Yearly Archives: 2026


INTERDEPENDENCE DAY ANTHOLOGY #8 JULY 4, 2026

Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2026/07/omni-interdependence-day-anthology-8.html #7 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2025/07/omni-interdependence-day-anthology-7.html#6 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2024/07/omni-interdependence-day-anthology-6.html #5 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2023/07/omni-interdependence-day-5-july-4-2023.html #4 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2020/07/omni-interdependence-day-international.html What’s at Stake:  US birthdays celebrate freedom from domination by the British monarchy, and FREEDOM as its fundamental principle.   But the Declaration of Independence exalts the value of equality, asserting that “All men are created equal,” and “all individuals are endowed with unalienable rights, including Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”  The most lamentable irony of our history is how this extraordinary idealism was deeply undermined by the Constitution that excluded enslaved people, women, and Indigenous people, and has […]


America at 250

America at 250: Harnessing the Anniversary for a National Reckoning

What we fail to repair, we repeat. Nicole Carty – Nonprofit Quarterly June 23, 2026 Who controls the story of the past controls the future. So, it comes as no surprise that MAGA’s attempts to erase the history of enslavement and genocide are coupled with the rolling back of hard-won civil rights victories and the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act. From their iconography and propaganda to the ethnic cleansing campaign of Black and immigrant Americans, with the notable exception of White South Africans, the Trump administration is attempting to turn America back to a time when only wealthy white […]


A Declaration of Belonging

By Errin Haines, published in Nonprofit Quarterly June 30 2026 ” What united us in 1776 was the idea that a country can be defined not by territory or identity, but by a shared belief that freedom and equality are human rights. What must bring us together now is a commitment to making that idea real for all of us. Without belonging, there can be no true democracy. This moment requires us to affirm that commitment. It is in this spirit that I offer a new declaration…” Read the inspiring declaration here

Declaration of Belonging

Walter Schmidt

America at 250 — Special from a Local Creative, Songs of ’76

Friday July 25 – 6:30 pm – Omni Center Omni member and gifted local musician Walter Schmidt has developed a new historic program on the music of the revolutionary war that also includes amazing true stories of “founders” and other early settlers that tell an amazing tale of how we became who we are. Put this on your calendar and join Walter, and Kelly and Donna Mulhollan to celebrate something REAL about America.


Trump’s repression of dissent is backfiring | Waging Nonviolence

A Waging Nonviolence article from writer and nonviolence strategist Daniel Hunter carries powerful encouragement for everyone living through these times. It includes reference to Arkansas protests toward the end. Somebody notices us for something GOOD for a change! Take a look and be encouraged! I’ve noticed more than a few folks feeling especially underwater recently — understandable given the weight of awful policies and cruelties emerging from the White House and its minions. For our own health, we cannot let our yardstick be measured by whether we have stopped the authoritarian from doing anything. The reality is, he has the power to […]


Together Now More Than Ever

by Abigail Harmon Pride began as a protest because we live in a world that wages significant hierarchical violence against people for factors out of their control. That’s why we have to stand together. We all deserve love, we all deserve healing, we all deserve justice.  Pride parades are a symbol of cultural acceptance, yet there is still much prejudice. How can we dismantle this? The systems of oppression that move us to resist are deeply interconnected. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, and misogyny derive from supremacy culture. It is up to each of us to dismantle it from the inside […]


PRIDE! The Joy of Resistance! The Bliss of Being (on the right side of history) !

Join Omni friends at the Trans Parade and the amazing Pride Parade Trans March & Rally Friday, June 26 / 5:30 pm – 8:15 pm (Trans March steps off at 7:00 pm) Down Dickson St to the Upper Ramble Fayetteville The NWA Trans March is open to everyone, with no pre-registration required. Participants will gather at 6:00 pm outside Central United Methodist Church, at the corner of Dickson Street and Highland Avenue. There will be a Pre-rally from 6:30 – 6:55 pm. The Trans March steps off down Dickson St. at 7:00 pm. The march ends at the Upper Ramble, […]


Why is dedication to anti-racism a powerful peace issue?

Donald Trump and his MAGA acolytes are vividly demonstrating precisely how race is the primary tool entrenching the power of authoritarianism. A tool of fear that endorses violence, race hatred, militarism and war to retain power. It’s a tool instilled in Americans with our mother’s milk. But we don’t have to remain trapped in that frame.