This coming week we will commemorate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and a few days later President Bush will be inaugurated. President Bush claims to have a mandate for the war in Iraq, but many in the peace movement recall the prophetic words of Martin Luther King Jr. when speaking of the Vietnam War.

He said, “A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war: ‘This way of settling difference is not just.’ This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

In a recent issue of The Nation (Dec. 20, 2004), Tom Andrews, in one of a series of short pieces on the response to the re-election of President Bush, suggests there is a moral imperative to stop the Bush administration’s war on Iraq. Citing the growing malnutrition among Iraqi children and the brutal destruction of Fallujah, Andrews says, “The leadership required to meet this imperative will not come from Democrats in Congress. It will come from a focused, determined and relentless antiwar movement.”

Here in Maine we are fortunate to have such a movement. It was this movement that contributed significantly to a victory for the progressives in Maine and it is this diverse and growing movement that will continue to call for an end to the occupation of Iraq and to bring our troops home. Greg Field, executive director of Peace Action Maine, said recently, “Must we destroy the country in order to save it? There is no military solution. We need to be clear and resolute that U.S. forces must leave Iraq.”

In October 2002 more than 3,000 Mainers marched in Augusta in pouring rain to say “no” to the war on Iraq. In January 2003 more than 1,000 Mainers rode overnight buses to Washington, D.C., to join hundreds of thousands of people from around the country to say “No War on Iraq.”

In February 2003 nearly 500 marched in minus-20 degree weather through the streets of Bangor joining hundreds around the state and millions around the world to oppose the war on Iraq and became part of a global peace movement. President Bush ignored the millions around the world and the consequent invasion and occupation have led us into a quagmire. Now each day we witness the mounting death toll with the loss of more than 1,200 U.S. troops and with thousands more wounded and maimed.

Recently we have heard reports of more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed since the beginning of “Shock and Awe” bombings and declarations of “Mission Accomplished.”

However, weekly peace vigils continue in many communities around the state to demonstrate continuing resistance to this failed “Operation Enduring Freedom” which has made us less safe.

As President Bush is inaugurated for four more years, the thousands who have been part of the movement for peace and justice will not be silenced. We will continue to call attention to the horrific costs in lives, resources and allies of a war based on misinformation and deception and with no exit plan in sight.

Some Mainers plan to ride buses to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20 to voice their concerns with others from around the country as President Bush takes his oath of office. In Orono and other communities, Mainers will gather at the same time to pledge to continue to stop the war on Iraq which is draining the resources Mainers need to ensure that health care, education, good-paying jobs and a sustainable environment continue to be the priorities in our state. No tax reform will resolve the revenue shortfall from the loss of millions of federal dollars cut from programs for the neediest because of the costs of war and tax cuts for the wealthy.

On Jan. 20 and in the days to come we will gather strength from the leadership of Veterans for Peace and Military Families Against the War whose loved ones are serving in Iraq. The peace movement will take heart from recalling the tumultuous and long- term struggles that resulted in women securing the right to vote, workers winning the eight-hour day and Social Security and the civil rights movement and the movement to stop the war in Vietnam.

We hope you will join with members of the Maine Peace Action Committee, Veterans for Peace, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, Peace through Interamerican Community Action, the Orono Peace Group, the Maine Coalition for Peace & Justice and others on Jan. 20 at noon for a rally in front of the library at the University of Maine for “A People’s Inauguration: Our Agenda for the Next Four Years.” The rally will be followed by coffee, cake and information sharing indoors.

We will remember the prophetic words of Martin Luther King Jr. as we rededicate ourselves to act on the values of peace, justice, cooperation, equality, human rights and a sustainable environment.

Ilze Petersons is a member of the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine.