The Chart Online

Vigil presents peaceful point of view
By Allison Rosewicz

Editor-in-Chief

Area residents and Missouri Southern students and faculty made a plea for peace Sept. 10 at Central Park in Carthage.

In response to President George W. Bush s suggestions of attacking Iraq, Beryl and Esther Kingsbury and Gary and Jean Blackwood, all of Carthage, decided to organize a peace vigil in opposition. The vigil also memorialized the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy.

This means we are opposed to the president s plan, said Beryl Kingsbury. It s almost mania to attack Iraq.

The Kingsburys have been involved in peace movements before, including during Vietnam and in Shawnee, Okla., during the nuclear threat of the 1980s. Esther Kingsbury attended the first nuclear freeze convention in St. Louis at that time.

In addition to readings by Jean Blackwood from the non-violence based group, Peaceful Tomorrow, Rev. Steve Wilson of Grace Episcopal Church in Carthage spoke at the vigil, as well as Dr. Thomas W. Simpson, associate professor of political science at Southern.

Wilson is against attacking Iraq and for seeking revenge against the Sept. 11 terrorists, but he said feeling this way is difficult because he knew people who died in New York and at the Pentagon.

I came into this issue with some baggage, he said.

But ultimately, Wilson wants peace. He said the desire for revenge is natural, but it is never good. He believes Americans must listen to their hearts rather than anger.

We have to seek the nobler and better hearts of ourselves, Wilson said. We should be praying for peace we have not known with Iraq in over 10 years; peace we have not known in humankind for even one year.

Simpson agreed peace, not war, is the only answer to the United States international problems.

The blood taste of revenge is on our tongues, but we are bigger than that, he said.

Simpson said although Bush is an honorable man, he is not listening to the pleas of many Americans.

We ve been killing people in Iraq for years, Simpson said. Does it not stop somewhere? It has to stop with Bush.

He said if Bush follows through on his plans to attack Iraq, it will destabilize the hard-won respect the United States has with nations in the Middle East.

We ve irritated the Arab world to the point we re going to lose them, Simpson said.

A few Southern students attended the vigil to support the cause for peace. Simpson said he was pleased with the turnout, but Debbie Frye, senior sociology major, wished attendance would have been better, even though the vigil was organized in a fairly conservative area.

She said students need to be better informed about the situation with Iraq. She has not noticed many people discussing the issue.

People are afraid to descend from the status quo, so they don t say anything, Frye said.

She attended the vigil because she also opposes violence against Iraq. Frye said Bush s plan to attack is a distraction from the real issue.

He wasn t able to get Osama [Bin Laden], so he thinks this is the next best thing, she said. Peace is the path we need to take.

The peace vigil closed with group songs. The Blackwood s daughter, Tegan, played the guitar while attendees sang Blowin in the Wind by Bob Dylan and Let There Be Peace on Earth by Sy Miller and Bill Jackson.

Following the songs, attendees lit candles and gathered around the Vietnam memorial in Central Park to remember those lost Sept. 11, 2001, and to promote peace.

We ve seen opposition to our ideas, Simpson said. Does that mean you stop? No. Stick to what your heart tells you. Peace is a worthy goal.

Both Simpson and Beryl Kingsbury said more people can express their ideas for peace by writing and visiting politicians. Simpson said accomplishing goals begins with small groups.

This isn t just a national issue, but a community one, he said.