Today the war enters its 6th year. I want to express my personal sorrow for the fact that the war continues, for the devastation wrought upon the people of Iraq and their homeland, for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead and maimed, for the masses of refugees and homeless, for the loss of nearly 4000 American soldiers, for the thousands of G.I.’s wounded—many irrecoverably, and for the Iraqi and American families who bear the brunt of the suffering. The amount of anguish and destruction resulting from this violence is difficult to fathom anymore. As the war continues, more and more of us, because we feel powerless against it, are choosing simply to ignore it—whether we originally believed it was necessary or not. But the effects of unabated violence can’t be ignored. Damage we do to life and to the earth that sustains it is damage we do to ourselves. It takes a toll on us psychologically and emotionally, whether we’re willing to admit it or not. We will not begin to recover from this trauma and its attendant grief until we’re able to put our irrational fears aside, stand together, and say: “No more.”
Photos: American Eagle. San Diego, CA, USA. January 2008.
Peace march. Kennebunkport, Maine. USA. July 2007.
Peace march. Kennebunkport, Maine. USA. July 2007.
4 comments:
Amen Brother
And as Bill Maher put it today on Hardball, when will Americans stop voting contrary to their best interest? To put it my way, when will voters stop allowing themselves to be politically bamboozled? Not soon I suspect, because today's crop is not taught to think. They are taught to take tests.
That's how I feel, too. Thanks for naming the feelings.
I can see my sign in the backround there! Whoo! I want to do that again!!!
Post a Comment