But peace? Do horses stand for peace?

Horses have often been used as tools of war. The cavalry would ride their horses to hunt down other human beings. Knights covered their horses in armor as thick as their own.

Today, riding a horse is something different for most people. To ride a horse is to know tranquility, and to build a close, respectful relationship with another being, in spite of its difference. Isn’t that at heart what peace is all about?

It’s this idea that’s captured in the Equestrians for Peace bumper sticker – and in the Peace Horse tshirt as well. In both, the design shows a horse leaving behind a small cloud of peace symbols with every step.

What happened to the clarity of the anti-war movement? Did the fierce urgency of NOW die off with the departure of George W. Bush? Was the anti-war movement really more of an anti-Bush movement? Have we fallen under the spell of a new president who seems to promise us change without specifying exactly what change means or when change will happen? Or is there a difference between a movement to stop a war from commencing and a movement to deal with a war that is already under way?

Regardless of the reason, the anti-war movement in America seems lost in a quagmire of words that end in ish.

However, this Animists for Peace bumper sticker links in quite well with the message of Avatar without infringing on any sort of copyright. In fact, its existence precedes the movie by at least a couple of years.

If, after leaving that 3D theater, you’re grooving with the idea of a peaceful coexistence with the rest of the world through an interconnected web of being, then perhaps you’re among the many animists for peace.

The shirt features a unique design: The peace sign, not as a solid graphic but as a symbol made up of dolphins swimming free.

The shirt manages to appeal to another progressive value as well: It’s made in the USA in order to avoid association with sweatshops that pollute the environment and abuse workers.

What’s more, every sale of the shirt will benefit both progressive organizations and people working in what some people refer to as “developing countries”. One dollar from every sale is donated to a progressive organization, and another dollar is added to a Kiva fund to provide microloans to people in impoverished communities seeking to establish small enterprises to improve their lives.

This microloan program proves that Americans don’t need to choose between buying goods made in the USA and supporting economic development in less wealthy nations. Sweatshops just don’t provide economic advancement of the quality that microloan investment does.