U.S. Memorial Day, an American holiday, was on Monday, 5/30. Korean War veteran and retired school teacher John Fortier held a special peace vigil from 3 pm to 5 pm and I joined him at 4 pm.
On America's Memorial Day, which was established to remember the U.S.'s war dead, John held the vigil alone until I arrived. But "alone" is inaccurate, for many drivers honked their horns or waved.
What is most memorable to me is the three separate groups of four or five teenagers each, most of them about 15 years old and about half of them were male, half of them female. In each case none of them took an interest in the vigil even though they were standing right in front of it while waiting for the traffic signal to change so they could cross Pacific Coast Highway, in Redondo Beach, CA.
The first group stood there as I walked up and their indifference so bothered me, I smiled and greeted them aloud, drawing them into conversation. During that conversation, I drew their attention to John and his vigil sign.
This process was repeated with the other two teenage groups and after listening to them, it seemed apparent they had little or no interest in the U.S.'s three wars, although there was an awareness those wars are being fought. I detected no connection to Memorial Day, which for them was a beach day.
They were all lovely kids and one of them did ask about John's several Korean War medals he had displayed once he saw the vigil. I'm sorry they had so little interest in war, unlike their counterparts from the mid 1960's to the mid 1970's, which actively opposed the Vietnam War. But re institute the draft and they will care a great deal. The last group were boys and when I asked if any of them intended to go into the military, all of them firmly answered "no."
It was a vigil well worth doing if for no other reason than it got these kids to think about war and the potential for peace, even if only briefly.
Dick
On America's Memorial Day, which was established to remember the U.S.'s war dead, John held the vigil alone until I arrived. But "alone" is inaccurate, for many drivers honked their horns or waved.
What is most memorable to me is the three separate groups of four or five teenagers each, most of them about 15 years old and about half of them were male, half of them female. In each case none of them took an interest in the vigil even though they were standing right in front of it while waiting for the traffic signal to change so they could cross Pacific Coast Highway, in Redondo Beach, CA.
The first group stood there as I walked up and their indifference so bothered me, I smiled and greeted them aloud, drawing them into conversation. During that conversation, I drew their attention to John and his vigil sign.
This process was repeated with the other two teenage groups and after listening to them, it seemed apparent they had little or no interest in the U.S.'s three wars, although there was an awareness those wars are being fought. I detected no connection to Memorial Day, which for them was a beach day.
They were all lovely kids and one of them did ask about John's several Korean War medals he had displayed once he saw the vigil. I'm sorry they had so little interest in war, unlike their counterparts from the mid 1960's to the mid 1970's, which actively opposed the Vietnam War. But re institute the draft and they will care a great deal. The last group were boys and when I asked if any of them intended to go into the military, all of them firmly answered "no."
It was a vigil well worth doing if for no other reason than it got these kids to think about war and the potential for peace, even if only briefly.
Dick
No comments:
Post a Comment