Marching for Peace

“Nice War, Ass-face!”

Sentiments expressed on placard at 03/18/07 Peace Rally & March

“…Christianity says that you should love your enemy. It certainly doesn’t say that you should vaporize his children. But it goes much further than that. It says not just abide your enemy, not just tolerate him, love him.

Well it is important to ask, what does that mean? Is this just window dressing, or do the Christians mean it?”

Carl Sagan – The Varieties of Scientific Experience

I observed Portland’s Peace Rally and March on Sunday. According to the Oregonian, there were likely more than ten thousand people demonstrating a desire to end the war and get our troops back home.

In a stunning example of cognitive dissonance, a tiny portion of ‘peace’ marchers appeared to be practicing terrorism, hatred and/or police-baiting. These marchers proved to be the exception to the rule.

Creating a solemn moment, these participants use draped coffins to educate viewers like me that for every American casualty, there are at least fifty Iraqi casualties.

Can a smile in a parade change the world?

Walking around with a camera in your hand tends to make you an observer and not a participant. Watching the peace rally, I wondered if it could possibly do any good. Do the sheer numbers send a message? Here then was the day’s most optimistic moment for me, when I saw these students marching together, their hands joined and their banners and signs suggesting positive alternatives for the future.

What would a Peace Rally be without the rally?