I am a person in black on the other side of Fourth and San
Benito streets from the flag wavers on Friday afternoons between
4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Contrary to Marvin Jones’ impression of us, our
minds and hearts are red, white and blue.
Dear Editor:
I am a person in black on the other side of Fourth and San Benito streets from the flag wavers on Friday afternoons between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Contrary to Marvin Jones’ impression of us, our minds and hearts are red, white and blue.
Our clothes are black because we mourn the deaths of innocent civilians and soldiers. We are Americans who believe Thomas Jefferson when he said, “To dissent is patriotic.”
Our group of men, women and children come from various backgrounds, cultures and churches. We have no meetings and no dues. Our uniting bond is a love of peace and an abhorrence of war. We stand under a banner quoting Pope Paul VI, “If you want Peace, work for Justice.” This banner will unfurl a different message periodically.
For us, the banner is not idle words. Most of us belong to organizations like Peace and Justice, Fishes and Loaves, Community Pantry, Amnesty International, American Friends, Common Hope, Ending World Hunger, Oxfam America, Friends of the Library and so forth.
In the letter, Marvin Jones applies a label that cannot stick to us. As for me, how can I be “anti-Christian” when I have been a committed and practicing Christian all my life? How can I be “anti-Jew” when I have been invited to intimate family Jewish weddings and Passovers? A very dear friend of mine miraculously survived imprisonment at Theresinstadt and then Auschwitz.
What I have read of the Dalai Lama, the pope, the Koran and the Bible is that all religions teach respect for life and prohibit killing.
Because I do understand “Thou shalt not kill,” I believe war is immoral. We must learn to break the cycle of violence and revenge.
Some in our group will be sponsoring a workshop on nonviolence that will be offered to the community this fall. Nonviolence is a movement that is growing worldwide and will be our hope for the future.
Mary Zanger,
Hollister
