I'm not real sure about Christians being political non-entities. Not all Christians believe the same thing, especially politically. And not all Christians are fundies. Fundies are just louder.

When the Gulf War started, there was a march in Seattle, from St. James Cathedral (Catholic) in downtown Seattle to St. Mark's Cathedral (Episcopalian) on Capitol Hill. All denominations, Christian and otherwise, joined in. Thirty thousand people (that's right—30,000 by police estimate) carrying candles and marching silently and peacefully is pretty damned impressive. Some claimed there were "only" 15,000 people. But still—15,000 people! Similar marches were held all over the country, but as far as I could tell, none of it was carried in the national news. George H. W. Bush was not re-elected in 1992.

This past weekend, there was a national meeting of the Lutheran Peace Fellowship in Seattle. One of the delegates—from Texas— stayed at our apartment. There are gatherings of similar faith-based peace groups going on all over the country. Massive marches are likely to happen again, this time even moreso. Now, silent marches may not seem to do much directly, and since they are peaceful (unlike the WTO protests, no one smashes windows or sets fires), the press tends to ignore them. But they express what many people are thinking and feeling. And these people vote.

Don Firth