March 29 – Joys, War, and Death

March 29, 2023 TwoWritingTeachers.org

Besides making tostadas for my sister and me, taking a walk around Abel’s Mountain, and spending an hour with my grandson while he spun in circles on his tummy and ate a good dinner, I also had some difficult issues on my mind.

Because of a movie he saw recently, my husband has been thinking of the futility of war, and especially how it relates to what Putin is doing in Ukraine We had this conversation this morning:

“I can’t get All Quiet on the Western Front out of my mind. Aggression in war is so foolish. Why…? Pride…? Stupidity…? Evil…?” my husband mused.

“Yes,” I said.

“There is never a good outcome,” he said. Then he played this song for us to listen to: (lyrics here)

The other thing on my mind, of course, is gun violence. Yesterday, six more people were gunned down in school: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, each 9 years old; and Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61. May they rest in peace. I wrote a letter to my Republican representative today asking him to be brave and do the right thing. You can read a copy here, if you want to.

I can’t believe all the gaslighting that goes on for schools to keep having lockdown drills and expecting our children to plan to get shot up in school. This is ludicrous and does not happen in other countries. When are we going to demand action?

How do you interpret this cartoon? Has this phrase become an idol?
I think Congress and the Courts need to spend more time rethinking what this line means

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!