in the United States? https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/17/is-public-quality-healthcare-possible-in-the-us/

Endo’s End Around: How One of the Nation’s Largest Opioid Makers Escaped a $7 Billion Federal Penalty https://www.propublica.org/article/endo-settlement-opioids-justice-department

Pope Francis Doubles Down on Criticism of Israel’s ‘Cruelty’ in Gaza https://scheerpost.com/2024/12/23/pope-francis-doubles-down-on-criticism-of-israels-cruelty-in-gaza/

Are the Gaza ceasefire rumors finally real this time? https://mondoweiss.net/2024/12/are-the-gaza-ceasefire-rumors-finally-real-this-time/

Where Does The Aggression Really Begin? https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/where-does-the-aggression-really

Amazon Workers Launch Largest Strike Yet: ‘It Doesn’t Feel Like a Job That Should Be Legal’ https://scheerpost.com/2024/12/21/amazon-workers-launch-largest-strike-yet-it-doesnt-feel-like-a-job-that-should-be-legal/

ICJ Set to Decide Whether Fueling Climate Change Violates International Law https://truthout.org/articles/icj-set-to-decide-whether-fueling-climate-change-violates-international-law/

We now have the proof that Meta is censoring Palestinian content https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/we-now-have-the-proof-that-meta-is

Anti-Genocide Activists Target Israeli Drone Manufacturer in Brooklyn https://truthout.org/articles/anti-genocide-activists-target-israeli-drone-manufacturer-in-brooklyn/