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Thursday, April 8, 2010

Open Letter Sent to Oprah Winfrey


Dear Oprah,

Six months to go until the butterfly peace quilt arrives at the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England! Will you be there to receive it in September? I would love to present it to you in the name of idealistic adolescents who chose you as an activist for peace. You could hang it in your school in Africa. It's been a backdrop for the 1,000,000 Vision-of-Peace Postcard Campaign.

I continue to keep my "Teacher's Promise" to spread middle schoolers' peace visions for one year. As a retiring teacher last June, I pledged to Shasta Middle Schoolers in Eugene, Oregon, that I would try to be their voices for peace wherever I was invited to talk locally, nationally, internationally the next year. I have done that. My volunteer efforts have been devoted to urging adults and other children to send peace your way--to literally join 1,000,000 other visions-of-peace postcards flooding your snailmail box. Slowly and consistently those messages have fluttered as butterflies of hope to Chicago and into your overflowing mailbox. Tell me that you have seen them. Please. Your staffer couldn't grow away peace.

I have written you four times over the past year urging you to look out for these 4 by 6 inch postcards addressed to you but with no return addresses or last names. I always reminded you about my vow to go around the world on my dime paying forward the beauty and poignancy of the children's hopes for peace in their future world. You might remember that the peace project began with a research study on the U.S. Nobel Peace Prize Winners. After learning about a special hero, each 11-year-old sent you a vision of peace, a uniquely special one. Have you read one? It would be enough to inspire you about making our world a happier, better place of peace.

On April 23, Marge Aukerman from Spokane, Washington will be on your show in the audience. When I was in Spokane recently, she was inspired by the kids' visions of peace and asked what she could do to bring those 1,000,000 cards to your attention. She plans to hand-deliver more visions from her friends in her community. (By the way, her vision of peace is, "...for people to listen to each other, especially in conflict situations.") She knows that you will not receive cards on the show, but she will leave them outside the studio in the hands of someone gracious enough to give them to you after the show. Please listen.

Sending you healing butterflies, Lura Pierce

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