Duality of ideas

There is an incredible duality at the end of Prairie Church Road.? On the one hand, you have the hundreds of peacemakers from all walks of life gathered to call for non-violence and peace - on the other hand, there are denizens of the Texas extreme Right - people who have not only been blinded by their allegiance to the Commander-In-Thief, but are consumed by a burning anger at anyone who disagrees with their view.

As you walk through Camp Casey II, you are struck by the peaceful souls who are here to support and defend the common good.? You meet Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Christians? - even brown-robed monks.? The is black and white, Hispanic and Native American, Arab and Indian.? You converse with legal and medical professionals, musicians and artists, steel-workers, farmers, housewives and husbands.?? There are toddlers and teenagers and octogenarians.? You know some are Democrats, but they are not alone. The Libertarians, Greens, and yes, even the Republicans are camping out under the big Texas sky.

Despite our differences, we are a family.? Everywhere you look, there is a smile - an infectious smile.? We all agree that George W. Bush has brought our nation to a perilously bleak point in history, but we are hopeful, we see the energy and the dedication and it makes us smile.? We are greeted with hugs and depart with embraces.? You hear the laughter and are witness to the humor.? Home.? You start to understand why so many call it home.?? There is a comfort level you only feel at home.? Each meal is an opportunity to meet and break bread with someone new.?? While most of us are angry about George W. Bush and this insane war, we channel that anger into something positive, something constructive.

Among the most dedicated are the Iraq War Vets.? These guys are in it for the long haul.? They've been there and I believe that is all there is to say about that.? Back at the main road, across the street from the Yellow Rose - a Crawford/George W. Bush souvenir and disinformation general store.? There is a small group of people standing around watching a man with no shirt and a cowboy hat playing a Buck Owens-style Red, White and Blue guitar.? He is the troubled troubadour, the public proselyte of the Bush doctrine.? He sings his song of hatred toward his brother man who wishes him no harm.? I heard him sing, "I'd rather be a naked cowboy, than a useful Democrat,"? although I never really understood what message he was trying to send at that moment.

Early Friday morning, there was a single incident involving a car full of drunk kids who wanted to show their bravado at 3:00AM and later that evening, there was a Chevy Suburban driving back and forth by the camp.? The Suburban barely missed one of the cars coming into the camp as it roared across the dust and gravel on the corner of the road.? The next day would bring a startling display of misguided testosterone.? Early afternoon we heard the rumbling of motorcycles in the distance and many of us walked over to the road to witness the display.? A procession of Harley-Davidsons swung off Prairie Chapel and followed the road around to the south side of the lot.? Two by two they rode by, some wore vintage Nazi helmets, one couple went by with the woman on the back embracing a life-sized cut-out of Dubya himself.? After the procession, the redneck west came to life in the form of cowboys and girls on their painted horses, spouting their rhetoric of vitriolic pestilence.

One of the cowboys told our security unit they should go back into the tent and "put a bullet in that bitch" - referring to Cindy Sheehan.? All of the cowboys were extremely vocal in their mannerism and tried to intimidate the peacemakers by riding right up to the ditch by the road and putting the horses into the faces of the peacemakers.

The ever-vigilant and peaceful citizens of the camp raised their hands into peace signs and smiles for the passing parade.

Another of the cowboys told us we had every right to be in Iraq because it was the Iraqis who attacked us on 9/11.? How can you possibly have a meaningful dialogue with someone who still believes tripe like that?? After the last horse was about a sixth of a mile down the road, the motorcycles returned to the south side of the camp.? As they reached the turn for Prairie Chapel Road, they stopped? - directly in front of the camp - and shut off their engines.? They didn't say a word.? There was an eerie silence among the din.? With a signal, all the bikes restarted their engines and revved their engines in hellish unison.? As the cowboys returned, the bikers rode off.

The majority of the cowboys rode on.? One stayed behind.? The man had switched horses from his previous trip and was now riding a white horse that had been painted with opprobrious epithets.? He seemed to get a kick out of trying to incite the peacemakers who continued to smile and flash the peace sign.??

He told those gathered that they should pack up and move to Iraq, that we should be ashamed of ourselves because George W. Bush had sent those boys overseas so they could fight for our freedoms.? I couldn't be mad at these people.? They were angry and misinformed.? There is no way the man would believe that we actually have fewer freedoms because of this war.

Juan Torres, father of a fallen soldier, told the cowboy about his dead son.? The cowboy, with fire in his eyes and a malicious sneer told Juan, "F*** you and f*** your son."?

What kind of hate consumes a man enough to say something like that to a still-grieving father?

Wanting to shield our selves from this cancerous abhorrence, the group turned their backs to the counter-protest, and other than a few photographers, we didn't allow them to engage us any further.

The irony of the Crawford dichotomy, is that the ones who are supporting the people in power are poor souls who are so consumed with rancor they probably head right for the Maalox when they return home and? the anathema of their hatred are the salt of the earth who feel pity for the spurious lives of their those who attempt to torment us.

We realize that many of these people are afraid to face the truth.? But we also know that they may need us when they finally see the light.? They will need someone to say, we know you were misled and we forgive you.? Welcome back into the fold of real compassion.

(photos courtesy Jueri Svjagintsev and Tina of Tina's Corner Cafe)