Five Years Too Many

Corvallis Alternatives To War, Veterans For Peace Chapter 132, Albany Peaceseekers, and assorted social concerns committees from the progressive churches in town came together for our Five Years Too Many march and rally on Saturday, March 22nd. It was the first sunny, non-rainy day in goodness knows how long. We figured right then and there that the universe is on our side. How wonderful to be getting ready for the rally--setting up the stage, hauling tables and folding chairs, putting out literature, starting up the soup--all on a beautiful day, rather than in a deluge of rain. Of course I had my handy sidekick Aaron there to help--being paid in cash and promises of desserts makes him willing to do whatever.

Our (the planning committee's) vision was to have the march start at the park by the river, march through downtown, end up at the rally in front of the courthouse, and serve food and drinks to keep the crowd from drifting away. On all fronts we were successful.





Joe brought from home this beautifully self-contained set-up, fired it up, got the water boiling and the veggies all cut up and voila! Fifteen gallons of vegan lentil and split pea soup! Since Joe was the one who planned the route and was to lead the march with his drum (along with about 50 other drummers), he put me in charge of stirring the soup and off he went.

To go with the soup we had about 12-14 loaves of bread donated by Big River, assorted chips, dips and roll-ups brought by community members, along with homemade brownies and cookies, and a big jug of water. We served everything Food Not Bombs style (no charge)--it felt really good to give away food, much more fun than selling it. People were so appreciative and readily dropped money in the donation jars. (The Co-op donated sugarcane, compostable soup bowls and we set up recycling buckets, compost buckets and garbage cans. When we cleaned up at the end of the day it was gratifying to see how little garbage 450 people had made. Joe took home the compost, and we took home the plastic to wash and re-use. Hooray! We're learning how to have a lower impact on our environment even when we gather in large numbers.)





No, Aaron is not that short. Trevor (on the left) is just that tall. Trevor, Joe, Leah and Bart are heading off to the riverside park to greet the marchers and start the march to the Courthouse.

(The night before some of Aaron's friends had gone straight from school to wait in line to see Obama speak in Eugene. There is a strong feeling of Obama-mania at his school, so somehow I think that makes it easier on him to be seen at things like peace marches. Or maybe it's just resignation after all these years. Whatever it is, he seems more engaged and more comfortable with our friends, who are all politically-involved.)





Courtney took this from the top steps of the Courthouse as the marchers were starting to arrive and fill the space. The count once everyone arrived was 475, which filled the Courthouse lawn quite nicely.





Above in the green t-shirt is Cassandra Robertson, who was our headliner entertainment and playing the banjo is her husband (and sound man) James. Cassandra bills herself as a modern-day troubadour. Her songs are all original--and really great. You can check out her music at www.cassandrarobertson.com and James is Mr. Solar and you can check out his work at www.abundantsolar.com

To the left of them is Aaron, with his 5-gallon bucket/drum. What a danged cute boy.





If you've never heard a Raging Grannies group sing, you've missed something! Ohmygosh, they are soooooooo clever, irreverent, and so right-on. They take songs that everyone knows and change the words around to poke fun at what's going on. I can only remember one right now: to the tune of "When The Saints....Come Marching" they sing their song,"When Everyone....Has Human Rights". All the Raging Grannies groups around the country share their lyrics, so it's really the best of what many uppity, outrageous and talented women have cooked up. Our Corvallis group, I think, is particularly active and well-known. They've performed in Portland, Salem (at state senate hearings), Eugene, and lots of time in Corvallis.





Then a new generation of songwriters and performers took the stage (not scheduled, but they stole the show). These three girls--two sisters and a friend--sang a couple of original songs, very political and very funny. The sisters' dad is a veteran of the Iraq war and the whole family is working actively to end the war. The girls have been to Salem to testify in front of the state legislature. Last summer they were at the Farmers Market every Saturday passing out Kucinich literature. They've held IMPEACH signs with us during football season. I like these kids. They are always on the front lines and full of energy--great family to have in the community.






Leah, the founder of the local Veterans For Peace chapter, spoke about the Winter Soldier hearings she had just returned from. They were held in Silver Springs, MD, on March 13 to 16. I could say lots about Leah's speech--she's passionate and articulate and cares deeply about people--but the most poignant was when she started to cry and had to stop speaking. It felt like we all joined her at that moment, in feeling the suffering and tragedy that we all want to stop.

(Some background: On January 31, 1971, more than 125 Vietnam veterans representing every major combat unit to see action in the war gathered at a Howard Johnson's hotel in Detroit to heal a nation and themselves. They risked everything--their careers, their friendships, their families--to talk about the atrocities they had committed or witnessed in Vietnam. These veterans saw themselves as winter soldiers battling against the wrongs of the war and the brutal training that had made them capable of unthinkable violence.

The Winter Soldier II hearings were organized by the Iraq Veterans Against the War, but also included veterans from the war in Afghanistan. I tried to listen to some of the hearings as they were happening, but had to turn the radio off because I couldn't hear over the sound of my own sobbing. I couldn't imagine how Leah sat through it for days. When I asked, she said she had to be escorted out at one point because she was hysterical. At least they were better organized this time around and had counselors available for help.)

There was no mainstream media coverage of the hearings. They were streamed live on various websites and could be heard on Pacifica radio stations and on Democracy Now! but most Americans had no idea they were happening. So we were lucky to hear directly from someone who had been there. Thanks, Leah.

All in all we counted the day a big success, even though the poor people of Iraq are still no better off. Nor are the US soldiers caught in the middle of this mire. But it's not just about wanting to stop the war. It's also about creating the kind of community we want, the kind of world we want. That was the message of our keynote speaker, Dr Joseph Orozco, the head of Peace Studies at OSU, and that seemed to strike a note of truth with the crowd. The people who marched in the march and came to the rally were, to my eyes, people engaged in their community and in the world, and working to make both better.

But there was no coverage from the local paper and boy oh boy they are hearing about that. Whenever we complain ("we" meaning peace people) that they aren't covering what's happening in Israel/Palestine or Iraq or Afghanistan, they counter that they are a local paper and that's their focus. Well,.........then where the heck were they when 475 local people were marching noisily through downtown and then rallying for hours in front of the County Courthouse, with local performers and speakers?!? Well, that opened up a whole conversation, through letters to the editor and a formal apology from the paper, etc. So....I bet they'll be there next time.

Other exciting things came out of the rally that day, but that's a story for another time.

Thanks for reading this, and keep checking back. There'll be more soon,

Valori