"My brother is in Afghanistan," said a 20 ish man on a bike. "He's in the Army. Right now he is bored but he trains the Afghan police. It's one of the most dangerous jobs over there. I could never do what he is doing. But thank you for remembering our troops. You're out here and there is no political stuff."
As he rode off, a woman in a Jeep Cherokee type vehicle repeatedly blasted her horn and three children in the age ranges of about 8 to 12 called out their support as everyone vigorously waved. This was touching because it indicates while they were stopped at the long red light on Pacific Coast Highway, she told the children what the vigil is about and why she supports it. And the vigil and its message clearly made a favorable impression on those children.
The U.S. news media provides nearly no coverage of the U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan/Pakistan, Libya and the U.S.'s "covert" wars in Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere. For example, yesterday in Baghdad, there were a series of explosions and gunfire that killed at least 30 people and injured 88 more in the continuous horror that is the 8 1/2 year old Iraq War. Imagine all the devastated families, some of whom are burying their spouses or children and others who frantically rushed to hospitals to help care for their loved ones, hospitals short of staff for many have fled Iraq and short of medicine much of which trades on the black market in a nation destroyed by war.
But if you are American, likely you only know what happened in Baghdad yesterday because I went online to get the information to share it with you. That the U.S. media seldom covers these wars is a disgrace and a dishonor to those the U.S. government sends to fight in them. Sometimes these soldiers are killed or permanently injured with loss of limbs or brain damage or other trauma but they and their families are out of sight and forgotten by most of the American people.
But thousands of miles away, on our Los Angeles area vigil street corner, a 50 ish couple that often join the vigil did last night as well. And shortly before the vigil was to end, as the light blue sky was lit in the west by the golden sunset, Anne's and my eldest son Kyle arrived to support the vigil. And shortly afterward, a 55 year old woman, who with her adorable little dog, has attended recent vigils, did as well, along with her comparably aged friend, a woman who works in her business.
When the vigil ended, Kyle and I walked to Starbucks, where he bought hot chocolate drinks for us. Then we walked along the ocean front, about a half mile from where the vigil was held. As the blue-gray waves cascaded onto the white sand beach and the stars twinkled brightly in the darkened sky it was peaceful and something I wish could be shared with all of the people fighting and killing each other in these wars. For in this tranquil setting, we could all talk out our differences and find a way to keep talking in place of the killing until those wars are brought to a peaceful end.
Dick
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