10 years ago, we attacked Iraq.
I remember going to marches in the cold of winter to oppose the invasion, and how fruitless it all felt when the bombs started to fall. I remember kids in my high school classroom cheering when the invasion was announced.
And I remember the predictions of all those wild-eyed leftists, that this would be a quagmire, a bloodbath, that it would just cause more violence and more hatred.
10 years later, and Iraq is torn apart by violence, thousands upon thousands of Iraqis are dead and thousands of U.S. troops, and the U.S. is billions of dollars deeper in debt, and dammit we were right.
I'm not giving up on peace because when we do, when we give up on creative possibilities outside of the march of war, then Iraq happens.
I'm not giving up on peace because there are so many wonderful and creative people working for it, like the members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams and more importantly the courageous people and organizations that they partner with.
I'm not giving up on peace because war shatters lives, including the lives of the young people we send off to fight it.
I'm not giving up on peace because of the voices of those like my father and other veterans for peace who have been there and have fought and have returned to say that war must end.
It's easy to give up on peace. It seems so soft. So unrealistic. So silly.
But this Lent, I'm not giving up on peace.
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