6 years of weekly candlelight vigils end - Candlelight Vigil No. 302
Last edited Mon Jan 2, 2012, 04:31 PM - Edit history (1)
Candlelight Vigil No. 302, 12/28/11
(posted with the author's permission from: http://candlelightvigils.blogspot.com/2011/12/candlelight-vigil-no-302-122811.html)
Last night's vigil hosted by John Fortier and me drew numerous horn honks and waves of support, some of the best response the vigil has received in its nearly six years. It was joined by the 50 ish couple who often join, usually for a few minutes. I told them and told John that the inner voice within me is saying it is time to end this vigil.
Six years ago, shortly before Christmas of 2005, that inner voice gently urged the vigil to begin and provided the words for the vigil sign. This came right after President Bush was asked how many Iraqis had been killed in a war he ordered in March, 2003. As I recall it, he shrugged his shoulders and replied, "30,000 more or less" with no spark of compassion in his eyes and in an indifferent tone of voice.
His words came after years of heartache for me, watching the Afghan War and especially the war and occupation of the men, women and children of Iraq. The explosions, shootings and beheadings, the kidnappings and the rivers of blood, the mothers crying out in pain as their loved ones were being killed, some of them children, while other children were orphaned. Two million Iraqis fled their homes and 2 1/2 million Iraqis fled their country. As I held them dear, I held dear as well the U.S. and allied soldiers and their families and the horrific price they were paying as I listened to U.S. mothers who had lost their sons in Iraq, hearing their voices quiver and watching the tears roll down their cheeks.
But now the inner voice is saying to end this vigil, even as Iraq may fall apart as explosions continue to rock that dysfunctional nation. And the bloodletting in Afghanistan is horrific and spills into Pakistan, as fear and hatred for the U.S. grows. In Iraq over 1 million U.S. soldiers served and 4,487 of them paid with their lives, 32,200 more soldiers with family support are bearing severe injuries such as brain damage, paralysis or loss of limbs, while perhaps a quarter million soldiers are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, with thousands of them living homeless on the streets.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are dead and more are being killed every day. This is what the U.S. has to show for its Iraq invasion. A trillion dollars gone as well and many millions of dollars more will be spent in the years to come to provide medical care to our severely injured veterans. Imagine what the price for Afghanistan will be, a 10 1/2 year old war still unfolding.
My son Kyle pointed out that if Americans had to pay for these wars now with a 75% income tax rather than having the cost put on the taxpayer credit card for future payment and if the draft was reinstated, the American people would no longer be indifferent to the wars and all of the suffering their government is causing others. I agree.
Despite the pain the vigil represents and our caring for everyone who has been effected by these wars, it has been a pleasure the last two of these six years holding these vigils with peace activist John Fortier, a Korean War veteran. He has held a separate peace vigil every Friday since just before President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq in 2003. John is a retired school teacher and a husband of 53 years. He is a father, grandfather and great-grandfather and a kind and giving man, who at 78 years of age has so much energy, he volunteer teaches and is involved with the Occupy Movement.
I plan to host one more peace vigil in part to thank people for their support over these six years. And dear reader, thank you for your support as well. I look forward to where that inner voice will lead next.
Dick
If you would like to understand how the U.S. government led the American people to the Iraq War and Occupation, please see an extraordinary video, "Leading To War,"
...that John shared with me. It is archival news footage from CBS, PBS and other major news organizations. Even if you watch just the first few minutes of it, you will understand how this war was orchestrated.