2/10/21
My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,
Did you watch Jeopardy last night? If you did, you’d have seen my uncle’s name in a clue in the Book of the Month category, “Stephen Ambrose’s “D-Day, ____6: The Climactic Battle of WWII.” Have you read it? It’s about the common man’s experience getting off the Higgins boats into choppy water in waves of gun shots & artillery. He based it off of oral histories that he & his students did of survivors. It was a best seller, but being a pacifist, I find it difficult to read. Speaking of the military, I see that you are headed over to the Pentagon today. I’m sure that some will be happy to see you. Others might be wary. You are well aware of the necessary tension between the military & civilians. In my ideal world, we wouldn’t have a military. As a Quaker, non-violence is one of my core principles, which was nicely articulated by Margaret Fell in 1660 when she wrote, “the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world.” So, I will be reminding you quite frequently that WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER.
I hope Lloyd Austin (LJA3) is not a hawk. After all, he is a former general who used to sit on the board of Raytheon, but, perhaps, as an African American, he has sensitivities that will help steer the military in a new direction. According to the WP, he has his work cut out for him dealing with “internal scourges” including extremism and sexual assault. I think it’s a great idea that he’s ordered a military wide “stand down” to address these things. I’m afraid that the 18-year olds joining the ranks have not been adequately schooled in being tolerant, treating their neighbors as they’d like to be treated or embracing diversity. I doubt you can teach those things in a short training session, but we’ve got to start somewhere.
