MEMORIAL DAY
May 25, 2009
The newspapers, televisions and radios
are full of oh-so-real,
moving, and utterly sad stories
of American families
who have lost loved ones
to numerous wars across the seas,
of American families
who care for ever-more wounded loved ones,
returned from numerous wars across the seas.
In our sadness,
in our remembering of, and respect for our dead and wounded,
I fear we implicitly justify and re-justify
all our wars,
I fear we justify and re-justify
the killing “we” did of “them”,
while we condemn and re-condemn
all the suffering “they” did to “us”.
In our sadness,
in our remembering of, and respect for our dead and wounded,
I fear we implicitly state and re-iterate
that “we” were right and good to go to war,
that “they” were wrong and bad, and needed to be fought.
All of this takes us no closer
to our common humanity,
across and inside borders,
north-south-east-west,
no closer to our common life-fullness and mortality.
Today,
we should not remember and commemorate,
and light a candle for
"our" soldiers and civilians ,
killed and wounded in wars and conflicts.
Today,
we should remember and commemorate,
and light a candle for
all soldiers,
"theirs" and "ours",
all civilian victims,
"ours" and "theirs",
and all surviving family members and loved ones,
of "us" and "them".
Today,
we should dedicate ourselves,
again,
to live and work to end all wars
and other acts of political aggression and domination,
"ours" and "theirs".
Today,
we should dedicate ourselves,
again,
to another world is possible and necessary.
No more “us” and “them”;
one people, one planet.
* * *
Thank-you / Gracias a la vida
Grahame Russell