The Heart of the Matter

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."
-- Mohandas K. Gandhi


It happened...that dreaded news...my son a Special Operations Combat Controller...his best friend...another Red Beret was killed in Afghanistan...while relieved our family was spared...this time...my heart broke for his family...for all those who knew and loved him...Mark Forester...son, brother, friend, comrade...gone. 


I turned on the news..the day Mark Forester died, September 29th, 2010, the week the WAR in Afghanistan entered it's 10th year...a DECADE...the top stories were about the Tea Party, the mid-term elections, the weather, the economy...and buried in the middle of the broadcast...like an after thought...oh yeah...by the way...there have been 1,200 killed in the Afghan war that is now entering a decade...no emotion...just a bit of 'news'...


Where is the OUTRAGE??? Or are we just too busy...with our comfortable lives to ask the hard questions of our elected leaders...they tell us that we 'need' to be in Afghanistan. Why I ask?  We have been there for 10 years...are we going to accept another 10-years?  How about another 20 years?  Where will our society be then? How many Mother's will have to bury their sons? 


I wrote this poem after a discussion with my son about the war...I wish we could have a war of words instead of bullets. 


The War
Standing in opposition
Firmly grounded position
Who will live? Who will die?
Let the war of words fly
Over my head
Bullets of emotion
Exploding upon impact
Fragments remain
Scour through the rubble
Looking for forgiveness, understanding, and peace


The heart of the matter is this...'an eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind', MK Gandhi


I pray for peace. I pray for my son. I pray for an end to violence in this world. I pray that killing and destruction will be replaced with kindness, forgiveness, and love.