A letter to all the Aikido dojos in the Puget Sound area

[eridani]

Dear Sensei:

I am writing to let all the Aikido practitioners in our area know about a presidential candidate whose leadership style embodies the principles of Aikido.

In the 70s, I studied under Atkinson Sensei in Southern California. I remember learning to harmonize with the energy direction of an attack and then to redirect it, which turned out to have a great many applications in daily life. My own success in practicing verbal Aikido was intermittent, but I did manage to reduce hostility and bad energy in my life to the extent that I was successful at it.

Last Friday I saw a performance that certainly deserves an honorary shodan rank in the category Aikido in Daily Life. Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich spoke at the University of Washington. There was a small band of Republican hecklers chanting 'Four more years, four more years, four more years,' as he walked to the podium. He urged them to chant louder, and joined in. They tired of the sport quickly, then Kucinich asked his supporters if they really wanted four more years of war, four more years of homeless people on the streets or four more years without universal health care insurance. Each time, the crowd roared: 'No!' Harmony, redirection.

http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20031108/frontpage/144104.shtml

This is the sort of leadership our country needs, a peaceful warrior who understands that respect and compassion for adversaries doesn't mean that you have to take crap from them. Who will work to eliminate the weapons of mass destruction poverty, unemployment, lack of health care. Who knows that pre-emptive war is a distraction from fighting terror, who exhorts his fellow citizens to hope rather than manipulating them through fear.

Please consider supporting and endorsing the Kucinich candidacy. If you would like more information, check the national website www.kucinich.us , the state website www.kucinich-washington.org (206-633-6068), or contact me directly.

[AP]

1. Clever.

Reminds me of that speach Clinton gave in Australia in the last year or two. A heckler shouted shit and the audience booed the heckler. Clinton Sensei said, no, let him have his say. When the guy was done, Clinton took apart what the guy was shouting about.