"We have to stop killing each other," said a 65 ish tall trim blond woman, speaking in a solemn tone as she walked up to the vigil with her husband, also tall and trim. "War is not the answer," she added as her eyes flashed in anger and her mind searched for more words to reflect her frustrations with war. Finally she added, "Thank you for doing what you're doing," as she and her husband shook John Fortier's hand and mine.
During the first half of the vigil, this conversation was the exception as few people acknowledged the vigil. Perhaps this is because the Iraq, Afghan and Libyan Wars have largely disappeared from major U.S. news coverage. As John said, the public "can't see the wars, hear the wars, feel the wars, smell the wars." With the cooperation of the U.S. news media, the wars are often invisible unless one seeks them out on the Internet.
Yet yesterday in England, President Obama spoke of the Libyan War as "a long slog" as termed by The Wall Street Journal.* This is a dramatic shift in the President's original position that the U.S. would have limited involvement in the Libyan War. Meanwhile, because the war has already gone over 60 days, some Congressmen are critical of the President for not getting their permission to wage it. There was no such concern expressed over the Iraq and Afghan Wars which were never declared by Congress and have now lasted over 8 years and nearly 10 years respectively.
The second half of the vigil got more public attention with some horn honks and waves. "That's a nice thing you're doing," said an 80 ish man as he stopped briefly to talk and to shake our hands. He is a semi-retired lawyer who publishes Christian books. "God bless you," stated a 55 ish man as he walked by the vigil.
But the nicest moment came when a 50 ish couple that often participate, joined the vigil last night for several minutes. Finally the man revealed they had ice cream bars melting in their recycle nap sack and they had to wish us goodbye. Even then, his lovely wife continued to express herself and to listen for a tiny bit longer.
Dick
* http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576345111108851484.html
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