Last week, campus religious groups united to memorialize the massive loss of life that has flowed from the U.S. invasion of Iraq. They covered Copley lawn with red flags, each symbolizing 100 Iraq War casualties. The flags were so numerous that the lawn became practically unusable, and the statement was impossible to overlook. Such demonstrations are encouraging, but they do not occur frequently enough.
The Muslim Student Association and the Interfaith Council based the number of deaths on the recent study by Johns Hopkins University researchers, published in the British journal The Lancet. The report estimated that about 655,000 more Iraqis have died since the U.S. invasion than would have died if the the war had not occured. Add to this the approximately 3,000 American soldiers that have died in the conflict, and total is staggering—twice the number of people buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Most of us are detached from the realities of Iraq. While our politicians discuss the Baker Report, and while talking heads debate whether or not the country is in civil war, the actual violence in Iraq—105 people died on Monday—has become background noise.
The Vietnam War demonstrations taught Americans that consciousness-building takes a sustained effort over a long period of time. There must be bigger and more frequent memorials on and off campus so that violence in Iraq is constantly palpable.
The candlelight vigil held by the Interfaith Council should occur weekly or monthly. Over time, more people will attend, causing more people to pause and reflect and think about the death and destruction caused by the war. More importantly, groups should demonstrate off-campus—outside the Congress and the White House—where their actions can make a bigger impact.
Whatever the cause or the form—be it an angry protest demanding the withdrawal of troops or a group prayer for the families of fallen soldiers—the point is that they ignite debate about Iraq. We must address the country’s most immediate problem. We can’t continue to distance ourselves from it, leaving it to a few men in the Pentagon.
