As I awoke this morning it was from a nightmare. It was early in America's Iraq War and as a show of solidarity with its troops, Americans in large numbers had gathered to kick a soccer ball back and forth and then send that soccer ball to Iraq.
In turn, American soldiers in Iraq had kicked a soccer ball back and forth and in the hands of a general, had presented it to the crowd. The crowd kicked it back and forth and asked the general to bring it back to the soldiers in Iraq and tell them how it to was shared, and is now being returned to them with deep appreciation.
There was no awareness on the part of the crowd or the soldiers that this war was a tragedy, only being made worse with all of the killings, maimings and orphanings. And in this dream, I did not raise my voice to try to stop it, even though in real life, I opposed the war before it was launched in peaceful protests with others.
There was no reference in this dream to my later having conducted 303 peace vigils over six years, many times with no-one else visibly in attendance.
As I layed in bed, I practiced deep breathing to calm myself, and then got out of bed, only to soon return to practice more deep breathing. My heart aches for all of the families, Iraqi, U.S. and U.S. allied families that have paid such an enormous price in blood and misery in this war.
Dick
Yesterday, 42 Iraqis including children were killed and 62 were injured in this ongoing violence. http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2013/04/18/more-baghdad-bloodshed-42-killed-62-wounded/
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