If You Want Peace
Work For Justice
Memorial Day Address Remembering Civilian Casualties
Today is a solemn day for us to gather here. We have heard or will hear many speeches that extol the sacrifice of those who fought for our country. Each fought to uphold an ideal that others on another side disagreed with. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. Decoration Day was born out of a sorrow felt by many people, not only for their soldiers who went to war and never returned, but for the "others" who had died and were buried in a foreign soil. In the case of the original Decoration Day, the soil was that of our southern states. Decoration Day was a time to clear away the brush on the graves of the "others" who had fallen in a touching, but belated recognition of their humanity. A touch of kindness to a stranger whose mother would have wanted her son remembered, but was unable to clear the brush away herself. Clearly this speaks to the humanity upon which this day was founded.
Today, I stand here to remind you of the countless "others" who have died in many conflicts over many years. Those who were neither fighting on one side nor fighting on the other, but, rather were caught in the middle. These fellow human beings lost their hopes, dreams and their lives in the crossfire, the strayed bombs, a blind artillery shell or a careless sword.
Many of us have heard the stories of civilian casualties from conflicts that occurred ever so long ago. We hear of civilian casualties today if we dare listen from Iraq. As we know, these victims of war will never to see another day dawn. These stories have been repeated countless times over countless times.
We remember the civilians slaughtered by the darkened hoards under Hitlers
nightmare
We remember the Armenian slaughtered by the Turks in their homeland
We remember the civilians slaughtered by the Japanese in Nankeen
We remember the Japanese civilians vaporized and those sickened in Hiroshima and
Nagasaki
We remember the Korean civilians at No Gun Ri
We remember the Vietnamese civilians at innumerable places
including My Lai
We remember the Iraqi civilians
Those who died under their previous ruler
Those who died under the US sponsored sanctions and
Those who are victims of our current efforts to change the world.
There are endless lists of those civilians who have died in places that can be named. There are even longer lists of civilians who have died without any surviving witnesses to their obliteration.
Civilians have always been caught in the middle of armies on the move, armies in battle and armies exerting control. We must ask ourselves "is there a better way to change the world than by sending armies into the breach with all their destructive power." We must ask ourselves if there is a better way to honor the humanity of the original Decoration Day. I believe that each of us knows in his or her heart that there is a better way. That patience, justice and respect can help prevent the ever-widening funeral pyre that modern war brings.
Decoration Day allows us to take a moment to pause and search our souls to rediscover the messages of the spiritual teachers who taught us to love our enemies and that without justice there can be no peace.
Today this Memorial Day we should, you should remember those who were lost in conflict by dedicating ourselves to the task of building institutions of peace.
I thank you for this time together. Go in Peace Believe in Peace Make Peace.
Wayne Coste