During the Vietnam War, A.J. Muste stood in front of the White House night after night with a candle—sometimes alone. A reporter interviewed him one evening as he stood there in the rain. “Mr. Muste,” the reporter said, “do you really think you are going to change the policies of this country by standing out here alone at night with a candle?”
A. J. responded, “Oh, I don't do this to change the country. I do this so the country doesn't change me.”
[Not a commentary on whether the war in Vietnam was justified. But a mussar not to let what is going on around us affect us if it is not moral or ethical].
