Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of War Exhibit Comes to No.Cal

I'd like to give you another perspective about this exhibit. One that isn't being reported by the media even though military families are voicing their outrage at every opportunity. This exhibit looks innocent and honorable at first glance. But take a deeper look into the organization sponsoring it. EWO is not a memorial to honor the Fallen Heroes of the Iraq War. It is the AFSC's attempt to promote their political agenda by exploiting the deaths of America's sons and daughters who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It breaks my heart to read about military families who visit this exhibit, pouring their heart out to this organization when all the while, they are unknowingly furthering the intended agenda of the AFSC. An organization most, if not all, would despise if they only knew the truth.

If in fact this exhibit was purely to honor those who've died, would you not think the AFSC would have concern that so many military families protested against it in Dallas? We were alerted to the exhibit's stop here in Dallas just one week prior. The message came from a Gold Star mother who was fulfulling a promise she made to herself to fight for her son's honor. She wanted to alert other families to the dishonor she felt the AFSC was bringing to their loved one's sacrifice. She came from Louisianna to accompany us that day. Not only were we met with disdain and antipathy, but the exhibit organizers did not once ask why we felt the way we did. The Gold Star mother came with names of other mothers who also wanted their son's name removed from the exhibit as did others. We were told a letter had to be sent to the AFSC specifically requesting as much. It is an outrage that this organization never once asked these families for permission to use their loved one's name and yet the families were being forced to do as much to get the name removed.

It is not necessary to organize an "exhibit" to remind us of those heroes. They are in the hearts, thoughts, and prayers of military families every single day. We know the cost of war perhaps better than anyone and yet, we continue to support the efforts of our troops because unlike the AFSC, we don't believe our Marines and soldiers are fighting an unjust war nor do we believe their actions are criminal and should be prosecuted. No, we are not pro-war. No mother ever "wants" to send her son off to war. But sometimes war is the only answer when all other options have been exhausted. Would the AFSC rather Saddam still be in power? How many Iraqi shoes would you have on display then? Hundreds of thousands. Every life lost in this war is precious. We mourn every single one of them, both ours and the innocent Iraqi civilians. But the cost would have been so much greater had we not intervened and given them the hope for a future where liberation and democracy takes the place of internment and tyranny.