Four Years
Four years ago tonight, I was sitting in my bedroom, relaxing and cross-stitching, unaware that Bush had finally made The Speech about Iraq. When my partner called me from work to say that we were bombing Iraq, I thought, "Yeah? We've been bombing several days already, but it's not yet 'official.'" I just hadn't heard.
And it's not that somehow making the conflict "official" made it any better or worse, but it did somehow make it more real.
The next day, I called in sick to work and T and I went up to the city to join in an emergency protest. Twenty hours later, I was finally released from jail - wrongfully and arbitrarily charged with Reckless Conduct - and even angrier than I had been on the ride up in the first place.
4 years later we're still in Iraq, and I'm no less angry, and certainly no less disappointed in my country's leadership.
Discovering UUism has helped my spiritual growth as a Peace activist. In early 2003, the stirrings of pacifism were surely alive and well as I joined a weekly Iraq protest at the corner by the local gas station with a handful of other local progressives, but it is the UU community that has helped me to truly solidify those beliefs and show me that I'm just a small part of a huge, loving and peaceful movement.
UUism has also helped me remain inspired. Thank you, UUs.
As a side note, if you'd like to see peace in your lifetime, I encourage you to learn about Dennis Kucinich, 2008's only true peace candidate.
And it's not that somehow making the conflict "official" made it any better or worse, but it did somehow make it more real.
The next day, I called in sick to work and T and I went up to the city to join in an emergency protest. Twenty hours later, I was finally released from jail - wrongfully and arbitrarily charged with Reckless Conduct - and even angrier than I had been on the ride up in the first place.
4 years later we're still in Iraq, and I'm no less angry, and certainly no less disappointed in my country's leadership.
Discovering UUism has helped my spiritual growth as a Peace activist. In early 2003, the stirrings of pacifism were surely alive and well as I joined a weekly Iraq protest at the corner by the local gas station with a handful of other local progressives, but it is the UU community that has helped me to truly solidify those beliefs and show me that I'm just a small part of a huge, loving and peaceful movement.
UUism has also helped me remain inspired. Thank you, UUs.
As a side note, if you'd like to see peace in your lifetime, I encourage you to learn about Dennis Kucinich, 2008's only true peace candidate.
