Global warming. Endless war. Rising gas prices. Underfunded schools. Dirty air and water. The list goes on, but the talking heads obsess about some celebrity’s brushes with the law. You can get frustrated and cynical. Or you can get mobilized.

Paul Johnson chose the latter. Last week, he hopped on his BMW motorcycle and rode 1,850 miles from Santa Cruz, Calif. Diane Brace boarded a plane from London; Annelise Ebbe from Denmark. And in Des Moines, Iowa, 30 people cleared their calendars to move into the Simpson College dorm and spend the weekend debating the future of Iraq, the privatization of water or using international law for local advocacy.

They joined 148 others, over meals and in workshops. They debated among themselves in Early Bird Gathering Circles or Night Owl confabs. The 30th Triennial Congress of the 93-year-old Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom brought people across continents to further the league’s mission of challenging militarism, strengthening multilateralism and encouraging sustainable development.

If that sounds intimidating, the members are not. They resemble your grandmother, even if she wasn’t out marching in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Some sing under the name Raging Grannies; some protest as Grandmothers Against the War.

This is freedom worth celebrating. And this is good citizenship – engaged, informed, questioning. Not believing everything on TV or in the paper or out of the mouths of government or corporate spokesmen. It’s about connecting the dots among issues and looking for root causes, whether of poverty, the changing face of agriculture, or defense spending.

Why women? Because women took the initiative. The league was founded in 1915 by women opposed to World War I, when no one else was organizing, says Johnson, co-chair of the Santa Cruz chapter.

But membership is graying, and few younger women are getting involved. For someone like Jan Hollebrands, 57, who joined the Des Moines chapter nine months ago and is interested in sustainable farming, that age profile is great. She has more time to read and think now, and she is inspired by activist older women.

But this group that worries about sustainability has to be concerned with its own. From a one-time high of 17,000, it has only 4,000 U.S. members today. “Our work is deep political analysis,” says Susi Snyder, secretary-general at the international level. “That doesn’t necessarily fit in with a seven-second TV sound bite.”

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, keynote speaker Amy Goodman said, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” That’s something to ponder as we gather for picnics and fireworks Friday. Some anger is OK; apathy isn’t.