The self immolation of Malachi Ritscher last Friday, as well as the election results this morning have finally prompted me to attempt a question I've been thinking about for at least a year: how and when to withdraw from Iraq? I believe the invasion Iraq was a tragic mistake that would cause much suffering. So it has. And while I feel frustration and anger from this, I try not to let those emotions distract me from the present. Many are dying and suffering because of our presence there, but I believe many will die and suffer when we leave. When we left South Asia we seemingly abandoned those who had relied upon us including many South Vietnamese and Hmong allies; the same will happen in Iraq when we leave.
In the past few months I've been sitting with two books from those who directly experienced the Vietnam War. Ch° Kh°g's True Love – How I Learned & Practiced Social Change in Vietnam is her autobiography and a history of the School for Youth and Social Service (SYSS); the exile of Ch° Kh°g, Thich Nhat Hanh and other Vietnamese from their country, the Paris Peace Accords; the efforts to help Vietnamese refugees ("boat people"), and the establishment of Plum Village. From this book I learned how even purposely non-partisan Buddhists concerned only with social welfare programs were attacked, murdered, and imprisoned after the Communists victory -- but also by the Diem regime. In fact, most all Vietnamese suffered greatly under the communists. I learned about the many disappointments of the American peace movement, and gained some insight into those Vietnamese who had burned themselves in protest. (Nhat Chi Mai was a friend of Kh°g's.)
The second book is The Raft Is Not the Shore, a transcript of discussions between Thich Nhat Hanh and Daniel Berrigan, the famous Catholic peace activist. They discuss self immolation, war, peace, governments, and communities of resistance.
The only thing I'm sure of is that there are insights in these experiences of Vietnam that are relevant to today, but they have not yet solidified such that I know how to apply them. I'm presently struggling with the following beliefs:
My only thought despite these depressing circumstances is that we still must promote human rights, civic culture and peace while calmly accepting the possibility of further terrorist attacks against us. What else can we do?
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