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Speaking of Peace

By Jeanne Douglas

Speech delivered at VVAW Veterans Day Event in Chicago, November 11, 1998

Not long ago, I was chauffeuring my teenage daughter and two friends. We had about an hour's drive ahead of us and there was lots of chatter from the back seat: school, teachers, boys (of course), and then to more serious topics such as Clinton's behavior, gay rights and finally - to my surprise - women in the military. While they were in agreement that women should be allowed in the military, they were in disagreement about whether they should fight in combat. After some debate my daughter tried to bring me into the conversation to bolster her position: didn't I agree that women shouldn't fight in a war?

All of you who have raised teenagers know that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when your child wants a black or white answer to a complex and very "gray" questions. I stuttered for a bit and then fumbled for an answer. First, the feminist part of me said that I believed that if women want equal rights they must be willing to take on equal responsibility - even when the jobs are pretty ugly. Therefore, if there was a war, women should assume their share of the workload in and out of combat. But (and now I moved on to my pacifist self) perhaps the important debate was not whether women should or shouldn't be in combat, but whether anybody should be in combat....

I felt I had said something profound and there was a fraction of a second while they digested this. Then they moved on to a lively exchange about whether girls should be required to take swimming in high school.

I had many more wise things to tell them. I wanted to talk about the tremendous scarring, both physical and psychological, that young men and women in combat endure. I wanted to talk about the political forces that lead us to believe that armed conflict is a viable solution to any problem. I wanted to talk about racism and classism and how this impacts the selection of soldiers that defend our country. I wanted to talk about individual responsibility to work for peace and justice. Yes, I had many important things to say, but the moment had passed. Soon my opinion would be sought on the proper age to consider a navel piercing.

While I drove and mused to myself, I thought how very young these girls were: innocent, smart, erratic, impressionable, funny, trusting the world to be a safe place - perfect in every way, at least to a mother's eyes. Listening to their chatter made me think we must make sure that this generation of teenagers - that every generation of teenagers - does not have to endure the enormous suffering that is inevitable when we go to war. I know this is not an original thought and I am not the first parent to love my child and want to protect her, but it seems that these children are the reason we must remind ourselves again and again that working for peace is the most valuable work that we can do.

We must honor the fallen soldier, we need to respect and care for the wounded veteran, but our greatest challenge is to make sure this does not happen again! I thank VVAW for this opportunity to be with you again this year, to pause for a moment and think about the sacrifices that veterans have made for us, and to resolve to continue our commitment to peaceful resolutions of all conflicts.

Jeanne Douglas is team leader of the Oak Park, Illinois Vet Center and a co-coordinator of the homeless veterans' standdowns in Chicago.