MEMORIAL DAY - By the light of a candle
May 30, 2011
By Grahame Russell
Memorial Day is upon us again. Across the United States, towns fill with red, white and blue flags, and with a plethora of war flags, Airborne troop this, Vietnam vets group that, Iraq batallion this, and on and on. Parades wind along streets, ending up at local cemeteries.
The media reports compelling stories of American families who have lost loved ones in wars across the planet, who care for, ever-more, wounded loved ones returned from wars across the planet.
In our sadness, in our remembering of our dead and wounded, we justify and re-justify our wars and the killing and suffering "we" did to "them", while condemning and lamenting the killing and suffering "they" did to "us".
"The real story of war is no story at all. Blackness, sadness, silence." (A Soldier of the Great War)
"If I describe what I saw of the war, you'll know it from the point of view of the living, and that is the smallest part of the truth. The truth itself is what was finally apprehended by those who didn't come back." (A Soldier of the Great War")
In our remembering of our dead and wounded, in our sadness and anger at our losses, we implicitly state and re-iterate that "we" were right and good to go to war against them, that "they" were wrong and bad to fight against us.
All of this takes us no closer to our common humanity inside and across borders, north-south-east-west, no closer to our common life-fullness and mortality.
Today, I light a candle for and remember and commemorate all soldiers, "theirs" and "ours", wounded and killed; a candle for all civilian victims wounded and killed, and for all surviving family members and loved ones, of "us" and "them".
By the light of the candle, I dedicate myself again to live and work to end all wars and repression, and all other acts of political aggression and domination, "ours" and "theirs". I dedicate myself again, to another world is possible and necessary.
No more "us" and "them", no more "good guys" and "bad guys".
One planet, one life, one people.
Thank-you / Gracias a la vida
Grahame Russell
info@rightsaction.org
www.rightsaction.org
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