Anna Jarvis organized the first Mother’s Day service in May 1907 in Grafton, W.Va., to honor her mother — a tireless advocate for peace.
Anna Jarvis’ mother had spent most of her life working to bring reconciliation between mothers whose sons had fought for the Union and Confederacy in the Civil War.
She was inspired by Julia Ward Howe, the famous peace activist who wrote in 1870:
Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870, as a call for peace and disarmament. An excerpt follows:
“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 dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
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…”
The audacity of Rubberstamp Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito — who continues to vote for endless war in Iraq — to claim sponsorship of a coin to commerate Mother’s Day is outrageous.
How many mothers in the United States and Iraq are in mourning on this day because their children are dead due to the actions and support of war by people like Capito?
She completely ignores the roots of the Mother’s Day movement — roots well known by Anna Jarvis and a major factor in the original Mother’s Day service.
Capito has blood on her hands.
Today’s story in the Martinsburg Journal is nothing more than a press-release for Capito and the Republican Party.
These war whores try to hide their guilt but they cannot escape the fact that they represent everything that Howe and the Jarvises vehemently opposed.
Howe and the Jarvises worked for peace their whole lives.
They knew that the labors of mothers should never be squandered on the senseless violence of war.
Call Journal Junction at 1-800-448-1895 ext. 333 and leave a message asking why they left out the message of peace behind Mother’s Day and whether it was because it would have embarrassed a supporter of endless war like Capito by pointing out her hypocrisy.
You might also want to ask the reporter Lauren Hough at 304-263-8931 ext. 163 and politely leave a message asking her how Capito’s war stance squares with Jarvis’ love of peace. You might also email her at lhough@journal-news.net.
