Friday, April 07, 2006

A Letter from St. Louis

My post about the display of tombstones at a St. Louis college campus provoked visceral responses around here (myself included), and those commenting involved military widows, Soldiers' Angels, and some of the folks involved in putting on the display.

Yesterday, I received this from some of the folks involved, and wanted to share it with you. I'm going to save any comment on the stated purpose and philosophy of such groups and displays for another day, and just let you see what they had to say:

The College Progressives for Peace, a student club at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, in response to a number of requests by bereaved military families for their loved ones names to be removed from our symbolic tombstone memorial, would like to clarify our purpose and intent for the memorial that was displayed from Monday, March 27th thru Thursday, March 30th at St. Louis Community College-Meramec.

Without hesitation, we have respectfully honored all requests to remove tombstones from the memorial display throughout the week. While our event has concluded, we will be sure to pass along any additional requests we receive to the St. Louis Instead of War Coalition, the creator of the display. I can personally assure you that they have been just as quick to respond to such requests in the past.

We are truly sorry if this display has caused you additional pain or hardship. Causing additional suffering to those who have already endured so much heartache was never the intent of our display.

For what it is worth, our club made great efforts to create a memorial that would truly pay tribute to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in their selfless service to our nation. We truly stand in awe of the bravery, courage, and willingness of these brave men and women to sacrifice for our freedoms. We chose to display the symbolic tombstone memorial in an effort to raise the awareness of the generally apathetic youth of our nation. We had hoped it would be a powerful, yet respectful, reminder to many that there is still a long and costly occupation being waged by our nation

We made a thoughtful effort to keep the events of Peace Education Week in separate areas from the tombstone display, so as to not utilize the names for political purposes. The only banners in the memorial area read, "Honor the Dead," and "Count the Costs," in between two America Flags; an additional banner read "At each end of the rifle, we are all the same;" and another additional American Flag stood alone in the middle of the display.

We also attempted to keep the events of Peace Education Week from being an anti-war protest. Instead we were seeking to educate people as to the "Real" costs of war -meaning the unknown, unseen, and forgotten costs of war. While we did have some speakers speak out against this war, we also had speakers educating people about PTSD, the lack of benefits for our returning veterans, and the effects of depleted uranium on our soldiers, the Iraqi people, and the environment. We had speakers reveal tactics used in military recruitment so that young men and women could make a more informed decision before enlisting. Other speakers discussed topics such as: our nations establishment of a military industrial complex; the large economic costs of war; what the money spent on the current war could have done for domestic programs at home; how we sent our soldiers into conflict without giving them the proper equipment to protect their lives; the dislocation war causes; the danger to our civil liberties in a time of war; information about conflict areas in other parts of the world; and other wide-ranging topics.

Our other main purpose behind peace education week was to work to find creative and innovative ways to create a more peaceful world; a world where we may one day utilize the courage and bravery of our young men and women for purposes other than war. On this positive side of our event, we had speakers covering topics such as: the need to create a world democracy similar to our own; how to create a declaration of peace; how to use active non-violence and civil disobedience to resolve conflict; how to unite as a movement to be a viable force for change; how to stay true to ones conscience in times of conflict and crisis; how to find adventure and work for a better world without joining the military; and other ways to overcome the countless obstacles to peace.

While we do not apologize for expressing beliefs and searching for solutions that may be different from you and yours, we do wholeheartedly apologize for any additional pain or suffering we have inadvertently caused, and for our inability to create a symbolic memorial that would only be filled with honor and dignity for those who have served. We would like to express our gratitude that the majority of the letters we received recognized and respected our right to express our opinions and beliefs. Thank you for respecting this fundamental right that your family members have given so much for to protect.

We also would like to assure you that the core members of our group are constantly evaluating the work we do in the pursuit of peace and progress, and will take considerable time to reflect on our Peace Education Week –especially the use of the symbolic tombstone memorial display. There were admittedly factors we did not consider. These included: not displaying the rank of the fallen soldiers –we did not realize this would be viewed as disrespectful to the considerable time and effort that went into achieving his or her rank; placing the names of the fallen Iraqi civilians with those of the fallen soldiers –we intended to recognize that there have indeed been casualties to those whom our nation is claiming to liberate, and did not realize there were concerns that these civilians might not fully be accepted as “innocent” civilians; and we also did not realize there was a sizeable group that was upset with any sort of display bearing the names of their deceased loved ones.

We do assure you that should we use any such displays in the future, we will take the time to reflect on this experience and make any changes to our display in order to make this a more respectful way to honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our nation.

Sincerely and Peaceably,

The College Progressives for Peace
Warren Popp, Erica Popp, and Megan King
Founding Members

posted by Pam @ 8:13 AM |

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