Mother’s Day Proclamation of 1870
by
Julia Ward Howe
Arise then…women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking of carnage.
For caresses and applause.
Our sons will not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”
From the voice of a devastated Earth
A voice goes up with our own.
It says:
“Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe out our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possesion
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women,
To bewail and commemorate the dead.
let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace
Each bearing after his own time time the sacred impress,
not of Casear
but of God.
In the name of womanhood and humanity,
I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient,
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.
Four Generations
Julia Ward Howe and her daughter, grandson, & great granddaughter
Julia Ward Howe, poet and activist, is best known as the writer of the lyrics to The Battle Hymn of the Republic. In 1907, she became the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Strongly involved in women’s rights and the suffrage movement, in 1870 Julia proposed the established of a special Mother’s Day Council for Peace, which unfortunately failed. Nevertheless, she planted the seed that led to the creation of the holiday we now celebrate as Mother’s Day.
As I read this proclamation, in light of the ongoing battles in Iraq and elsewhere, it rings just as true today as it did nearly 140 years ago. Let us remember Julia’s words as we honor the Mothers in our lives, and the great Mother who watches over all of us.
Blessings,
~ Ocean
This sculpture shows the sign for "connect"...and that is what Deaf Pagan Crossroads is all about - making connections. Connections between Deafhood and Paganism, connections between the Deaf Community and the Hearing Community, connections between myself as the writer and you as the reader. I hope you will take the time to read my various posts, some of which are listed below. Welcome to the Crossroads, and I hope you make some connections here!
🙂
What a great poem… reminds me of a Simon and Garfunkel song:
Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
I dreamed I saw a mighty room
The room was filled with men
And the paper they were signing said
They’d never fight again
And when the papers all were signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands end bowed their heeds
And grateful prayers were prayed
And the people in the streets below
Were dancing round and round
And guns and swords and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground
Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
Notice it’s the men who have to sign the paper….
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