When George Bush was Vice...
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When George Bush was Vice President under Ronald Reagan, he represented the United States at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. It was, by all counts, a secular funeral, since the Soviet Union was an atheistic state. But Bush explains that he saw something at this funeral that deeply moved him: a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid of the coffin to close it, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed; she reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest. Are we so bold in our witness? -- Riether
