>>From: "Judith Hoffberg" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>Subject: Best idea for proteting Iraq war we've yet heard >>Subject: NO WAR WITH IRAQ? A SIMPLE, BUT POWERFUL ACTION >> >> >>There is a grassroots campaign underway to protest war in Iraq in a simple, >>but potentially powerful way. >> >>LET'S DO IT! AND - PLEASE SHARE THIS EMAIL WITH FRIENDS. >> >>Place 1/2 cup uncooked rice in a small plastic bag (a snack-size bag or >>sandwich bag work fine). >>Squeeze out excess air and seal the bag. >>Wrap it in a piece of paper on which you have written, "If your enemies are >>hungry, feed them. Romans 12:20. >>Please send this rice to the people of Iraq; do not attack them." >> >>Place the paper and bag of rice in an envelope (either a letter-sized or >>padded mailing envelope--both are the same cost to mail) and address them >>to: >>President George Bush White House, >>100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20500 Attach $1.06 in postage. >>(Three 37-cent stamps equal $1.11.) >> >>Drop this in the mail TODAY. It is important to act NOW so that President >>Bush gets the letters ASAP, preferably before the report from the inspectors >>comes out on the 27th. >> >>In order for this protest to be effective, there must be hundreds of >>thousands of such rice deliveries to the White House. >>We can do this if you each forward this message to your friends and family. >> >>There is a positive history of this protest! >>"In the mid-1950s, the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation, learning of >>famine in the Chinese mainland, launched a 'Feed Thine Enemy' campaign. >>Members and friends mailed thousands of little bags of rice to the White >>House with a tag quoting the Bible, "If thine enemy hunger, feed him." >>As far as anyone knew for more than ten years, the campaign was an abject >>failure. The President did not acknowledge receipt of the bags publicly; >>certainly, no rice was ever sent to China. >> >>"What nonviolent activists only learned a decade later was that the campaign >>played a significant, perhaps even determining role in preventing nuclear >>war. Twice while the campaign was on, President Eisenhower met with the >>Joint Chiefs of Staff to consider U.S. options in the conflict with China >>over two islands, Quemoy and Matsu. The generals twice recommended the use >>of nuclear weapons. President Eisenhower each time turned to his aide and >>asked how many little bags of rice had come in. >>When told they numbered in the tens of thousands, Eisenhower told the >>generals that as long as so many Americans were expressing active interest >>in having the U.S. feed the Chinese, he certainly wasn't going to consider >>using nuclear weapons against them." >> >>From: People Power: >>Applying Nonviolence Theory by David H. Albert, p.43, New Society, 19. >> >>Thank you for being people of hope, people of faith. >>
