Imagine a country with a pacifist constitution that prohibits its military from marching off to war. Since the end of World War II Japan has had such a constitution that limits the use of force to a strictly defensive capacity.
Japanese soldiers have been sent every February to the city of Sapporo where they build structures and sculptures from snow and ice. While the military refers to it as a training exercise, citizens throughout the whole country enjoy it as a Snow Festival.
Perhaps the Snow Festival, made possible by the Snow Soldiers, represents some fragile alternative to war. Just imagine.
Video by FutureShorts
Wow. I got goosebumps, and it wasn’t from the snow.
Maybe we could get the Navy in San Diego to build sand sculptures for all the holidays. A Santa for Christmas, an Easter Bunny for Easter, even some kind of military structure for Memorial Day and the 4th of July and Labor Day and May 1st could be workers laboring over there tasks.
ss- what a terrific suggestion!
Wonderful concept! and yes, ss has a great idea.
Thanks for sharing this, Anna, and worth sending on.