The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
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Dear List, Tonight I remembered a brief conversation I had with a young man in a store a few weeks back. I may seem trivial but it gave me great hope then, and it gives me a little hope now. So I am going to share it. We'd chatted about weekend plans. Then I asked him if he sometimes thought about the world as it is now. Not very often, he admitted. He knew what I meant. But it's hard to avoid, he said, it's on TV all the time. So...? Sometimes war is necessary, he said firmly. I waited... Suddenly he became animated: I am against this war, he said, and told me why. The Americans are pushing Iraq around, he said. They are demanding, threatening without giving them a chance... without considering their position. We are free here, and we must let other people be free too. In other places things may be different, but we must give people a chance... I don't suppose this young man knew much about the background, let alone the sanctions. All he knew what he had seen on TV in the last four months or so: the charade with the inspectors, Bush, Powell... the war cries. But his own values had survived the brainwashing: he believes that if you want to claim freedom, you must let others be free too. Today so many ignore this simple truth. One day this young man will have children, and he will teach his children the same. And many more young of today will instill in their children an abhorrence of war - and tolerance. So perhaps this world will survive the Bushs, the NeoCons, and global corporatism. And if we look far, far ahead, we may get a glimpse of a peaceful future... At least I hope that our children's grandchildren will have created a world where atrocities like the ones inflicted on the people of Iraq are unthinkable. We have only one way to go... or stay in the pit. Regards, Elga _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk