About a year and a half ago, some athletes approached the president, James E. Brenneman, to ask if the anthem could be played before some games. Dr. Brenneman, a former pastor who has led Goshen since 2006, said yes, “as an expression of welcome to the half of our student body who are part of other religious traditions,” he told [the NYT reporter]....After a year of "really intense dialogue," the college adopted the policy of playing "America the Beautiful" before sporting events.
Dr. Brenneman stressed that even when the anthem was played, “it wasn’t like you would see at a pro football game or the World Series, with the F-16 fighters flying overhead.” The music was played, without anyone singing the lyrics over the public-address system, and the anthem was followed by the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi (“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. ...”). This was Goshen’s “way of saying, if we are going to do it, we won’t do it as they do it elsewhere,” Dr. Brenneman said....
In 2009, Goshen unveiled a marketing campaign called “Peace by Peace,” emphasizing its pacifist roots. “Not everyone was enamored of this marketing campaign,” Dr. Berry said. “That included some folks in the athletic department, and the reason was that for sports — soccer is a bit of a different animal, but for baseball, golf and particularly basketball — Goshen College recruits students who aren’t from a Mennonite or Anabaptist background. And they reflect a little more of the stereotypical God-and-country Midwestern approach to patriotism.”
Dr. Brenneman wished to “quibble” that the request to play the anthem “came in direct response to Peace by Peace.” And Dr. Berry acknowledged there was more at stake than athletes’ gripes. There is a theological question, “which was that if we talk so much about peace, that will make it hard to attract non-Mennonite students.”
“And if we can’t attract non-Mennonite students, are we being hospitable?” Dr. Berry said.
Hospitality is, like pacifism, a core Christian virtue, and some Mennonites believed that playing the anthem was justified to help students from other backgrounds feel welcome.
I love the emphasis on hospitality and conversation. Really beautiful. Thank you, Mennonites.
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75 comments:
Since hospitality is the issue, why not play "Happy Birthday?"
This makes me angry! I was raised Mennonite and this whole thing shows their holier than thou attitude. Look at us, we are for peace. Many people are for peace but they don't place themselves above it all.
Because nothing says "hospitable" more than pissing on the graves of those that have fought or died in wars to keep your freedoms intact. Offending THOSE people, people like me, is A-Okay in their book.
Why don't they ban the Star and Stripes while they're at it, which is carried into battle by soldiers and drapes the coffins of our war dead?
Ingrates.
Let Mennonites be Mennonites!
If it's their school, they have the right to play what they want, but they might want to reflect on the fact that "Peace" is not what keeps them free to play whatever they want.
Just sayin'.
Go you Mennonites, go!
I always thought Mennenites were those guys who snuck into CVS and drank the skin bracer stuff.
Who knew?
Mennonites?
When I heard Mennonite, I thought they would be a little more, you know, manly, "not this bunch of pussies."
Man-up, Mennonites!
Peace is the reward - not the tactic.
It not their position; its the sanctimonious hypocrisy.
"Because nothing says "hospitable" more than pissing on the graves of those that have fought or died in wars to keep your freedoms intact"
I'm not a pacifist nor a Mennonite, though I do have a lot of affinity with Mennonites and Quakers. So, I think this comment deserves some pushback.
Look at the history of these groups. They encountered and suffered some pretty strong persecution well before this country was established. They have been involved in fighting for freedoms for others and for themselves in nonviolent ways. They were martyred on behalf of their beliefs.
So, while they've certainly earned the right and suffered on behalf of their freedoms to say what they want to say about violence, oaths, and whatnot.
As most of world history shows, a freedom that is only maintained by military or violence pretty quickly devolves away from real freedom.
We in this country celebrate the freedom that is fought for us by the military and also the freedom from the military that is maintained by people who think freedom involves something a lot more than physical coercion.
Having a strong peace tradition in our history has been a great testimony to the kind of freedom and the expression of freedom we have.
And it's a testimony that Mennonites have shown their own willingness to die for.
Do they teach history at Goshen College?
I agree with SGT TED. They ran from the old country because of persecution which many people did. But unlike others they are not willing to defend the new country from their old enemies.
I am all for peace but peace is not something you can declare unilaterally.
They should be ashamed of themseves.
I'm not sure anyone wants a freedom where they can only be free to have approved opinions on agreed subjects.
"its the sanctimonious hypocrisy."
This goes both ways.
I don't think that they should lose any of their freedoms.
I will, however, criticize their views. I find them unrealistic and hypocritical. Their very freedom to live their lives as they see fit is completely dependent on the blood shed by others, blood that they refuse to shed for their fellow citizens.
I have a fantasy about doing a Mennonite or Amish guy.
"Because nothing says "hospitable" more than pissing on the graves of those that have fought or died in wars to keep your freedoms intact."
Aside from those who fought and died during WWII, just who has fought and died to "keep our freedoms intact?"
And since when is playing the National Anthem required to honor those who died fighting in our wars--even the majority of which were unnecessary and wasteful--and since when is not playing it disprespectful to them?
Paddy O,
Well, yes... but isn't it a bit disingenuous to gloss over the fact that the place where the Mennonites flourished--where they could stop running--what in the interior region of a large country, that was (a) willing and able to defend them against external and internal enemies, and (b) had a strong tradition of religion tolerance, so that they could exercise their pacifism w/o becoming victims of their non-pacifist neighbors?
And something that world history shows even more clearly is that freedom that is maintained without military force is ... well, er, absent.
Many Mennonites and Amish served honorably as COs during WWII:
http://www.amazon.com/Acts-Conscience-Institutions-Perspectives-Disability/dp/0815609159/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316365631&sr=8-2
I suppose it depends on how we hear the national anthem--I think its a good thing; it affirms our national identidy. If people want to hear something else in it, thats their right.
As for the mennonites? its their college and they can do what they like--that that damn first amendment again.
sorry--identity
"dependent on the blood shed by others, blood that they refuse to shed for their fellow citizens."
I disagree with this. Mennonites have shown their willingness to die for their own beliefs. And have been willing to shed their own blood for the sake of others. For instance, Mennonites and Quakers were among the earliest anti-slavery protesters, and were often attacked because of it.
They refuse to shed anyone else's blood for themselves or others, however.
Again, I'm not a pacifist nor a Mennonite, so I disagree with their very high notions of nonviolence, but they do have a tradition that goes back before this country began of being willing to suffer on behalf of their freedom and the freedom of others.
Which means that I disagree with them, but also that I respect their testimony for what it is and the tradition is comes out of. Because for all the lovely freedoms that the military has given to us, there are other militaries around the world who have devastated lives, corrupted freedoms, and undermined society.
Twentieth century history shows us the benefits of our American military that fights for freedom, but it also shows how freedom-robbing most other militaries can be.
Kirk, I agree, that's why I'm not a pacifist or a Mennonite.
But, at the same time, their testimony helps shape the kinds of peace we seek, and has, I think, helped keep our country away from imperialistic motivations.
The human tendency towards extreme violence needs some counterbalance.
A Christian denomination that spends 99% of its preaching efforts and its time being narrower in doctrine than other Christians is a huge waste of time and effort for its members.
No wonder they don't like the dangerous words "...home of the free." That lets outsiders in.
Robert Cook said...
"Because nothing says "hospitable" more than pissing on the graves of those that have fought or died in wars to keep your freedoms intact."
Aside from those who fought and died during WWII, just who has fought and died to "keep our freedoms intact?"
For openers, how 'bout all the guys who fought in the many conflicts during the Cold War, y' know, against Cook's buds the Russians and the Red Chinese, as well as all those War Criminals who are fighting the Muzzzlim crazies.
And since when is playing the National Anthem required to honor those who died fighting in our wars--even the majority of which were unnecessary and wasteful--and since when is not playing it disprespectful to them?
Not a requirement, just a courtesy and a gesture of thanks to the people who keep and have kept us free, something guys like Cook just can't stand.
have to agree with paddo--well said
bagoh20 says it best:
"Peace is the reward - not the tactic."
And to the NYTimes: Peace may be a Christian virtue but pacifism is not.
That's sexist! What about the Womanites?
Pacifists are the worst of scum, the hypocrite.
They wave their morality like a flag all the while doing nothing while the worst of evil is being perpetrated and enjoy the freedom and liberties paid for by the blood of others.
Don't like "Happy Birthday?" What about Pat Boone's version of "Friendly Persuasion?" What could go wrong?
I feel so hospitable. Damn.
Cubanbob--I respectfully disagree--I served with genuine conscience objectors--they recognized they were not in the mainstream, but they also recognized they had a duty to the nation. A real CO, who often put themselves in harms way, is, in my opinion, a valuable part of our society. They have a role and it should not be denigrated.
my .02--ymmv
Sit down and watch a spell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCn-HuYRM0g&feature=related
Mennonites have shown their willingness to die for their own beliefs. And have been willing to shed their own blood for the sake of others.
Noble, perhaps, but not very effective against a ruthless foe.
No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country. --George S. Patton
"to thine ownself be true..." Polonius via Shakespeare--I think there is room for interpretation
PaddyO....
"So, while they've certainly earned the right and suffered on behalf of their freedoms to say what they want to say about violence, oaths, and whatnot."
That is not a sentance.
Easy fix: stop NAIA sports at Goshen. They're meat and gambling markets anyway. Intramural sports and club sports between schools are perfect sporting ways to maintain physical conditioning in scholars without having to attract non-confessional students. There are non-competitive, non-sporting ways to the same goal, such as gardening, farming, animal-husbandry, etc. St. Benedict had physical conditioning figured out centuries ago.
Reminds me of hand-wringing over how to fix problems attending government dicta. Why does almost everyone contemplate more or different dicta as the solution? Standing down from dictates is indicated.
A friend once asked, "What is the cause of anger?" The answer returned, "Nail in water."
Hospitality and conversation are not at issue in this case because an illegitimate desire has aroused the problem: joining the NAIA meat and gambling market. No one held a gun to Goshen's head and said they had to operate in that context. The schools ambitions exceed their mission.
The history of playing the national anthem before every game goes back to baseball during World War II as a display of patriotism, from whence it spread to other sports. Sometimes I wonder if playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" so frequently cheapens it, reducing it to just another piece of music.
As for the concept of "hospitality," wouldn't that cut both ways? Wouldn't it mean not offending any foreigners present by playing such a pro-American song?
And seriously, a school as small as that is out recruiting non-Mennonite athletes? Why? This is as silly as BYU recruiting non-Mormons or Notre Dame recruiting non-Catholics. These schools exist to transmit a religion-specific curriculum, and all other considerations (such as athletics) should be a distant second to that primary concern. And if you are an outsider to the religious tradition of the school you are attending, you should accommodate yourself to it, not vice versa.
And I say this as a veteran who stands at attention and sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" whenever it is played.
I live in an area with quite a few Amish & Mennonites (there is a big difference), and speaking as an "English" (as they call us), I have found them to be great carpenters above all, nice people, but I don't like their baked goods. In my area, there is some antagonistic feelings among local contractors because the Amish can do work for less becaause they (the employer) don't have to pay SS & unemployment tax.
The Mennonites I've known were - to a man - good people. I've nodded to their women in passing, but gotten no closer.
They have been honest and hard working and bent every effort to accommodate others while still being themselves.
People have a tendency of wanting others to change to ease *their* personal quirks, but rarely want to be accommodating themselves, almost always framing the situation as "*they* don't respect *me* because they won't do things *my* way". They of course, usually lack the fortitude to actually express it that way.
Lack of observance does not equal disrespect. Not bowing your head when a religious person is praying is not lack of respect, it's lack of participation.
Same thing here, they don't participate in that which does not reflect their rather positive beliefs.
People who are making the moronic assumption that because these folks don't friggin' sing the goddamn *song* you want at the beginning of a *game* are somehow being unpatriotic or "pissing on the graves" are walking the thin ice on Lake Fascism.
It is their school, they can do whatever they want.
Leaving aside the issue of whether pacifism is really a Christian virtue, I would note that it is getting harder and harder to sing in all good conscience "land of the free."
As an aspirational notion, that might be appropriate, but the United States has not been, as a factual matter, the "land of the free" for quite some time and it is getting less free each day.
And another thing: wide-spread participation in competitive sports was created to ensure a population capable of the rigors of war. Douglas MacArthur, as Superintendent of West Point newly returned from WWI, instituted the nation's first universal, mandatory program of "physical education" comprising participation in competitive sports. His purpose was both leader development and physical conditioning.
The goal was and remains soldiers who can lead and sustain combat. West Point still requires universal participation in competitive sports. There are no exceptions.
MacArthur's famous saying on this subject is inscribed over the portal of the gym at West Point: "Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that, on other fields, on other days, will bear the fruits of victory."
From West Point under General MacArthur's stewardship, physical education as, specifically, participation in competitive sports, often universally mandated, spread to the entire US system of education, particularly at the primary and secondary levels. Its purpose was war-preparation. It parallels in that respect the Second Amendment, whose motivation is to maintain civilian marksmanship against the day of war. Switzerland takes that insight and policy to its logical result.
The great strength of the US remains to this day, as General MacArthur and others long said, civilian warriors. Only the dead have seen the end of war. Therefore, a nation's first obligation is to be prepared for war in physique and skill.
Pacifism numbers among a great many utopian concepts continuously overrun by reality.
David R. Graham --
"Pacifism numbers among a great many utopian concepts continuously overrun by reality."
I agree. But it's a sad irony when those attacking it are the "defenders of freedom".
Does the university take any sort of federal grants? If not, play what you want. If they do, then render 30 seconds of respect.
And if you are an outsider to the religious tradition of the school you are attending, you should accommodate yourself to it, not vice versa.
I completely agree. I like that they want to include others (although I also am wondering why a mennonite school is recruiting non-mennonites) and play the anthem, but it's not necessary. It's their school.
But it's a sad irony when those attacking it are the "defenders of freedom".
I think this is unfair to the critics.
If you'll stipulate that a 100% pacifist society cannot survive among societies willing to use force, then you'll grant that pacifist minorities benefit from a tolerant, nonpacifist majority.
The nonpacifists at the college are asking for reciprocal tolerance in a society where they're in the minority.
Do the Mennonites have the right to establish their own subculture? I think so.
Do the non-Mennonites they've invited into their subculture have the right to musical expressions of their differing point of view? I think so.
Should the non-Mennonites insist on their rights of expression, or should they defer to the strongly held views of the majority? Seems to me that this could go either way. I could argue the case against playing the anthem, but I wouldn't say that the other side is simply wrong.
Mennonites have always practiced what they preached, I'd give them a pass on this.
The early Christian church did what they did--passive, nonviolent resistance, and preferred to die rather than to kill. Later the Church become powerful and militant, and we all know where that went.
I really don't understand the hostility expressed toward them here.
SJL "...In my area, there is some antagonistic feelings among local contractors because the Amish can do work for less because they don't have to pay SS & unemployment tax."
And yet they prosper, which suggests that SS and the unemployment tax are a drain on the industrious and thrifty.
I really don't understand the hostility expressed toward them here.
Look up the term "free riding."
Yes, some Mennonites have served honorably as COs. But you can't field an army with nothing but COs.
That doesn't mean the Mennonites can't be admired, or that they don't have the right to run their college the way they want.
But it's not really that tough to understand the contrary sentiments, IMO.
Where I'm from, the local Mennonites are known for facilitating the importation of illegal aliens from over the southern border to serve as cheap, unskilled laborers in their businesses.
The pacifism angle never seemed to come up.
SJL,
Sorry about that. Blog comment editing sometimes leaves sentence fragments.
"That is not a sentance."
And that is not a word.
Oh, and they're also known for painting the chrome bumpers of their vehicles matte black, apparently because shiny, sparkly things speak of worldly sins. Or something.
Shiny, sparkly piety must be different.
Paddy,
"But, at the same time, their testimony helps shape the kinds of peace we seek, and has, I think, helped keep our country away from imperialistic motivations."
OK, I'll definitely buy that.
OT: are you currently at Fuller?
"Pacifism numbers among a great many utopian concepts continuously overrun by reality."
Oddly enough, though, the utopian concepts most pursued in the 20th century were quite militaristic.
Many utopian concepts pursued by European colonialism, enforced through violence, also kept getting overrun by reality.
Spartan sounding utopian concepts run into reality too.
Kirk,
I am indeed. Got my M.Div back in 2002 and now I'm starting my 4th year of PhD work.
My country tis'of thee would be an acceptable alternative.
I don't agree with orthadox pacifists, but the Menonites are not evil. Unlike Quakers, they don't try to force their lifestyle on us.
Leave them alone and let them live their lives in a manner they prefer.
And they aren't hypocrits. They are pacifists both when GW Bush and Barry Obama are president.
I would prefer it if "America the Beautiful" was our national anthem.
Chip S: COs are miniscule part of the military--no one is suggesting a military composed of all COs--thats just silly. Mennnonites, it seems to me are not free riders--they appear to recognize being a pacificist and a citizen requires that that serve--but in a capacity consistent with their beliefs--I think that has been accomplished.
Revenant said...
I would prefer it if "America the Beautiful" was our national anthem.
===============
Agree. There is nothing sacred about the Star Spangled Banner that forces us to keep that "glorification of all things militaristic", unsingable tune around for another several hundred years.
It has only been around since WWI, when it was noted that many other nations that were pouring blood out on the battlefield in that fruitless war had "anthems" their bands could play. And Mrs Wilson touted the Star Spangled Banner as something that fit well with military brass bands used to Sousa and was a song Woodrow Wilson as part of the Princeton Glee Club - was famous for as one of the few men anywhere that could sing and
not miss notes.
We can do better than that as a nation. Crib a bombastic British drinking club waltz..Come on!
Harvahd was started as a college to turn out preachers.
You'd hardly recognize that philosophy, there, now.
I am intimately aware of a person who hails from that very community, that very school.
Born and raised.
Yes, Mennonite.
She informs me that there is a movement afoot in the community, a leftist movement.
One, in which her own sister is a part.
It's deeply troubling. It seems as if, to me, reading the emails, that Bush Derangement Syndrome and Obama's class warfare have collided.
Once again, deeply troubling to "root" of the Mennonite community.
Paddy O,
Is there a way to contact you off-blog? I have a young friend who just arrived there to start her MA in Theology program. Though I suppose you 4th-year PhD folks aren't necessarily around campus a lot...
"I really don't understand the hostility expressed toward them here."
There's a term for declaring peace unilaterally. It's called "surrender".
Imagine one or more of your loved ones died defending their country, defending you and your neighbors. Now consider that all of your pacifist Mennonite neighbors, none of whom fought, all they survived unscathed. You might despise them too.
I saw the comments praising conscientious objector service during WWII. We have not had a draft in the US for many years. What contribution to the national defense did then Mennonites make after 9/11?
The original Mennonite settlers in North and South Carolina, were wiped out by the Union army during the War. Union troops did not distinguish between slaveholders and non-slaveholders when they stole or burned everything of value during the conquest. Mennonites did not return to this area until modern times. They are successful in the building industry here. Good people. A Mennonite girl sat next to me and we shared a song book at a shaped-note singing last year in North Carolina.
bullshit olig, they remain free to be hypocrits and I remain free to call them out on it.
“A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”
― John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
Kirk, I'm actually around campus a fair bit, especially this upcoming year, and live nearby.
If you click my user profile here, there's an email link that's up to date.
I don't agree with pacifism. But I respect the Mennonites' right to have very different religious beliefs than my own. As long as nobody's forcing me to wear a plain dress and drive a buggy (as apparently the chick who wrote Handmaid's Tale has nightmares about), and as long as Mennonites follow the laws, I'm totally okay with them doing Mennonite things at a Mennonite college.
It's clearly not about Mennonite beliefs about peace, though. It's really about Mennonite beliefs about how Christians should relate to Caesar. I don't know why they frame it as a peace thing, frankly, unless it's because it calls up cultural memories of all those late medieval German wars they came here to escape. (And hey, probably they do.)
SGT Ted --
"bullshit olig, they remain free to be hypocrits and I remain free to call them out on it."
You went much further than calling hypocrisy.
Pacifism is the first refuge of cowards. What is the first you ask? Unions.
Why is a sectarian school recruiting non-sectarian students? Who gives a wet fart how good of a football team Goshen College can field? *Why* does a pacifistic, limp-wrist Mennonite school feel the need to even play an aggressive, pugnacious sport like football?
Look, I'm descended from Quakers, but the holier-than-thou religious pacifists really piss me off. For one thing, for the Quakers, it was a second- or third- generation affectation. William Penn himself was a respectable soldier of distinction. At some point the Quakers (and their Teutonic mini-Mes, the Mennonites and associated minor quietist sects) elided "peaceable" with "pacifistic". "Peaceable" is virtuous; "pacifistic" is foolishness in the best of circumstances, and moral cowardice at worst.
I don't agree with orthadox pacifists, but the Menonites are not evil. Unlike Quakers, they don't try to force their lifestyle on us.
That's because the Mennonites free-ride on the Quakers and their ilk, trusting them to do the obnoxious heavy-lifting of proselytizing woolly-headed pacifism among the English. ^_^
Look, the Mennonites can do whatever the hell they want at their private schools, short of, you know, child abuse or what have you. Doesn't mean I have to respect their cringing, morally inverted arrogance.
Hi. A Mennonite here. Just wanted to say to the ones crying hypocrite, if you want to go to war for my “freedom,” don't do it because I reject it. I'm not asking for your protection and I don't want your protection. I don't care about freedom. I will be who and what I am until I die. Your blood will not change that. No other soldier's blood will change that. Never has and never will. The only blood shed for me that changed anything was Christ's--and he gave it freely. I am more than willing to follow him into suffering and death. Where I live will not change that. I am here in this country not because I care about freedom, but because I was born here and nobody has yet chased me out or killed me for being here. If this country decides it only wants people in it who are willing to fight to protect what it is, then we Mennos will be gone or wiped out. Plain and simple. So far, this country hasn't made that decision and so we remain. No hypocrisy involved.
For those who cry cowardice, from my perspective, your need to resort to violence—as if that would solve anything—is the real cowardice. I challenge you to live up to our ideal of love like we do—the ideal modelled by Christ: to love to your dying breath anyone and everyone regardless of what they do to you or your loved ones. I don't think you have the fortitude. I think if someone merely slapped you across the face, that you are so weak-willed and so influenced by their negativity that you would at least get angry at them and wish them something ill in return, if not reciprocate it. Like a leaf tossed on the wind. Like a trained monkey. I've been slapped, beaten, and robbed—it didn't change my attitude or my action. It proved to me that real power is the power of Christ to forgive and love all regardless of circumstances.
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