"Did you lose anyone over there," asked a 30 ish woman pushing her baby in a stroller. "It seems like people forget that it's happening -- they stop paying attention. It's good that you get out here and remind them."
It's sad to think most Americans could forget a 61/2 year old war in which 4,352 U.S. soldiers so far have lost their lives, while another 35,000 have been severely injured and over a trillion dollars to date has been wasted.
It's sad to think Americans could forget their nation invaded Iraq in violation of international laws and the U.S. Constitution. That over a million Iraqis have been killed, including children, and vastly more have been severely injured. And how many children have been orphaned no-one knows.
But forgetting the war can happen when the U.S. news media gives it nearly no coverage and the military censors what coverage it does receive. In America we don't see the death and destruction our government has caused nor the lockdown in which Iraqis must live.
And with no draft most Americans don't have to know. Instead, we have a professional military supplemented by an army of highly paid mercenaries.
Now that our government can ignore the rule of law, we must hope the military and those mercenaries aren't used to conquer and occupy us, for what is to stop them.
In any case, we already feel the financial impact of wasting our money on massive spending on weapons and wars. A 30 ish woman joined last night's vigil not so much to support it but to plead for work.
She hasn't worked since last year, and her boyfriend, a bus driver lost his job as well. "You have been out here for at least a year," she said, as she asked for help in locating a possible job. "I'm asking everybody," she added in desperation.
"I was there [in Iraq]," said a 30 ish man as walked up with his friend of about the same age. "I did two tours of duty there with the Navy. They can have that damned place even with the oil!"
"We've got to switch to renewable energy," his friend stated. "I agree in part so we can stop putting lives like your friend's at risk and so we can stop killing others to get their oil."
That comment startled both men. They nodded their heads in agreement and one and then the other firmly shook my hand.
As they began to walk away, a 30 ish man, a passenger in a car, called out "Thank you for doing that. Jesus loves you!"
"And may Jesus love you as well," I replied. And dear reader, may Jesus love everyone including those the U.S. government calls our enemies.
May he love the Iraqi people and also the Americans who've paid so severe a price in this war even if they're forgotten by many of their countrymen.
Dick
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