Replies: 3 comments

Scott Lindsay responded very patiently to your "peace vigil at Lubec's Flatiron Corner" and I admire his restraint. I would just like to add:
Of course it would be devastating to "lie in bed, knowing that war is about to be fledged on your country". Maybe you should ASK YOURSELF how you would like living in a society where you were so oppressed you couldn't even whisper your true feelings about anything (even to a relative) without a threat of severe punishment and torture, or even death? How would you like to be totally dependent on a leader for food, education, etc. How would you like to be subject to the atrocities that Saddam's regime has inflicted on the Iraqis (most Muslims). According to a 2001 Amnesty International report, "victims of torture in Iraq are subjected to a wide range of forms of torture, including the gouging out of eyes, severe beatings and electric shocks... some victims have died as a result and many have been left with permanent physical and psychological damage."
How would you like that? I admire such men as Scott Lindsay for his willingness to put his current "comfortable" life, leave his family, and go halfway around the world for an indefinte period of time so you can continue to lead your "cozy, comfortable" life attend your little peace vigils. I thank the Lord every day for men and women like Scott who are willing to DO SOMETHING ABOUT these horrible dictators other than stand on a street corner and light a candle.

Posted by Pam MacDougall @ 04/10/2003 04:39 PM EST

I am glad you had the opportunity to gather in a public place and contemplate peace in a sometimes hostile world. Several days before your vigil in Lubec, I began the process of enlisting with the U.S. Army Reserves in Bangor. Though I have a rewarding career and a growing family, I am eager to contribute my services to a country that allows individuals unlimited potential, commensurate with their ambitions, a country that welcomes people around the world of all races and religions, a country where people, regardless of their social standing, participate in the democratic process, a country where volunteers are trained to defend the incomparable privileges we've earned as a young nation, and perpetuate those rights to others floundering in oppression. Our country is not perfect, but there is no place I would rather call home. Just as you can express yourself, free speech applies to us all. I fully agree with you that peace is better than war. There are very few soldiers who want to kill someone. This country is not engaged in a field trip to the Middle East. We are exercising force to reduce a demonstrated security threat to this country, disable a regime that sponsors and encourages terrorism, and support a new government of Iraqis that will allow the country to practice their culture and share in the prosperity of a democracy. Maybe sitting in a circle around a candle in Downeast Maine makes you feel good, but just as 12 years of diplomacy has proven ineffective, your efforts will not contribute to the resolution of this issue. We are not a British colony today because we fought, there is no slavery today, because we fought, Communism has not overtaken Europe, because we fought. Words can be powerful when wielded by those who can speak and listen. Sometimes, these efforts fall short. I do not want my country to cower to irrational zealots that blame the stagnation of their countries on the success of ours. We are obligated to fight and defeat our enemy. I pray for every soldier on foreign soil and those who stand guard stateside. I believe this war is justified and we and the world and even you, will redeem the benefits upon victory.

Posted by Scott Lindsay @ 04/10/2003 03:44 PM EST

War is horrible. The last three weeks is hopefully the finale to a most gruesome war that has been waged on the people of Iraq and its neighbors for the last three decades. The current effort, like a 4th of July show, is marked by an explosive show of light power & color.
Yes, we are ending a war that has claimed the lives of over 200,000 innocent Iraqi citizens during the reign of saddam. We are killing the perpetrators. Some innocents have died. But what other nation values life & mercy more than ours. What other nation's soldiers would, after accidently killing civilians, beg for forgiveness from their loved ones, bring the bodies to a mosque, help bury the dead, bind up the wounded, feed the hungry. What other country would transport wounded enemy soldiers on the same med copter to the same US hospital for the same medical treatment as its own sons and daughters. We are bringing in food for the hungry, water for the thirsty. What other country mourns our actions so much while the people of Iraq dance a new dance of freedom.

We are, admittedly, over-qualified to wage the very war which we detest so much, wagering our lives & the lives of our children for the future of an oppressed people. . . even if it may not be the only agenda of our government.
We beat our own breasts in horror, but continue to develop and refine weapons so powerful and accurate that they penetrate 60 feet of dirt & concrete, obliterate the enemy, but don't destroy entire neighborhoods as was done by Hitler in WWII or like we did in Hiroshima.
We have no legal obligation or right to free the oppressed, and forty years hence, few will remember our efforts. Likely, they will hate us.

We are Americans, an oxy-moron, a contradiction in terms. But, my friends, we are a good people, doing the right thing. Let us join the Iraqi people in their dance and their tears. Hand them back their flag and their future. Both of our nations will have lost someone and something in this 30 year war.

Mourn with those who mourn and then leap for joy for redemption draws near.