Do protest marches do any good? Glen Stassen 1936-2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Here is the New York Times obituary for the estimable Glen Stassen, who upheld the link between evangelical Christianity and social action throughout his ministry to the academy (at Fuller), the Christian community, the nation and the world. His life and legacy should be celebrated. It is remarkable to read in the Times that a Christian professor might actually have had something to do with advancing the nuclear disarmament talks. (I am sorry that I have not been able to post live links on Blogger for several months; you will have to cut and paste).
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/us/glen-stassen-theologian-who-champion-nuclear-disarmament-dies-at-78.html?ref=todayspaper
I was astonished to see the reference to the million-person march in 1989 in New York City. Did that actually accomplish something? What a thought! Three times in my life I have been on such marches, all in New York City: the first Earth Day march in April 22, 1970; the 1989 anti-nuclear march referred to in the obit; and the anti-Iraq war, anti-torture march at the time of the Republican Convention in New York in 2004. I was proud to do these marches but I never thought they had any real effect. Maybe I was wrong about that. If anyone who was in that anti-nuke march with the Grace Church Lower Broadway contingent is reading this, I hope you enjoy revisiting the memory.
