Remember the ARMY OF ONE slogan the military used? I always disliked that because, why be part of an army if you are the only one?. We can do better than that for our young men and women in wars. I am a peacemaker, not a warrior, but on this Iraq Moratorium day I vigiled alone.
Being out in the open and meeting people is difficult for me sometimes as a shy person. You can see by my figure I've been eating my powdermilk biscuits, and there are many places I'd rather be than looking like a middle-age crazy-woman standing with a sign on a windy street corner in my home town. I try to stay peaceful within myself and not worry about appearances, but it ain't easy.
The news never covers me. News vans have driven by me several times and show no interest whatsoever. I'm told any event drawing under 8 people is not worth doing. Still I continue, never knowing who I'll get to talk to or who sees my sign as they drive by. I don't know what they think about me. I only know I have to be there because troops are still living in the desert and fighting among innocent people using weapons and deadly force in our names; because the causes have been forgotten in the everyday lives of most people in this country.
I could end my vigil at any time and no one would notice but me and a few others in the peace community. Many others peacemakers are feeling discouraged, as am I. What is the world coming to when a surge has been authorized by a peace prize winner? But the only way to have a future is through eliminating violence and taking action on behalf of planet earth and world peace. This may be the age of violence, but it will be turned into the age of peace. The amount of turmoil between now and then is up to each of us and our connection to inner peace.
