A little bit of light

When truth is stranger than anything anyone might think of blogging, what is one to blog, really? What a weird few weeks in the world.

I did attend a lovely peace march last Friday. I had sworn off peace marches because after the glorious one in March 2003 (or was it 2002? it's all a blur now...), prior to the start of the Iraq war, the rest were just huge disappointments. Like street festivals for every loopy lefty cause, from legalizing hemp to saving the minks, with an overwhelming smell of patchouli and absolutely NO prayer of changing anyone's mind.

But last Friday's march was small, and organnized by a moderate local mosque (see here and here, where I can be barely seen as an eensy little head on the right just under the "E" in PEACE). I resisted the urge to fall in with the white folks - the Menonites had a good turnout, as always - and instead found myself walking with another woman there on her own, from Sudan. Where they know a thing or two about war, and the toll it takes on regular people.

We began talking shyly at first - she asking whether I was Muslim, me asking where she was originally from. She had never been to a peace march in the US before, just anti-government demonstrations back in Sudan, which she noted had a different flavor. For example, she was pleasantly surprised that the police turned out to help and protect the protesters, which would not be the norm back in her home country. She laughed in delight to learn that the people honking at us were, by and large, doing so as a sign of support. It was a good reminder of that we've still got a lot of game here in the US, with the whole freedom-of-expression-and-assembly thing.

I asked if people in other countries look at the US and think - they're supposedly a democracy, so the people must all agree with the government, or they'd turn their leaders out. Yes, she said, that's what people think, at least the people she knows. We have the power to change our government and we don't. Which is fair, I guess, but it made me sad. She said the war in Sudan is complicated in many ways, but in other ways it goes on because people just blindly follow their leaders, whose priorities are power rather than peace. I thought to myself that in some ways, it's not so different here, and I found myself hoping she saw that too, and did not judge us too harshly.

Most of all, she seemed truly impressed and grateful that non-Muslims showed up. The low expectations made me sad in a way, but it also made the day worthwhile, to know that at least at this particular march, my choice to show up registered somehow. To have the opportunity to walk peacefully with a woman from the other side of the world, to talk and laugh for a bit, and part ways with a smile.