At the Peace Walk

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This picture was taken yesterday morning by a fellow peace activist.

I went to Civic Center Park Saturday morning to provide music to encourage fellow peace activists before we took the long walk around the OKC Bombing Memorial. I started playing at about 9:40, when a little over 10 people were present. I was joined by "Batch", the event organizer, and by Sharon and her boyfriend TJ.

There was only one mic, and my guitar has no pick-up, so I strummed with a pick. What it lacked in artistry, it made up for in volume.

A few local news organizations showed up. The guy from the local Fox affiliate stuck his camera about five inches away from my face while I was performing. I later heard that I was featured prominently on the local NBC affiliate.

I mostly played songs from the sixties - If I Had a Hammer; Turn, Turn, Turn; Blowin' in the Wind. For good or ill, the guy from Fox was right on top of me while I was singing "Blowin' in the Wind." I'm afraid it was a visual sound bite that was used to prove how out-dated and passe peace activists are.

I did sing Peter Yarrow's "Light One Candle," which is more recent, and taught the crowd "Love is Little", which is a Shaker hymn:

Love is little, love is low,
Love will make our spirits grow:
Grow in peace, grow in light.
Love will do the thing that's right.

The crowd was a little over 75, I would guess. The speeches began a little after 10. The final speech was made by a WW II vet who simply said he loved America, but hated what was happening, and that he supported what we were doing that day.

As per tradition, we walked in silence toward the Memorial, which was about three blocks from Civic Center Park. The visitors to the Memorial came to the sidewalk and watched us. Many stared. Many simply watched.

I had sung "Love is Little" earlier as a way to suggest a solution, or response, to war and violence. Following the walk, I heard a practical application.

Molly is working with programs that introduce animals to inner city children. The children are taught how to care for and train the animals. Thus, they learn responsibility and the importance of caring for another creature. She is also aware of a similar program in Colorado which unites abused horses (a chronic problem in Colorado) to troubled teens. She believes there is a true sense in which the teens and horses minister to each other.

I agree with Molly: it is by training our children the path of mutual respect and personal responsibility that we begin to turn humanity away from the easy answer of violence for violence toward the challenging answer of nonviolence and peace.