In Memoriam: Senator Mark Hatfield

Posted on 08/08/2011 @ 03:16 PM

In this guest post, former FCNL Executive Secretary Edward Snyder remembers long time friend of FCNL, Senator Mark Hatfield.

The death of Mark Hatfield is a poignant reminder of better days in the United States Senate when bipartisanship, civility, and listening were the order of the day. Senator Hatfield excelled in all of these while at the same time being true to his basic Christian pacifist convictions and maintaining the respect of his fellow Senators.

We at FCNL were fortunate to have such a person in the Senate to stake out courageous positions on many controversial issues. He was a leader in opposing the ever rising military budget, in opposing U.S. military involvement in foreign wars, especially the war in Indochina, in supporting the rights of conscience with sponsorship of the Peace Tax Fund, and in providing leadership on many other issues . His door was always open to us, he knew our work well, and he wrote recommendations for Raymond Wilson's "Uphill for Peace" and FCNL's 50 year history, "Witness in Washington."