Peacemaker Daniel Buttry publishes his best inspirational true stories

What a strange name! We Are the Socks

So, first, you may want to hear and see Daniel Buttry tell the surprising story behind this book’s title in a YouTube video that we are sharing with the world. (Although very busy with his global peacemaking work, Dan also occasionally is available for public appearances. The new video gives you a good feel for his lively speaking style.)

What will you find between these covers? Here is how Dan’s colleague in peacemaking, Ken Sehested, describes this new book:

What Dan Buttry does in We Are the Socks is what he does better than anyone I know: Write vivid, easy-to-read narratives that are hopeful but not sentimental, honest but not cynical, revealing without being voyeuristic, personal without being self-serving, sometimes humorous but never silly. And the people he writes about …mostly are commonplace folk, drawn from every sort of circumstance.

‘PEACE WARRIOR’

Dan sometimes describes himself as a “peace warrior.” One meaning of that phrase is Dan’s ongoing struggle with perceptions of global threats and violence from Hollywood, TV networks, newspapers and magazines. He’s not a media basher, but he says, “So much of what we see and hear and read, these days, is governed by fear and is trying to set people up in adversarial situations.

“We need to discover the counter-narratives—news about the many ways people are building up communities and bringing hope to the world. Our traditional media isn’t all bad; sometimes we do get these more hopeful, positive stories. But we need many more of these stories from many parts of the world to give us hope—especially in places where conflict seems intractable. I think readers will be surprised to learn that there are stories of hope even in the middle of the toughest conflicts around our world.

“Many of the stories in this new book are unknown. They’re not in the spotlight. I worked hard, in planning this new book, to give readers stories of hope from all around the world.”

Here’s how singer-songwriter and author David LaMotte describes the new book:

As Dan so compellingly shows us, there is more than one kind of hope. Yes there is naive hope, based on inexperience with hard realities, but there is also a thicker, richer hope that is born of knowing those hard realities intimately, and experiencing the light that can shine in those dark places.

RIDING THE BUS TOGETHER

Throughout his life, Dan has followed a number of customs that also are part of Pope Francis’s life. In following recent coverage of Francis’s life and teachings (check out our cover story on Francis to read more about the pontiff), Dan was struck by the fact that they both share a commitment to using public transportation.

“Before he was the pope, he made sure that he was close to ordinary people on a daily basis. Instead of driving to his office as a bishop, he would take mass transit,” Dan says. “I remember when I was a denominational executive for American Baptists, directing peace programs, I went to work by bus and usually I could tell that I was the only executive on the bus. I shared seats with hotel workers, laborers—working people, nearly all of them. That daily experience created a different mindset about the community around me.

“So many of our global leaders end up isolated from people. And that isolation isn’t bridged by occasionally going out and glad-handing or showing up at a barbecue to win votes. I’m talking about actually spending time with real people. That kind of closeness changes the way you perceive the world.

“That’s one reason Jimmy Carter worked with Habitat for Humanity, hammering nails up on the roof with other volunteers. (check out our earlier interview with Carter for more) Working with other people to build houses helped to change the way Carter saw the world.”

WHO ARE THE HEROES?

While Buttry now is well known around the world among activists working to foster peace in hot spots where men, women and children are suffering—he has one last point he wants to clarify about this book.

“I’m not the hero of this book,” he says. “This isn’t about what a great guy I am. The real heroes you’ll meet in this book are the men and women from many different countries who give voice to the lives of people we usually aren’t even aware are out there. These folks have been pushed to the margins in our world. This book bears witness to people who dare to give voice to the people on the margins. Some of the people you’ll meet in this book are incredibly courageous peacemakers.

“Many of their stories are unknown—until now. But, do you know that the difference between a hero and an unsung hero? It’s the singing. So, let’s get together and sing the stories of some heroes who aren’t well known—until now. That’s what this book is about—and that’s how people, by reading and sharing this book, can play such an important role. They can join me in the singing.”

(Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online magazine covering religion, spirituality, values and interfaith and cross-cultural issues.)