A friend of mine posted this very moving entry in her "livejournal" tonight. She is speaking about the events of the last 24 hours or so, the war, and the candlelight vigil we attended tonight. I asked her permission to post this here and she agreed.
A time to remember: by Rima As many of you know, I have been contemplating for years about what I would tell my children (assuming I ever have any) about the world events of my youth and young adulthood. What will Oklahoma City mean in 15 or 20 years to children born today? What will September 11th be remembered as? Depending on the outcome of this war, how will this affect future generations?
We no longer live in an age where it's the "good" versus the "bad." In fact, it was never like that because all wars have been about far more than an idea of "justice" against a supposed lack thereof. However, journalists and historians used to be fond of telling stories in times of battle. They virtually sang of the brave and strong GIs marching off to fight the evil, cowardly rulers of far away lands. It was mostly a case of showmanship, and until actual video broadcasts became a part of the equation during Vietnam, the average American bought these ideas hook, line and sinker.
I don't blame anyone for accepting these romantic ideas of war at face value. It's certainly a lot easier than having to grasp the fact that so many soldiers and civilians died throughout the world for what was often no good reason in many of these battles.
In this post-Vietnam era, a time of 24-hour news and business-oriented (as opposed to truth-oriented) publications, Americans still dwell in the shadows of the dream of fighting the "good fight." Patriotism always sky-rockets, but your average American is not some guy on the street whistling Yankee Doodle (or Dixie, depending on where he lives) and cheering on the US. No, instead, the average person has been so put off by sensationalism and outright lying by the media--a group that I hope to be a fulltime part of in over a year--that he has shut down. Apathy reigns.
As bombing has begun, Americans have been split down the middle. We have access to more information now, and this allows for opinions to vary greatly. Some who couldn't have cared any less about the rest of the world now chant "bomb Iraq!" in the streets--hell, it happened today at a vigil I was at--while others join protests and exclaim, "this is not my war!"
For the first time in who knows how long, my university has shown some minimal signs of actually caring about something other than parties, drinking and pop culture. All over campus, there were debates in sidewalk chalk. Walking near Martindale Hall, I saw the phrase "an eye for an eye" scrawled on the pavement. Originally, it had been the entire Gandhi quote saying "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," but the other side of the debate decided to erase that last bit. On the other side of campus, in front of Barnard Observatory, the phrase "thou shalt not kill" was left unharmed.
It actually impressed me to see this sort of "open" debate.
The vigil I went to was not one of peace, but one of prayer. We gathered with candles and wished for a swift and speedy end to the fighting. People who had no idea as to what the vigil was for yelled at us, some from a local restaurant, others from their cars. Little did they know, we were there because we support our soldiers. And by supporting them, we want them to live.
At dinner tonight, I found out my good friend Richard got arrested. Apparently, he decided to go up north for a while to join the demonstrations, and then called us from jail. I had no idea until I got home and read a news blurb, but he was one of roughly 4,000 people in Boston to protest against the war.
Knowing Richard, he didn't do anything wrong. However, we shall see.
I pray for a swift end to what has begun.
How it changed my life:moved me to tears as a remembered the crude comments yelled from trucks and restraunts as we bowed our heads in prayer.
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