Words of War; Words of Peace

I’m just back from picketing against the war (and Bush and Cheney and the Democrats who caved and killing and ignorance and, and, and ).

A rag-tag six of us were down at the busy, commuter-clogged corner of Sunset Boulevard and Capitol Highway from 5:30 to 6 this evening.

A few hundred cars cruise by, headed into the sultry August weekend.

A few drivers honk encouragement. Some give the thumbs up. Most glance at the signs then stare steadfastly straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. They are weary.

One, on a motor bike, flipped me off, which I found oddly uplifting.

I’ve been brandishing the same signs for several weeks. “On to Plan B: Impeach,” “War is Wrong,” “Leave Iraq to the Iraqis,” “Get Out Now!”

My slogans are getting stale. Time for a change, but to what?

Certainly events have changed while my signs have remained the same. In light of the latest giveaway of our privacy, I like the bumper sticker “You can’t take my rights, I’m using them.” But watching the dazed, home-bound commuters, I’m reminded of how few Americans use or even care about their rights.

No pithy new phrases come to me. Maybe I need something that strikes closer to home. “Hillsdale for Peace” or “100 Oregonians dead. For what?” Or, “Don’t call home; call Wu.” (The brevity of U.S. Rep. David Wu’s name is a sign writer’s Godsend.)

The most troubling part of this wrestling with new words was having the time to think about it but still coming up empty.

What if events changed in a bomb-blast instant? What if there were a catastrophic domestic terrorist attack?

What do our signs say then? “Peace now, more than ever!” “We told you it wasn’t working!”

Or do we leave the field at the corner of Sunset and Capitol to atavistic avengers with their signs: “United We Stand,” “These Colors don’t Run,” "America, Love it or Leave it!" etc.

What happens to the peace movement if the fear mongers are right, or if this nation is shown to be as vulnerable as Bush’s critics say he has left us?

Standing on the corner with my “War is Wrong” sign, I suddenly felt the fragility of it all — of the peace movement, of hope, of humanity, of life.

Maybe my new sign should read “End the Fragility!”

Would the commuters still honk? Would anyone give me the thumbs up? Or flip me off?

Or would they just keep driving, eyes on the road, headed for home?

Leibman's complaint...and mine

In a letter to the editor in this month’s Southwest Community Connection, Eric Leibman makes note of our Friday evening peace vigils and then writes, “As a Hillsdale resident, I want to point out that there are definitely people, myself included, who do not agree with the protests.”

I assume that his problem isn’t with protesting per se but with our reasons for protesting as the rest of the long letter is devoted to why he believes American forces must stay in Iraq.

He asks how we protesters plan to avoid the catastrophe that he believes will ensue if American forces withdraw.

He clearly believes the nations of the Middle East are incapable of solving their own problems without an American occupation. And of course there’s the question of maintaining Exxon/Mobil’s (he says “America’s) access to all that oil.

I don’t want to get into the logic or illogic of his arguments, the deceptions of the Bush Administration and the fact that Bush and Cheney are joined at the hip with the corrupt, despotic Saudis and rapacious, collusive Big Oil.

No, I was hoping that Leibman would focus in criticism on the protests themselves. Are they a bad idea? Are they misleading?

I believe they are a good idea, but the are clearly misleading if people seeing us conclude that people like Leibman don’t exist.

I invite Leibman and others of a like mind to come down with their own placards and put their slogans up against ours.

Mine says, “Wage Peace.” Theirs might say, “Wage War.”

Mine says, “Say ‘No!’ to War” Theirs might say, “Say ‘No!’ to Peace” or “Say ‘Yes!’ to War.”

Whatever they say, I’d stand side by side with fellow neighbor Leibman and his colleagues.

As I’ve noted, most commuters signal their approval of our anti-war view, but a few flip us off.
So Leibman might be heartened by support in the stream of homeward-bound traffic.

I hope that we all would find support for just being there and reminding people that this nation is in crisis, however you define it.

I’d like to see that corner become a kind of Speakers' Corner, like that in London’s Hyde Park, where all comers are welcomed. As much as we disagree, we share a belief in free and open public debate.

I’m glad Leibman wrote his letter to The Connection, now I wish he’d stand up for his views next to us at the corner of Sunset and Capitol.

It would do us all good.