“War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.”
~ John F. Kennedy (Letter to Navy friend. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. retrieved 01-07-2009)
“Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.”
~ John F. Kennedy Speech to UN General Assembly, Sept. 25, 1961.
January 5, 2010
George Willoughby, December 9, 1914 – January 5, 2010
Today I said goodbye to a man who, though a man small of stature, was a giant of a man. Whether life imitates art or visa versa, George Willoughby was like Yoda, the Jedi Master in Star Wars. He was almost elfin like in appearance, with a wry wit, twinkling eyes and a grin that told you he understood deeply the ironies of life. He was a rare man who quietly led a life devoted to his own beliefs, but imposing none on others. I say that not without great qualification, as George was a man who could not be silenced when standing up for what he believed while simultaneously embracing the Quaker value and wisdom of consensus. His whole life shone like a brilliant star, so bright that it became like a mirror, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of all who were fortunate to have had some contact with him. It was by belief and example, and the moral persuasion of both his words and deeds that gave action to his life.
I shall miss him and his words of insight immensely. I suspect that the whole world will miss him immeasurably more.
To All,
Those words I wrote on the day of his passing. Most of you will not be familiar with the name of George Willoughby. In 1957 George, along with Lawrence Scott, a radical Quaker activist, A. J. Muste, Albert Bigelow, and Bayard Rustin formed the Committee for Non-Violent Action. The CNVA made public a letter to President Dwight Eisenhower as follows:
We write to tell you of our intended action regarding the announced spring test explosion of American nuclear weapons.
Four of us, with the support of many others, plan to sail a small vessel into the designated area in the Pacific by April 1st. We intend, come what may, to remain there during the test period, in an effort to halt what we feel is the monstrous delinquency of our government in continuing actions which threaten the well being of all men. We recognize the equal guilt of the Russian authorities in this matter and plan parallel action to carry the same moral and political message to them…
There will be no deception in our effort. All action will be taken openly and trusting in the Gandhian spirit of non violence to effect the needed change by speaking to the best in all men.
For years we have spoken and written to the suicidal preparations of the Great Powers…We mean to speak now with the weight of our whole lives…We, by our action, would be asking our fellow citizens to accept the lesser dangers and the greater opportunity that such an approach implies.
We hope our presence in the test area will speak to that which is deepest in you and in all men: that all men are capable of love.
Please consider us,
Sincerely, your friends,
For the crew of the ketch, “Golden Rule”
A Biography of Lillian and George Willoughby, Twentieth-Century Peace Activists, Gregory A Barnes, page 51.
They then set sail to the South Pacific only to be stopped in Honolulu and eventually jailed after the Atomic Energy Commission made an emergency ruling that made it illegal to sail into the test area. The sailing of the Golden Rule towards the South Pacific nuclear testing area is considered to be one of the earliest direct non-violent actions of the Nuclear Age and is cited as an inspiration for the same tactics used by Green Peace on their web page.
This was just one of many actions in the lifetime of George and his wife Lillian, who partnered with him in his quest for peace. George spent his early childhood years on a military base in the Panama Canal, as his father was a contractor for the military. Yet George became a pacifist. As a youth living in the American Zone of the Panama Canal, he saw the segregation of the of the U. S. personnel from the indigenous Panamanian population, not only in culture but also in diet. He once mused to me about how crazy it seemed to him about how in an area which was lush with fruits and vegetables that all you could get in the American Zone was pretty much just meat and potatoes. In fact, he noted that even though there were Panamanians that worked in the American Zone, very little Spanish was spoken. He understood the depth of lost for both cultures, especially his own.
George has organized and/or walked much of the world for peace. From San Francisco to New Delhi to Peking to Moscow to Washington, George’s presence in the name of peace was felt. He both talked and lived by the Gandhian principals in which he believed and practiced. In addition to peace, these same principals drove him to establish the Old Pine Land Trust in Deptford, New Jersey despite being a frugal Quaker of limited means. He deeply understood the binds that held him both to his local community and to the larger community of the world.
Tomorrow, February 7, 2010 a memorial will be held for George at the Friends Meeting House @ 2PM located at Race and Cherry Streets here in Philadelphia. This memorial was originally scheduled for today, but the gigantic snow storm which has pummeled the East Coast forced the postponement to Sunday. I suspect that despite the postponement and the snow, there will be many from all over the world to pay their last respects to a man who though slight in stature, was a giant among men.
