Imagine all the people living life in peace

Think globally, act locally
This old chestnut springs to mind today in Cook County, where the militant mindset of Homeland Security seeks to enhance global power by beefing up its jails and detention centers on all borders, even the most peaceful ones such as we share with Canada at the Pigeon River.
As a peace activist (rather than an anti-war activist), I believe that peaceful actions have more power for change than aggression and war, which rains death from the skies on so-called enemies, many of them families, who are then called victims of “collateral damage.” What “regrets” can assuage a mother’s grief for her child? What cowboy rhetoric of evil axes can forge new partnerships with sovereign nations?
But, none of this touched our sleepy little county nestled along Lake Superior’s North Shore, with its small villages, resorts, and loyal tourists. Not until the feds decided we need gun battles on Lake Superior and new “holding facilities” (aka Guantanamo?) and eight-foot fences surrounding 10 acres of helipad, outdoor and indoor parking, as well as a 34,000 square foot building with up to 50 employees. For what? We don’t have any problems with our Canadian friends to speak of. Just as there were no terrorists in Iraq until we attacked with our lies about WMD, there are no terrorists in Cook County until we create war games all around us.
As one who lived for 30 years near the Minneapolis airport, unable to even talk to neighbors in my garden while planes roared overhead, I treasure the silence and peace we enjoy here by the shore. The occasional helicopters are a small price to pay to save the lives of people who need transport to a Duluth hospital. The yuppie small planes to the Devil’s Track airport are so far only the occasional nuisance. Those lucky enough to be born here really don’t understand how thankful they should be for the peace and beauty they enjoy. When Grand Marais has become like Fort Lauderdale, a lovely small town by the sea only 40 years ago, there won’t be any turning back.
Today at the Grand Marais City Council there was a mostly civilized discussion about the proposed (better to say, virtually done deal) Homeland ventures with jails and gunfire. But, people were not really talking to each other, only repeating their viewpoints over and over. Mayor Sandbo I respect for being very clear about his priorities: economic growth and tax base and respect for the Homeland Heroes. But Kay Costello said it best for me: that it’s like we come from Venus and Mars (my analogy). The people who want development don’t believe that our community will really be changed by it, and they also trust the feds. The other people have no trust whatever in government and they fear for the quality of life if the lovely little Cedar Grove Park becomes the site of a gonzo jail while the lake reverberates with gunfire. Also these others want total public accountability. To be perfectly fair, the lack of accountability is mostly coming from the federal level, including our senators and representatives who try to pass the buck to the locals despite the obviously top-town dictates we are looking at.
The astrologers say, “As above, so below.” I would add: as in Grand Marais, so in the world. I am very happy that we can talk to one another in public meetings; I only wish we could truly understand what we are saying.
Nancye Belding
True North correspondent