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Read more of Josh’s experiences and thoughts in Ithaca, Trumansburg, and beyond on contagiousloveexperiment.wordpress.com.
In mid-July of 2009, Peace Now Ithaca, a local group in the Fingerlakes rgion of upstate New York that had organized a successful campaign to designate Ithaca a Sanctuary City for war resisters, received word that 21-year old Iraq veteran and conscientious objector, Josh Sieber, was on a trek across the nation and wanted to come to Ithaca. With the help and cooperation of the Ithaca and Perry City Friends Meetings, the Social Justice Council of the Ithaca Unitarian Church, the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance and annual Peace Forum, we organized a potluck dinner to meet Josh, a local Peace Walk with him, and arranged for his participation at the festival.
Joining Josh on the walk were Plowshares and Catholic Workeractivist Ellen Grady, her daughter Saoirse, Peace Now Ithaca activistBob Nape, and videographer Cris McConkey. At the festival, Josh met up with former medic and conscientious objector Michael Blake.
The peace forum is an annual eventat the Fingerlakes Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance. It was started by Jolene Uticone, a widely known and loved youth worker. This video starts with the peace walk and ends with Josh’s address in the Dance Tent, where he was invited to speak by the traditional Irish band the Grumblin Rustics.
To sum up Josh’s message in one sentence: We need to live out of trust and out of love… …and not out of fear.
Beautiful rap, Josh… thank you for bringing back the truth without the glitz. I sincerely hope that other vets on your path will learn what you are learning… In Peace, Jim
Just received this note from Mary Reynolds Powell
re: Josh walking in Ohio. (Mary was a medevac nurse at Binh Hoa)…
“Jim- He will be here on Aug 2/3/4. VFP members are having a potluck for him on the 2nd; he’ll be speaking just before a PAND concert that will mark Hiroshima Day on the 3rd; he’s speaking at Oberlin in the 4th. I’ve contacted John Miller (another CO dustoff pilot from my book) who lives in Iowa to see if he can do something.”
Mary
Dear Josh,
I’m deeply moved. I feel a movie needs to be made about your experience, illustrating your experience in Iraq, where the man served you, had Love in his eyes, etc. Stephen Spielberg could do a magnificent job on this. It needs to be mainstream. It also needs to illustrate how the military “focuses on dehumanizing” the soldiers, as well as “the enemy”, rather than seeing good in all and Love as the answer. I’m writing songs about Peace and want to support you in that way. I will show your testimony to the band that is just being formed.
Thank you for following your soul’s call to make the world a better, Loving world.
Peace and Love,
Sarah Tiers