April 2002

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

In Memorium -- Belynda Dunn

Photo © Ellen Shub

Belynda Dunn was an AIDS activist, founder and director of the multicultural multidisciplinary "Who Touched Me Ministry" of the Balm in Gilead, member of the Union United Methodist Church of Boston, and HIV Prevention Manager/Educator for AIDS Action Committee Boston. She died March 12 in Pittsburgh after receiving a privately paid-for liver transplant, having challenged her insurer's refusal to pay for the surgery which they branded experimental because of her HIV status. Her insurer, The Neighborhood Health Plan, ultimately contributed over $100,000 to the private fundraising effort spearheaded by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

Dunn brought people together and helped them keep moving forward. Rev. Martin McLee, her pastor, said of her efforts to enlist Black clergy in the struggle against AIDS: "Belynda really lit a fire under me. That's what Belynda did with everyone. She helped us cross ideological lines and theological lines and not get hung up on the homosexual issue. She said to the Black church: 'Get over it.'" Photo © Ellen Shub

Open Letter to the Governor of Vermont

To Gov. Howard Dean, Montpelier, Vt, March 1, 2002

Dear Howard,

Sorry to bother you. I know you are busy. I just wanted you to know that the Putney Town Report came in. It lists 85 Civil Unions through our town clerk from October 2000 through December 2001. We still don't have any locusts, famine, earthquakes, plague, cross-burnings, or dying sugarbushes. Seems God continues to smile on us as we enjoy the fruits of hard work and good community. I mean for the most part there seems to be enough food and shelter to go around, mainly.

Of the 85 Civil Unions listed, only two couples are listed as Putney residents. The rest are from away--one couple from Louisiana, two from Arizona, three from Florida, and six from California. There was one couple from Alberta, Canada, and one from Midland, Texas--God bless 'em. It sort of reminds me of Vermont's history with the Underground Railroad. People treated unfairly from so many other places came here on their way to freedom. I am proud to see the tradition continue. And I am grateful to you for helping to make it happen. I know principles can be hard to come by in government. I am glad yours were showing so clearly on this.

If you do run for president of the country, I will vote for you. Not because I agree with everything you've done. I don't. But I think you could give the White House something it hasn't had in years--a hard worker who hasn't had everything handed to him from the country club set, and a good looking guy who keeps it in his pants. Imagine what a nice change it would be to have someone up there we knew well enough to know when he was lying. That would be refreshing and make me think democracy was still possible.

If you do get to the White House, I'd like you to save a night sometime when the shadow government could hold down the fort and you didn't have to stay in the situation room keeping score on some war where women and children were bombed into nothing. My husband, Marshall Brewer, and I would like to take you and your wife out to a nice little Italian restaurant on 18th St we know. I think you'd like it. And God knows, you'd need a break from all the flatlanders asking you about the best places for skiing back home.

Thank you for all your good work.

Sincerely, John Calvi, PO Box 301, Putney VT 0534; calvij@sover.net

What the American Flag Stands For

The American flag stands for the fact that cloth can be very important. It is against the law to let the flag touch the ground or to leave the flag flying when the weather is bad. The flag has to be treated with respect. You can tell just how important this cloth is because, when you compare it to people, it gets much better treatment. Nobody cares if a homeless person touches the ground.  A homeless person can lie all over the ground all night long without anyone picking him up, folding him neatly, and sheltering him from the rain.

School children have to pledge loyalty to this piece of cloth every morning. No one has to pledge loyalty to justice and equality and human decency.  No one has to promise that people will get a fair wage, or enough food to eat, or affordable medicine, or clean water, or air free of harmful chemicals.  But we all have to promise to love a rectangle of red, white, and blue cloth.  

Betsy Ross would be quite surprised to see how successful her creation has become. But Thomas Jefferson would be disappointed to see how little of the flag's real meaning remains.

Charlotte Aldebron, Grade 6,
Cunningham Middle School, Presque Isle, ME

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