Dear Comrades in Care:

By 1985, the Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR) was again creating international concern. With President Ronald Reagan announcing his Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev announcing an expansion of the USSR’s stockpile of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), the prospect of some regional clash that would ignite World War III again loomed on the horizon. Ongoing talks between the superpowers regarding strategic weapons were at a complete standstill; diplomats and defense ministers on both sides were frustrated by the lack of progress.

Into that environment Reagan and Gorbachev decided to hold a summit November 19-20 in Geneva, Switzerland. They met at a chalet rented for the occasion by billionaire Aga Kahn, Imam of the Ismaili Muslims, known for his concern about the growing prospect for nuclear war. The first round of conversations between Gorbachev and Reagan were only moderately productive; both leaders expressed their deep distrust for the other, but both pledged their desire for peace.

Following the five-hour dialogue in the presence of translators, staff and advisors, Reagan suggested he and Gorbachev go for a walk, inviting only their personal translators. The content of their conversation remained a mystery until 2009, when then Secretary of State George Shultz divulged his knowledge of Reagan’s notes regarding their chat. It seems that Reagan, a longtime fan of science fiction, asked Gorbachev if he believed the Soviet Union would defend the United States in the event of an alien invasion. According to the notes, Gorbachev laughed, but concurred that if aliens from outer space were to invade the earth, the USSR would certainly set aside Cold War differences in order to defend the planet. Reagan agreed that the United States would do the same. The next round of formal talks went extremely well.

In 2009, after Shultz’s revelations, headlines guffawed at Reagan’s silly obsession with space aliens, all too quick to jump on the absurdity; but, while there were many things in Reagan’s tenure with which I disagreed, I believe his ice-breaker with Gorbachev was brilliant. With hypothetical space aliens pointing death-rays at humans, unity among the attacked seemed the only logical response. And while few are suggesting that our current viral enemy has extra-terrestrial origins, are we not ALL under attack?

Of course, this musing is not a call for international leaders to set aside their differences until this pandemic passes; my audience reach is not that grandiose. Still, there are little cold wars in our communities and homes that can only be thawed by a sense of humor and perspective. We are facing a common threat, a shared enemy, if you will; a foe that does not care about politics, race, economics, national origin, education or age. It only seeks a human host. You'd think that would pull us together.

So, these days like never before, I am praying for unity. In John 17.21 Christ prayed that we might be one so that we might stand against evil. I am certainly not suggesting that Jesus of Nazareth had any conception of a global response to a viral threat, but Jesus did comprehend the importance of unity in the face of evil. It is the same for parents and presidents, nationalists and neighborhoods; in the face of our shared mortality, petty differences will be our undoing.

Seeking spiritual closeness in the time of physical distance, I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor