Opposite Sides

In a crowd protesting the 5th Anniversary of the Iraq War, I started up a conversation with an inviting white haired grandfather who seemed to have stories etched into the wrinkles and lines of his face. He hesitantly revealed that he was a veteran of the Korean War and yet today stood on the side of the street protesting the very concept of war itself. As I stood beside him during a quiet lull in the conversation, a young sailor with his window rolled down, stopped at the light directly in front of us and in a strange moment of clarity met and held the older man’s gaze. Not exactly friends, but not precisely enemies, the two exchanged a tense moment from opposite sides of an invisible line, one boasting the military insignia and air of self sacrifice, the other clutching memories and a sign, “Wage Peace” to his chest.
“I understand where they are at, after all I was in the same situation when I was young,” the older man said slightly shaken up as the light changed color. “I just see things differently now, war and military power isn’t what our country or the world should be about.”