>
> Muhammad Ali had stood up to the U.S. Military and the government. He
> refused to back down. everyone who had ever felt the bite of the U.S.
> Government loved him for it--me included. It made him a figure of gigantic
> proportions around the world. Every one knows Ali. The great majority
> admire him.
>
And I guess I wonder how many Americans remember all of that about Ali.
I know my daughter, a high school senior, was unaware of the whole story
of his throwing away his gold medal, and was only vaguely aware of his
resistance to the draft.
>
> I thought about it and finally decided that Ali had made his point, and
> decided this was as good a time as any to make peace.
>
That certainly is a charitable interpretation, and there is something to
be said for taking a charitable view of the motivations of others. Does
that mean that he sees the US as having changed in significant ways since
the 60's, that it no longer stands for the things it stood for then that
he so vigorously opposed? Or does that mean that he sees that he (Ali)
was wrong in his opposition in the 60's?
Juan
Juan Jewell The Sidwell Friends School
jewell@sidwell.edu Washington, DC
"Taking care of the little things takes care of the big things."
-Walt Hazzard