This message was sent to me by one of the strongest women I have
known. More than once, at pivotal points in my life, she guided me
when I was far from home. Using rice to send a message intrigues me,
the message of peace and  nonviolent civil resistance with a
Christian message (a language George Bush professes to speak) sparks
me, and hearing from her after such a long silence feeds me. I hope
it feeds you, too.

Kindest regards,
Anita

<><><><><><><><>

Dear friends,

We probably all long for peace and have very different ideas of how to get
there. Some of us just want to do something, so here's an idea.

Some of you may think this is exactly the opposite way to go, and I
apologize for what must be an irritating, impersonal e-mail.  Please help
me understand, and let me know what I can do to move us all toward the goal
of peace.

<><><><><><><><>

There is a grassroots campaign underway to protest war in Iraq in a
simple, but potentially powerful way. 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,
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500

Attach $1.06 in postage. (Three 37-cent stamps equal $1.11.) Drop this in
the mail. It is important to act NOW so that President Bush gets the
letters ASAP. 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  1950s, Fellowship of
Reconciliation began a similar  protest, which is credited with
influencing President  Eisenhower against attacking China. Read  on:
"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."
--
<  ==  ><  ==  ><  ==  ><  ==  ><  ==  ><  ==  ><  ==  ><  ==  >
Anita H. Makuluni * Madison WI * [log in to unmask]

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