42/CHRONICLESn—“Peace is a vague concept,nsimply the absence of war.nPeace is something hke milkntoast—weak, passive andnboring.” (Now really-do younknow any 15-year-olds whonhave heard of milk toast ornwould use language like that?)n—“Nobody is doing muchnabout peace. We arenpowerless.”n—“The future may neverncome and it probably will notnbe better than today.” (Huh?)nSo far, so good; I agree that these arenbad attitudes. But then we come ton”The Soviets are the enemy,” and Inwould appreciate an iota of evidencenthat this is an illogical conclusion tondraw.nIn 1983 the Camp Fire Congressnapproved a resolution “encouragingnthe development of peacemaking skillsnamong children, youth and familiesnfor their homes, communities, nation,nand world,” because “people everywherenare concerned about war andnpeace. We must find solutions to thenproblems which threaten our very existencenon this earth.” (Didn’t you justnknow that phrase vas coming!) “Thenwords of Gandhi tell us where tonbegin—with our children. It is youngnchildren who can most easily acquirenthe qualities needed to create a peacefulnworld — caring, responsibility,nability to resolve conflict, and hope fornthe future.”n”Children are exposed to more talknabout war and the threat of nuclearndestruction than most adults realize.nAt an early age, children can becomenvery frightened by what they see andnhear of world news. Many childrennfeel helpless in a threatening world.”nAnd apparently most of the threateningnis being done by Camp Firenleaders.nTo ameliorate this hideous situation,nCamp Fire offers two programs.n”A Gift of Peace” is for kids in grades 1nthrough 6, and “In Pursuit of Peace” isnfor “older youth and adults.” “A Giftnof Peace” is basically innocent—ornwould be, in the proper hands. Undernthe chapter subheading “Today’snPeacemakers,” though, is the suggestionnto “Learn about a peacemakernwho has been helping to create a morenpeaceful world during the lifetime ofnthe children. They may remembernSamantha Smith, who wrote a letter tonthe leaders of the U.S.S.R. asking fornpeace.” (My thoughts about the medianmaking a national icon of a childnbecause she thinks like a child do notnbelong in this family magazine.) In “AnGift of Peace,” kids learn about being anfriend and that “no two people see thensame situation in exactly the samenway,” both good things for children tonlearn. On the other hand, they arenencouraged to read Sadako and thenThousand Paper Cranes, along withnDr. Seuss’s blatandy political The ButternBattle Book. (A full-grown peaceniknI know adores Sadako and, whennhe’s not holding a lit candle on thencapitol steps or writing letters to theneditor or flying—God help us!—tonHelsinki, spends his time makingnpaper cranes and tying them to hisnneighbors’ trees, to their extremenconsternation; when he finishes thenthousandth, presto! There Will BenPeace—unless he gets a tail full ofnshot first.)n”In Pursuit of Peace,” for older kids,nis meatier, especially towards the end.nIn an actiity section called “The NuclearnThreat, ” young adults are advisednto “View a movie on nuclear warnor attend a lecture or other presentationnon nuclear war where some peoplenwith expert knowledge are present.”n(And of course a pro-defensenexpert is always invited to such lecturesnand presentations. . . . ) “Several excellentnmovies are available from localnlibraries, peace groups, schools andnchurches. ‘In the Nuclear Shadow’ is anseries of interviews with young people.nThe Last Epidemic’ and ‘The DaynAfter’ are descriptions of what wouldnhappen if a bomb were dropped on anmajor city. ‘The Race Nobody Wins’ndescribes the damages and costs of theninternational arms race.”nAfter all this, it’s nice to find thatnthere is a solution to our tribulations,nthis powder keg we sit on, and thatnyoung Camp Fire persons will be ablento help change the world, in a verynconcrete way, instead of just talkingnabout it like those silh- diplomats: “BecomeninvoKed in a peacemaking projectnwith others. Every community hasnpeacemaking groups and projects involvingnsuch activities as making paperncranes, making peace quilts or ribbons,ncreating art exhibits, and writingnletters to world leaders.” Of courselnHow could we all have been suchnfools? An activist at heart, I shall startnmy quilt today.nNineteen eighty-six is the U.N.declaredn”Year of Peace,” which, lookingnback at the events of the ‘ear,nwould tend to make me vorry aboutn1987—if the declaration weren’t asnmeaningless and insubstantial as mostnother U.N. pronouncements. And I’mnhere to tell you that yes, I’m scared,nI’m crying out for a chance to interactnwith other caring adults who are notnafraid to admit that they are scared,ntoo—and mad as hell: Most of us haenbeen giving money to these two groupsnfor years, whether we know it or not.n]ane Greer edits Plains Poetry Journalnand will publish this essay in a booknwhen she has enough others to gonwith it.nBOOKS IN BRIEF—ASIANnThe Making of a Moonie—Choice or Brainwashing by Eileen Barker, Oxford: BasilnBlackwell. The most thorough report to date on the mechanics and operation of thenUnification Church. Eileen Barker concludes that neither traditional ChrisHans nor stablenatheists are likely to be attracted, for long, to the UC, but for the unhappy and alienatedndenizens of a secularizing world, Mr. Moon offers sanctuary and a sense of community.nPartly because of her exclusive focus on Britain, she must leave unanswered such compellingnquestions as the UC’s financial dealings, their influence over the American conservativenmoement, and the remarkable ability of so few people to have so great an impact. Barker isnparticularly strong on sociological analysis of opinion surveys, but somewhat weak inninxestigative reporting. Prominent ex-Moonies are not remarked upon.nHsieh Ping-Ying: Autobiography of a Chinese Girl, translated by Tsui Chi with annintroduction by Elisabeth CroU, London: Pandora Press (Routledge & Kegan Paul). Thenmo ing tale of a Chinese girl born at the turn of the century. First published in 1936, HsiehnPing-Ying recounts her rebellion against old China and her evolution into a leading womannwriter. A social rebel, a soldier, a writer, she paid the usual price for her liberation:nestrangement from her famih’ and from her civilization.nnn