From the Editor

By Metta Spencer | 1988-06-01 12:00:00

The item about Mr. Roche calls for extra soul-searching. We editors should have phoned him to determine whether it was true. We regret not having done so. Eight thousand copies of this falsehood were printed and sent around the world. No retraction can undo all its harmful consequences. Misinformation affects everyone -not only those maligned by it.

Peaceable Journalism Requires Accuracy

The means used in pursuing peace should always be consistent with the goal. The press helps sustain justice and good government by shining a spotlight on the mistakes of politicians. Ideally, however, a peace magazine will do this in a way that leaves room for them to acknowledge their mistakes and change their ways with dignity. But you should see some of the vitriolic letters people want us to publish! Why should public figures need skins too thick to be hurt by abuse? Do we want politicians who are insensitive? Unfeeling leaders make poor judgments.

I can promise you that PEACE Magazine will make other errors in the future- a prediction based on the fact that we are human. So is Douglas Roche. So, even, is Ronald Reagan. Not only is self-righteousness unwarranted when we criticize others (as we must do) but it defeats our own effectiveness.

To win our campaign against nuclear weapons, we must persuade those who disagree with us instead of making them into permanent opponents. We need practice in what Ann Gertler calls "tough love" - criticizing our friends when they need it - and criticizing our enemies as if they were friends.

Peacemaking begins by acknowledging our errors. Accordingly, we're going to reserve a small space in each issue hereafter for corrections and clarifications. We invite you to call inaccuracies to our attention briefly, please!) so we can straighten them out in succeeding issues. The column this time includes some small points left over from a long time ago. And if any previous inaccuracies still rankle with you, please tell us.

Corrections And Clarifications

Peace Magazine Jun-Jul 1988

Peace Magazine Jun-Jul 1988, page 4. Some rights reserved.

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