Dear Roger,
At a recent Plowshares celebration to honor Mary Rider and Patrick O'Neill for their full-on peace and justice work, I found myself proposing (during keynote speaker Stanley Hauerwas' Q and A) that we take good advantage of "lost causes."
During his keynote, Stanley pointed out that the United States is on the verge of losing any foothold in Christ-spirit, making Christianity a "lost cause" here in Jingolandia.
The particular "lost cause" I proposed during the Q&A is a sustained effort to create a national holiday in honor of Marine Corps Commandant, General Smedley Butler.
Here is a link that will steer you to a useful summary of Butler's "plowsharing" career, along with other pertinent information.
Anti-War Video Sent To Me By A Retired Neurologist Friend, Son Of A U.S. Air Force General
I hope this proposal gets traction with you.
Notably, Butler's "teaching" will get even wider circulation as a perpetual "lost cause."
Imagine the impassioned debate that Smedley's proposed holiday will provoke, a neverending conversation that will be even more instructive as a direct result of perennial failure to establish Butler's "Big Day."
It is often said that "you can't win for losing."
In this ironic instance, the measure of victory is the prolongation of failure.
Thanks for thinking it over.
Pax
Alan (Archibald)
225 West Margaret Lane
Hillsborough, NC 27278
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