A message of peace
On Monday morning, Fargo residents gathered on Main Avenue bridge to protest the war in Iraq on its fourth anniversary.
Later that evening in the frigid Fargo air, members of peace groups gathered at the same location but with a different message.
“We’re not here to protest the war; we’re here to teach peace,” said Laurie Anderson, a retired North Dakota Army National Guard captain.
Anderson was one of about 30 people who convened with candles and signs to communicate the need for peace.
“We need to start acting like a peaceful world,” Anderson said. “It starts in our heart.”
The national event was organized through Moveon.org, an online community dedicated to fighting the injustice of the government, said Paddy McLaughlin, North Dakota Peace Coalition president.
More than 1,000 similar vigils took place on Monday night throughout the nation, McLaughlin said.
The coalition plans other peace-preaching nights through poetry readings and showing movies.
“We’re focusing on honoring the warrior, not the war,” McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin also said its time for people to open their mouths to let the government know war will not be tolerated anywhere.
Shortly after meeting at the bridge, participants huddled together as volunteers read accounts from parents and soldiers affected by the war to demonstrate the need for peace.
Anderson herself is a veteran who was stationed in Bosnia for nine months and saw first-hand how a situation can get out of control.
“They were nice people caught up in something beyond their control,” she said.
Howard Barlow, a member of the Center for Peace in Fargo, said several groups are working to encourage the government to create a cabinet position that would be present when issues of war and peace are decided.
The position would be equal to secretary of state or secretary of defense, Barlow said. More than 20 major cities endorse the idea, including Chicago, Detroit, New York, Los Angeles and Minneapolis.
“It’s an effort whose time has come,” Barlow said.
The North Dakota Peace Coalition sponsored the candlelight peace vigil.