"I have a credit card and 5 cents," said an 80 ish woman in a sad voice after she stood quietly reading the vigil sign, visibly moved by what she read. John Fortier and I told her we don't accept donations but we thanked her for caring for the wars' many victims.
This was the most moving moment in last night's candlelight vigil, a vigil which received support from numerous horn honks and waves. One of those waves came from a 55 ish woman, who commended us on the vigil. From the back of her compact car, her little white Shih Tzu dog, with tiny blue and red ribbons on her head, got excited and tried to lick my fingers, after sensing the warm response from her owner.
Another of those horn honks and waves came as the vigil was being set up. Before the sign was even displayed or a candle lit, a man in a blue compact car heartily expressed his support. This tells us how established this vigil is in the minds of hopefully, many people for we've seen this phenomena before.
Among those who joined the vigil was a 50 ish couple who stayed for about 15 minutes. The woman used to join until about 1 1/2 years ago when she was reassigned at work and her hours no longer made it easy to join us. But on this warm, balmy 73 degree night, they met John Fortier and avidly participated with us. They are angered by the wars' killings, worried for all the children being orphaned in those wars and upset by the staggering waste of money.
It all comes down to people's consciences. Americans can raise their voices to stop the wars or in their silence, allow them to continue. 40 years ago, Americans rallied in mass and eventually stopped the Vietnam War, while today, not facing the draft, and not making any sacrifices, they go about their business as normal.
Today, unlike the 1960's and 70's, the U.S. news media cooperates with the U.S. government and rarely shows the wars. It shows no blood, tells nearly no stories of the severe loss of Iraqis, Afghans or even U.S. soldiers nor of the impact on their families. They don't even show photographs of Baghdad or Kabul except on occasion, a close up of the ruins of an explosion. The U.S. news media doesn't question officials about the wars nor even about the "contractors," mercenaries hired to fight them so the U.S. won't have a draft.
We can continue to endlessly fight "The War on Terror," and kill and be killed, all the while creating ever more numbers of people seeking revenge. Or we can declare cease fires, end the fighting and become a force for good as we reach out to our brethren all over the world, recognizing our oneness with them. We can then use our resources within the U.S. to rescue our crumbling economy. The choice is ours.
Dick
No comments:
Post a Comment