Commentary
The following is the statement given by General Secretary Mary Ellen McNish at the final full exhibition of Eyes Wide Open in Chicago. For more information about the Eyes Wide Open Exhibition please go to: http://www.afsc.org/eyes.
Chicago, May 24, 2007 - The American Friends Service Committee, as a Quaker and pacifist organization, stands against all wars as a way to resolve global conflicts. But we believe it is crucial, particularly this Memorial Day, for this nation to remember the sacrifice of those killed in the Iraq War, while at the same time condemning the war that took their lives.
Equally important, this nation must see with their eyes wide open, the human cost of this war, so that never again will we blindly vote for war. We began this memorial in January 2004, just after the 500th US combat death. Today, we come back to Chicago, its birthplace, with a memorial, tragically, seven times larger than when we began.
For decades commanders in chief have justified the continuation of wars based on not allowing the previous deaths to be in vain. Future deaths of our sons and daughters can never justify past deaths.
The U.S. death toll and the deaths of Iraqis have only accelerated, not diminished. We invite all, whether they are for or against the war, to come and walk through this field, look at the names, the ages, the memorabilia that explains the lives of these loved ones – and then ask yourself the question – Is this war worth it? If you say “No, it is not worth it,” then join us in ending this war.
We have also an 8-foot high, 1,000 square foot memorial to the estimated 650,000 Iraqis killed in the war. To visualize 650,000 Iraqi deaths, you would have to imagine 185 people for each pair of boots here today.
The human cost of this war is intolerable and will weigh on the conscience of this nation for generations. This war must end now, not in three months, not next year, not after the next elections, but now.
During World War II, we condemned the unfair and unjust internment of Japanese Americans; and we fed both Germans and Jews following the liberation of the Nazi death camps.
Sadly, this venomous attack on AFSC is nothing new. It is an old game that is so dangerous to democracy, because it attempts to instill fear to silence voices of conscience, especially against a war effort. We are not afraid. Speaking out politically is at the heart of true democracy.
Our values embrace all humankind. We believe in the essential humanity of all people. We call what we do “speaking truth to power.” We also call it being full citizens in a democracy. And we call it pacifism.
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