By Jeri Reed
Originally posted at Fire on the Mountain
I stood out on the street Monday night with about fifteen others. Two members of the Oklahoma National Guard, one a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, both about to deploy to Iraq. Another mother whose two sons have been in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan, one son is in the Green Zone right now. Safer? She worries that he is in the middle of Baghdad, in the middle of Iraq, surrounded by millions of Iraqis who could one day get sick and tired of the American occupation once and for all.
A big supporter of IVAW who distributes their newsletter in his small Oklahoma town drove up from his farm to join us. His Marine son was killed in Iraq on September 6 last year, my birthday, he is my birthday soldier, which probably all of us have by now. We were supposed to be commemorating the death of the 4000th soldier in Iraq. But people weren’t even honking any more like they used to. I’m sure a lot of people drove by thinking we were just foolish for even bothering. What’s another dead soldier in a sea of so many? What’s another dead Iraqi?
We keep standing out there even though it really does not do much to end the occupations. I wouldn’t know what else to do. When my son rolled across the Iraq border five years ago on March 21, 2003, it became my eternal responsibility to do something, even if it seemed hopeless, which it does. But maybe that is what a lot of people think—why bother?
Read the rest of this powerful piece HERE
Thanks Jeri, for sharing.
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This is a very moving piece, but long. Be patient.