Forwarded to:      internet[manifesto@christianparty.net]
          cc:
Comments by:       DAVISTW@History@VMI

   -------------------------- [Original Message] -------------------------
Dear John:
     Please remove my name and e-mail address from the e-mail listings above
and from anything associated with the "Fathers Manifesto."

     Considering the interconnected problems we face at the approach of the
21st century, I believe more than ever that we need to be inclusive, that we
need to cooperate in finding common solutions, that we need to knock fences
down rather than build them up.  I want to be inclusive, not exclusive.  We
need to heal and mend the wounds out there, not aggravate them.  Since you
and your supporters seem to be view the world so differently than I, as if
you were still in the 18th century, please remove me from your list
immediately.
     Above all, I want to make sure that terms such as "equal justice for
all" and "equal protection of the law" have real meaning in the years ahead.
I hope you have been paying tribute to Justice William Brennan, since his
death a few days ago.  Men and women from all points on the judicial and
political spectrum have joined in their statements of respect for this great
Supreme Court justice, a man who worked so diligently to make the Bill of
Rights meaningful--his cogent and powerful judicial mind, combined with his
Irish charm and congenial spirit, led this nation forward.  Quite rightly,
the flags at VMI flew at half staff in honor and memory of this man.
     Justice Brennan published an essay in 1997 that contains a statement to
which I fully subscribe:  "The genius of the Constitution rests not in any
static meaning it may have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the
adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems and
present needs."  There is genius in that statement as well as in the
Constitution.
     Here are other areas in which you and your supporters differ with me.
 1.  Justice Ginsburg will NOT be impeached.  It's that simple:  she
will NOT be impeached.  It's ludicrous to even suggest such an idea, when the
motivation is so transparent--you don't agree with her judicial philosophy.
And would you please spell her name corrrectly from now on--I'm not sure what
to make of the frequent misspellings that you and your supporters make on her
name, but I don't want to read too much into that.
 2.  VMI WILL admit women in August.  They are a splendid bunch.  Some
might leave this Fall, as some of the male Rats have always done.  But women
are here to stay; there's no going back.  The cadets and VMI's leadership
have been magnificent in their preparation for assimilation.  If you and
others truly care about VMI, you will fully support this court-mandated
decision that we are now implementing. VMI and the Commonwealth of Virginia
had a legal case and point of view worth pursuing in our courts.  It went to
the Supreme Court and the decision was rendered.  Now we salute and march
forward, something that General Marshall always did and something Smith,
Crozet, and Preston would, I think, approve.
 3.  Don't mislead people by saying that 96% of the alumni prefer that
VMI remain all male.  Instead, admit that VMI produces honorable graduates
who obey the law of the land.  More than 96% obey the law, I hope.
 4.  Quit dumping on Justice Ginsburg for the Supreme Court decision.
She simply wrote the majority opinion for SEVEN justices, most of whom were
appointed by conservative Republican presidents.
 5.  Stating that Justice Ginsburg included 24 lies in her opinion is
a statement that's somewhere between ludicrous and outrageous.  Your disa-
greement with a judicial opinion does not make that opinion a lie.
 6.  Learn that quoting "The Washington Times" for your sources is not
helping your cause.  Surely you know the reputation of that paper.  I enjoy
looking at that paper from time to time, but we all know of its pronounced
conservative slant. And that's fine for it to be that way, but be sure to
keep that fact in mind when citing it as a source.
 7.  When things don't go the way you and your supporters had hoped,
don't throw around terms such as "socialism" and "radical feminists."  Enough
said on that point.
 8.  One final reason for leaving: I have examined the mailings sent
by you and your supporters and find very disturbing statements of misogyny,
racism against black Americans (see your response, for which you should be
embarrassed and for which you should apologize, to Keith Stewart, a United
States military officer serving this country), and hate messages in general.
I also recommend that you be very careful about citing Louis Farrakhan as a
supporter of your causes.  There's too much hatred in your stuff; practice
deliberate acts of kindness.
        As assimilation begins at VMI, let us close ranks at VMI, as others
have said, and move forward.  From an academic point of view, the institution
will undoubtedly be better, and I think it might be better in an overall
sense.  In that belief, I take encouragement from a noted West Point
graduate, Ed Ruggero, who was there when women were first admitted in the
1970's.  He now writes, "I realize that these women weren't lucky that West
Point allowed them to enter--and sweat and drill and study.  Instead, what I
see now is that the academy was lucky these women chose West Point.  The
women in my class, no less than the men, have enriched the academy, the army
and the wider society they serve now as senior officers, as leaders of
business, as executives and mothers, teachers and scientists." (Philadelphia
Enquirer, January 1997)   I'll sign off for good by using a statement often
spoken by President Ronald Reagan at the end of his speeches:  "God bless the
United States of America."     Sincerely, Tom Davis
 You have my permission to post my message to your readers.
 
 

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