Okay, yours truly has a solid military background with the Marine Corps in Vietnam, medals and all, Purple Heart, but because of that other life I learned to know the truth and power of Nonviolence. And let’s say the last time you spoke your soul on the issue during the run-up to the war in Iraq, you ended up being quoted in Newsweek and the 6 o’clock news in Nashville, Tennessee, and lost your job. (Bride says it was the right thing.)

So you get another “dream” job as a highly visible member of a non-profit group that owes much to the community — as gardens manager for The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson in conservative Tennessee (they didn’t see the news.) And now you’re asked to speak again at a peace rally commemorating the second anniversary of the Iraq war. What to do now?  The answer is, “How many lives do you get to live?”