Forty years ago was 1986, the year of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor and space shuttle Challenger explosions; the Iran-Contra shell game; Halley’s Comet doing a fly-by; and Da Bears winning Da Superbowl.
1986 was recognized as the Year of Peace by the United Nations. It was the year that more than 1,000 people started a 3,500-mile peace walk from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. Five-to-seven hundred people did complete the walk between March 1 and November 15, advocating for the elimination of all nuclear weapons from Earth.
1986 was also when Colman McCarthy, a PGA tournament golfer turned monk turned failed sportswriter turned award-winning columnist and teacher, turned his attention to the ruthless Ferdinand Marcos. The dictator was left with nothing to dictate and fled the Philippines following non-violent resistance staged by nuns, students, merchants, workers, babysitters, farmers, pilots, grandparents and other ordinary Filipinos.
McCarthy recognized, and taught, that resistance is power.
“Give peace a chance, yes, but why not get serious and give it a place in curriculum: peace courses in every school, every grade, every nation.” COLMAN McCARTHY, MARCH 24, 1938 – FEB. 27, 2026