We do!
In 1870, in the wake of the bloodshed and destruction of the Civil War, Julia Ward Howe (she also wrote the poem that became The Battle Hymn of the Republic) wrote a passionate demand for disarmament and peace. It was not until 1914 that President Woodrow Wilson made it an official US holiday.
Future Hope Sings artist Aliza Hava was so inspired by Ward Howe's words that she wrote a song (that's what Hope Sings artists do...). Watch her acoustic performance of the song below, performed in the mystical city of Tzfat - cool, right?). Right under the video, we have posted both the declaration and the lyrics - so you can track how life inspires art!
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Mother's Day Proclamation
Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts,
whether your baptism be that of water or tears!
Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!" The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow 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 & commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesars but of God. In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.
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"Arise, Women of this Day!" Composed by Aliza Hava/©2008 FireMusicFaerie Productions/ASCAP
Arise, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts Arise, women of this day! Rise Up! Rise Up!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears Say firmly, We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies Our husbands shall not come to us reeking of carnage for caresses and applause Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we've been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience We, the women of one country Shall be too tender to those of another country To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs
Arise, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts Arise, women of this day! Rise Up! Rise Up!
From the bosom 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. As men have often forsaken the plow 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
Arise, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts Arise, women of this day! Rise Up! Rise Up!
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Learn more about the amazing Aliza Hava, activist and artist, at alizahava.com
More on Julia Ward Howe:
US feminist, reformer, and writer Julia Ward Howe was born May 27, 1819 in New York City. She married Samuel Gridley Howe of Boston, a physician and social reformer. After the Civil War, she campaigned for women rights, anti-slavery, equality, and for world peace. She published several volumes of poetry, travel books, and a play. She became the first woman to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1908. She was an ardent antislavery activist who wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic in 1862, sung to the tune of John Brown's Body. She wrote a biography in 1883 of Margaret Fuller, who was a prominent literary figure and a member of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Transcendentalists. She died in 1910. (courtesy of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation)