SECOND MONTH, 1991ISSN #0739-5418

IS THIS HOW IT STARTS'? "Desert Storm shakes health industry:If Uncle Sam wants docs, draft is option. Under the HCPDS[Health Care Personnel Delivery System], a little-known programadministered by the US Selective Service, the military could registerand draft physicians, nurses, dentists and dozens of other healthprofessionals ....."

--Front page lead article, Healthweek, 1/28/91

A Friendly LetterISSUE NUMBER 118

Dear Friend,

In most years since A Friendly Letter began, theFirst Month issue has featured a pick of Quakers of theYear. That was my intention for last month, too; butamid the general confusion, it didn't work out.

Still, I hadn't forgotten it, and the rush to war hadan ironic side effect of confirming and clarifying thisyear's nominations, which come in two related slates.The first name is also the first ever non-Friend to beQuaker of the Year, but the choice was inescapable. It isMark Hatfield, U.S. Senator from Oregon.

Why Hatfield? Well, above all for his speech andvotes during the debate on resolutions to approve theonset of war. Of the 99 senators present, voting, and

.talking, talking, talking, between 1/10 and 1/12, therewas only one, one only, who spoke and voted entirelyagainst the rush to war, and that was Mark Hatfield.

Let's hear some bits from his eloquent and angryfloor speech on 1/12, as the debate over two Gulfresolutions was drawing to a climax. He had hoped, hebegan, that one of the resolutions would clearly state theproposition for peace, as against ...the proposition forwar. But neither did so. The Democratic resolution,while it called for giving the embargo against Iraq moretime to work, also, on its first page, authorizes the use ofAmerican military force to enforce the U.S. economicembargo ...to defend Saudi Arabia ...and to protectAmerican forces in the region; clearly an authorizationfor war. As a result, Hatfield said, I find myself in asituation of having to vote against both of the resolutions,because ... they do not offer us the alternative of peace.

Challenging the "quick-victory" scenarios beingbandied about (scenarios that become less credible everyday), Hatfield, himself a former fighter pilot, demandedto know What happens when the war does not go the waywe want it to? ..For those who find it uncomfortable tooppose a war before it starts, let me only tell you fromvery personal experience that this is nothing compared tohow you will feel when we are in the midst of war.Recalling his lonely efforts against the Vietnam war, herepeated that there is nothing more difficult than being

forced to choose between funding a war you do notsupport and cutting off funds for a war to which ourtroops are sacrificing their lives .... ] f we are going to sendour troops into combat, we must be prepared for the worstcase scenario ... We must be able to look at our young menand women now on the frontlines and tell them that theirlives are a legitimate price to pay.

But for his part, Hatfield declared, his voice risingin anger, I am not prepared to do that. ] am notprepared to do that now. And] will not be prepared todo that in the future. Not 6 months from now. Not 12months from now. Not ever.

(In the actual floor speech, as heard on the radio,Hatfield added a shouted Never! to this peroration; butit has been edited out of the Congressional Record.)

Hatfield concluded that] f we want to avoid war, thenwe ought to say so. Right here--and right now. Andinstead of playing this dangerous game of "maybe now,maybe later", it is my view that we ought to bring ourtroops home once and for all. And with that, he went onto cast his lone double negative votes.

A heroic stand, in my view, but not a surprising one.Hatfield is the closest thing to a Quaker in the Senate,nay in the entire Congress. And this is more than amatter of affinity: His political model was HerbertHoover, the first Quaker president; his campaign manageris a dedicated Friend. He has served on the board ofGeorge Fox College, and helped get federal grants for itsCenter for Peace Learning. And his Republican pacifismis unthinkable outside the state where evangelical Quakershave preserved a visible and meaningful Peace Testimony.It is these Oregon Quaker evangelical peace activists, toonumerous to name, who are the other, and mostdeserving, Quakers of the Year for 1990.

~m~

Chuck Fager

Copyright Q 1991 by C. Fager. Subscription rates: US, Canada & Mexico--$17.95/yr; elsewhere--$20.00/yr.

SEEKING STEADFASTNESS: QUAKER PEACE WITNESS ON THE GULF TAKES SHAPE

Last month two hastily-organizedgatherings considered Quaker responsesto the Gulf War. From them somecontours of a distinctive Friends' peacewitness in this crisis began to emerge.At its best, this witness will bedecentralized, variegated anddepolarizing, with concern for itsspiritual base and a resolute attitude.

(The second, smaller gatheringof about 40 New England Friends wason 2/1, at Cambridge(MA) Meeting. Itsthemes and annosphere, as reported byDoug Cox of Putney, Vermont Meeting,who clerked it, were remarkably in linewith those of the first assembly,reported below.)

The Emergency Quaker PeaceConsultation convened at FriendsYieeting of Washington on the eveningof 1/26, following a massive peacemarch earlier in the day. Press reportsof the march repeated the typical low-ball government tumout figures(75,000, but don't believe it; 150-200,000 is closer). They also replayedmany vapid ''reminiscent of the 1960s"cliches about the appearance,expressions and behavior of somemarchers, while noting patronizinglythat among the actual '60s veterans onhand, time had thinned their hair andthickened their waistlines, etc., etc.

UNLIKE THE SIXTIES, l"OR 0 CE

But to this observer(a '60ssurvivor bearing most of the afore-mentioned stigmata) the key featuresof the rally were some rather distinctdifferences between it and the anti-Vietnam marches of a generation ago:

Take symbols, for instance: themost visible symbol in the march wasthe American flag. Or slogans; whilethere was much sardonic humor ondisplay, the most common (nearly allon handmade placards) spoke ofsupporting the troops, but by endingthe war and bringing them homeswiftly and alive; Peace, anotherrecurrent message asserted, is Patriotic.

The presence in the march ofmany military family membersunderlined this: being there was not an

act of disloyalty to their loved ones atrisk; quite the contrary.

The importance of symbolism inwar is shown by George Bush'srepeated assertions that "This will notbe another VietJJam." Judging from the1/26 march, it looks as if this promisemay apply to the peace movement too:Back then we protesters foolishlyabandoned the most potent symbol ofAmerican values to the hawks, andmany of us treated GIs as if they, andnot the war they were forced to make,were the real enemy.

These were immature, self-defeating reactions, which cost theantiwar movement dearly. This time,it seems, we're off to a better start.

THE WAR CLOSEST TO HOME

Tumout for the Consultation alsoaugured well: With less than threeweeks' notice, more than 400 Friendsregistered, completely fillingWashington's large meeting room.They came from 93 meetings in 24states, including Friend Brian Douglas,who flew all the way from Juneau,Alaska to take part. (But only a couplecame from programmed or evangelicalmeetings, though many were notified.)Further, despite ample opportunity,almost no time was wasted in self-indulgent political speechrnaking. Thetone was serious and the sessionsproductive.

Perhaps this seriousness wasanother result of the heavy presence ofthe older-and-weightier-but-possibly-a-bit-wiser '60s alumni. Judging by someof the comments and anecdotes heardduring the Consultation, maybe it wasalso influenced by the fact that this waris hitting close to home for many of us.Consider a few of the reports:

+ During First Day worship aconservatively-dressed middle-aged manrose to recall marching against theVietnam War as a Friend twenty yearsago with his two young sons. He was,he said, very grateful to be able tohave done that. Now these sons wereadults, he went on, and both were inthe military, as medics. They were notin the Gulf yet, he said, but they

expected to go almost any time. Inthat situation, he concluded, withemotion trembling in his voice, he was ..r-..now even more grateful to be amongFriends witnessing against the war. (Ina smaller, spillover meeting held in anadjoining room, a mother stood andtold a similar story.)

+ Another mother told of theshock when her daughter came homefrom first grade full of the news thateveryone was to wear red-white-and-blue clothes to school the next day,because a video was to be made ofthem singing patriotic songs, to be sentto the general in Saudi Arabia. Andshe, the girl added excitedly, had beenchosen as class leader for theperformance.

Why me? her mother lamented.How could she let her daughter join insuch a militaristic display? But howcould she explain to a six year-old whyshe was uneasy about it? The nextday, she kept her daughter home, overloud objections, and filed a complaintwith the school.

F'ENDING OI"F THE FLASHBACKS

+ A Quaker teacher spoke withdeep feeling about having in his fifthgrade classroom an Iraqi, a Palestinian,and a Jewish student, and of grapplingwith the crosscurrents of reactions asthe war continued.

• A Friend was reprimanded byhis supervisor at work for attempting toput up flyers about the antiwar march.Another Friend, employed inpublishing, has declined assignments tohelp prepare publications that she feltwere mainly war propaganda. Howmany times can she do this, sheworries, before her job is in jeopardy?

You get the idea. There were alsoreports, particularly from among theveterans of anti-Vietnam protests, ofstrong emotional reactions to thecoming of war: depression, nightmares,flashbacks of painful memories.

It is no wonder, then, that arepeated theme in the discussion wasthat Friends should avoid speech oractions that promote polarization

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between those supporting the war andthose opposing it. It is not only badtactics; it doesn't fit the truth of oursituation, or our values.

This predicament may also accountfor the fact that many Friends spoke ofthe experience of gathered spiritualcommunity they found at theConsultation as its most significantoutcome. "For now, 1 don't feel soisolated, "was a repeated comment.

All was not simply warm fuzzies,however. On First Day, more than adozen interest groups gathered togenerate ideas and start networks.They reported back, not to formulatesome grand strategy(this was, after all,a group of Quakers), but to share

-o-e ill de.~ :.:ra e oca.. response. Here are afew of the topics addressed andsuggestions offered:

FINDING STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

• Addressing the need for localmeeting response to the increasedpersonal and spiritual needs ofm'embers in wartime. Many meetingsreported increases in attendance,suggesting this seeking of communitysupport is a widespread phenomenon.Responses could take the form ofmidweek worship-sharing meetings, inwhich attenders could process theirreactions. Or it could include outwardwitness: In Baltimore, Stony Run andHomewood Meetings mounted acandlelight vigil one night as warapproached. The vigil was repeated,first weekly, then oftener, with growing

edia a "0

-as :-..:-~-1ing five:0 owed by a brief

• Offering support to those withfamily members in the Gulf. AWashington Friend overcame muchtrepidation and organized a prayer/discussion group among her coworkers,most of whom are black, and many ofwhom have family members in themilitary. Many concrete needs weresurfaced there.

• Related to this, demand isgrowing for trained counselors to workwith GIs pursuing CO claims orhardship cases. This was deemed to be

more of a problem than draftcounseling, as George Bush hasrepeatedly stated he does not intend toreinstitute conscription (but remember:Read His Lips). Several organizationsare conducting counselor trainingprograms, and all report beingswamped with inquiries--and all needmoney. (Three of these groups are:CCCO,2208 South St., Philadelphia PA19146. Western Office: PO Box44249, San Francisco CA 94142.NISBCO, 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW,Washington DC 20009. And WRL, 339Lafayette St., NY 10012.)

• Speaking Truth to Media wasanother strongly-voiced concern. Thisis more than the old complaint aboutunderreporting the size of marches.

GETTING THE TRUTH SPOKEN

(Though this is bad enough:Besides minimizing the DC march, thenational media all but ignored a rally ofequal or greater size in San Franciscothe same day). Many Friends, includingthis one, were most upset by the wayjournalists have knuckled under to thePentagon's censorship, management andsanitizing of war news, and ideas werediscussed for approaching local andnational media to plead and prod formore truthful and inclusive coverage.

Such truth-speaking could beginwith dogged publicizing of the cost ofthe war: David McReynolds of the WarResisters League calculated that at overhalf a billion dollars a day(there are,incidentally, no reliable figures publiclyavailable yet), that's over $300 per

onth for eye!)"American household!This incredible "off-budget"expenditure, when the federalgovernment pleads poverty wheneverhealth and childcare, or jobs andeducation and housing needs arementioned, is truly outrageous.

• Quaker-Muslim-Jewish dialogue(trialogue?). We were urged to speakwith and listen to persons and groupsfrom all the major faiths in the MiddleEast. This might lead eventually tosome useful role in lessening tensionsin the region, though we have much tolearn first.

• Networking and mutual support:The idea of developing a national

information clearinghouse on peaceaction among Friends was raised; itspurpose would be to diminish the senseof isolation, and share what we'redoing; but it is not clear yet how thismight be done, or by whom.

• More concrete was the proposalfor travelling peace "museums,"portable displays that could be easilyset up in meetinghouses, shoppingmalls, schools and other places. Thisidea came from Tom Hughes of GreatFalls, Virginia, who with his wifeMeredith developed a Potato Museumthat drew nationwide attention. Hebelieves younger people(and manyolder ones too) lack a sense of contextand history for peace action. Friendshave the history, but usually we don'tsee it, or share it much in aninformational way with those outside.(This project is already gettingunderway; for a sample, see QuakerChuckles, on the next page; forinformation write Peace Museum, Box791, Great Falls, VA 22066.

SNAPSHOTS OF THE BIG PICTURE

+ On Saturday night, counsel wasoffered by a panel of three longtimeactivists: Joe Volk of the FriendsCommittee on National Legislationnoted that after a flood of antiwar callsand letters to Congress during theprewar debate, the phones had sincefallen silent; it is time to call and writeagain. And Dave McReynolds, of theWar Resisters League, pointed out thatthe current show of public support isdeceptive; in fact the Americanestablishment is deeply divided over thewar, which presents opportunities fornew alliances and creative forms ofprotest, if we can seize them.

Jim Matlack, of the AmericanFriends Service Committee, called us tonurture our spiritual roots and to besteadfast in our opposition, despite therush of prowar sentiment nowsweeping the public. "The war is stillwrong, "he reminded us.

Steadfastness, spiritual roots,varied forms, local emphasis: theseseem to be the salient features of earlyQuaker peace witness on the Gulf War,as expressed in these gatherings. Formy money, they add up to anencouraging prospect.

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'OIT7l 'ooC Scrub s is a narne rig t out of 8lckens:•••nat e se co a It De bu a British prison? There inSecond Month 1917, William Lirrleboy was beginning aterm as a draft refuser. Numerous other Quaker resistersended up there, and it was said that one of the largestFriends meetings in the London area in those years wasgathered behind Wormwood Scrubbs's dreary walls.

Lirrleboy was over thirty, had long been an activeFriend, and had just finished his training as anaccountant. In the early months, Lirrleboy's letters to hisfamily were full of optimism and even humor. Theprison, he wrote, was "more like a camping opportunitythan an.vthing else.... ] am disposed to laugh at one thinga ter another ... ] suppose when wars ...are all things of thepaSt. the l1,orld as a whole will shout with lauahter as weare constantly cempted to do .. ,

When wars are all things of the past. Lirrleboyexemplified the liberal progressive worldview of so manyeducated persons of his time. As one historian describedthem, they believed that "the war would end only when asu ficiem number a pea pie became cOIH'inced. byargumem or example. chat war. as an affrollt both tohuman reason and che Divine Will. was always wrong ..... ,

Q AKER HISTORY

For many liberals this optimism was shattered by thecourse of the war. William Lirrleboy was no exception:He spent 28 months in prison, and he soon came todoubt that war was, in fact, becoming obsolete. But thisloss of illusions did not lead him to despair; instead, hefound his inward life deepening, and his understandingof Quaker pacifism becoming steadily more religious."Our message," he wrote in 1918, "must cellter in God.We shall grasp it only as we begin to understand Jesus .... "

Twenty-five years later, Lirrleboy was Clerk ofLondon yearly Meeting during another world war. Astatement he made then expresses the deeper view he hadcome to after his years in Wormwood Scrubbs: "Thewhole world is drawn illto common suffering. Is there noway out of its evils but by waging war more nuhlessly?War is evil and wrong: military victory will noC bring mepeace. Cannot ollr common suffering make us aware ofour common brotherhood? Lec us turn from the terribledeeds we do to one another and seek one another'sforgiveness. The way of friendship can overcome evil.We see it perfectly in Jeslls Christ. its cost was the Cross.The loyal spirit which faced the Cross showed us chetriumphallt power of God. For liS as children of acommon Father it is time to follow His lead."

QUAKER CHUCKLES

Friends Tom and Meredith HUl:hes. who are workinl: on the idea of portable Peace Museums(see inside), began their projectat the 1/26 peace march, by writinl: down many of the striki"l: and amusing messages they saw on posters in the crowd.Here is a samplinl: of some of the more memorable, thoul:h not necessarily the most Quakerly, ones they recorded;

The Crusades are back--can the Inquisition be farbehind?

What if Kuwait's main export were broccoli?Smart bombs cannot replace intelligent diplomacy.Kuwaitus interruptus--George Bush pullout![On a large dog] Pets Against War/Millie, Where Are

You?

The New World ODOR stinks!If Saddam Hussein had used poison gas on abortion

rights groups, George Bush would be appointing him tothe Supreme Court.

My country invaded Indochina, Central America andthe Middle East and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.

This is a bombin' nation.