Since January 6, 2021, many American Quakers (& others) have waited anxiously to see whether a new civil war is soon to break out. As the first anniversary of the attempted coup approaches, the question of what Quakers can or should do in response to such a calamity lingers, as well it should. I don’t … Continue reading Quakers: From Peace to Civil War (Again?)
A few days ago, a post on a Quaker Facebook group asked what the Quaker position was on dealing with insurrection. An excellent and, er, disturbingly timely question. To which, of course, there is not a single Quaker answer. To my mind, the best way to approach it is to look at live examples in … Continue reading Insurrection, Civil War & Quaker Dilemmas
[NOTE: January 6, 2023: It was moving to hear the president speaking and awarding medals to citizens for their heroic responses to the crisis of the January 6 insurrection. This was a welcome interruption of the chaos and craziness that has filled the House chamber most of this week. That spectacle brought back to mind … Continue reading Recalling The Five Who Died in the Capitol Invasion
A long, long time ago — Wednesday morning — I thought January 6 would be a historic day of celebration. After all, when I finally fell into bed, well after Tuesday midnight, Democrats were on the cusp of flipping the U. S. Senate, and that was Big with a capital B. And sure enough, I … Continue reading The Coup is underway — Jan. 6, 2020