Wisconsin Green Party
www.wisconsingreenparty.org
Bussiere for State Senate
www.votejill.org
Contact: Jill Bussiere, 920 255-2175, jdt@itol.com,
www.votejill.org
September 12, 2006
Released September 11, 2006
KEWAUNEE, WI -- Jill Bussiere, candidate for Wisconsin State Senate, District 1, attended a prayer breakfast at St Norbert’s
College today held in the Union Lounge at 7:30 AM. The breakfast, hosted by the St. Norbert’s Peace and Justice Center,
was held in remembrance of the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks upon New York and Washington, as well
as the 100th anniversary of Gandhi’s Satyagraha – a strategy of nonviolence organized to oppose racist policies in South
Africa.
“This event was a motivating way to spend this day of remembrance,” said Bussiere, former Co-chair of the Wisconsin
Green Party. “Speakers from several religions gave a message of nonviolence and compassion, and shared wisdom about
how to attain peace. Their messages resonate with the Green Party principles and policies.”
Representatives of the Quakers, Judaism, Protestant Christianity, Islam, and Catholicism gave brief speeches while
participants enjoyed a delicious breakfast.
“The message given by the presenters this morning is one that we Greens also share – that only through community can
we attain peace,” said Bussiere. “The community is our earth, and all its residents.
“Violence is an ineffective and inefficient means to resolve problems that confront us,” said Bussiere. “Violence is so often
used to address the symptoms of a problem, resulting in more serious problems. In order to resolve a conflict, the root of the
problem must be addressed, not the symptoms.”
Gandhi used a strategy of nonviolence in India to win independence from the British. Martin Luther King used it to oppose
segregation in the United States and Nelson Mandela used it in South Africa to end apartheid. Greens organize nonviolently
to oppose injustice and oppression in the United States and throughout the world. One of the 4 key principles of the Green
Party is nonviolence.
Bussiere first became familiar with St. Norbert’s College and its Peace and Justice Center when she organized a study
group a few weeks after 9/11 called, “A Moral Response to Terrorism” put out by the Sojourner’s Community. Several
members of the St. Norbert’s community participated.
The top three issues of the Bussiere for State Senate campaign are: clean up Wisconsin government, bring universal single-payer health care for all Wisconsin residents, and ensure our water resource quality and quantity.
