lune 18, 2014
fo r ila « * (flbserUf r Pacific NW College
Page 7
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Meaning and Tone for Memorial
Make it a day to
celebrate peace
by
E ric C hitoubol
Do you think Me­
morial Day should be
more than just a day
to rem em ber those
we have lost as a na­
tion during times of war and hatred? Or
should Memorial Day be altered to re­
flect times of peace and rejoicing to no
more lives lost and for war to be over? I
believe we can and should make it a day
of peace.
M em orial Day was created three
years after the Civil W ar ended on May
5th, 1868 by the head o f an organization
of Union veterans known as the Grand
Army of the Republic.
The founder, M ajor General John A.
Logan, declared Memorial Day is ob­
served on May 30 to decorate the graves
of those who died during war. The first
observance was held at the Arlington
National Cemetery.
Currently the United States continues
to celebrate those we have lost during
times of war. We as a nation mark
Memorial Day as a constant reminder of
the loss and the sadness that we endure
for the men and women we lose on a
daily basis overseas. Instead, our coun­
try should be working towards a com­
mon goal of peace with whom we have
disputed in the past and present.
Memorial Day should be a day that
the people of the United States should be
able to find happiness within ourselves
and our families for a new day where no
more lives are taken by war.
We shouldn’t forget those from the
past who have died for our country, but
we should continue to grow as a nation
who is united by peace and celebrate
Memorial Day with fulfilling memories
instead of those that makes our hearts
feel empty in remembrance of those we
lost in our families.
A fter more than 12 years at war in
the M iddle East and Central Asia we
are slow ly com ing to an end with the
horrible violence that our soldiers have
been faced with. I served the United
States Army for six years. I deployed
to Iraq for O peration Iraqi Freedom ,
and lost some of my fellow com rades
to the war.
It is devastating to lose those that are
close to you, especially fighting for some­
thing that I felt w asn’t my battle to fight
but I didn’t have a choice. I support my
country and the people who live in it, but
celebrating peace on Memorial Day
would be much more meaningful. I am
glad I was able to come home to my wife
and daughter, but there are a lot of those
that don’t get that benefit and aren’t that
lucky.
Personally, I believe that finding a
different way to utilize the time of the
men and women of the United States
military seems much more beneficial
then bringing soldier’s home in a body
bag, and to add to the list of those we pay
observance to on Memorial Day.
Memorial Day should be a day to
remind us what we are thankful for and
how far we have come since times of
war. Memorial Day should be a day to
pay our respects to those who have
made the ultimate sacrifice and honor
times of peace where blood no longer
has to be shed.
Eric Chitoubol is a student at Portland
State University, writes fo r Peace Voice,
and is an Iraq War Veteran.
Issues of Fairness, Justice, and God-given Dignity
■
_ _
—
Defending the Voting Rights Act
by
R ev . C huck C urrie
In 1965, President
Lyndon
B ain es
Johnson signed the
Voting Rights Act into
law. It was a land­
mark piece of legisla-
tion, arguably the strongest civil
rights bill to ever pass into law in
the United States.
Unfortunately, in 2014, we still
have to defend it.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled
last year that Congress has used
obsolete information in continu-
ing to require nine states to ob-
tain federal approval for changes
to voting rules that affect minor-
ity voters. In lay speak, this means
that those states no longer have
to get approval from the federal
government before they adjust
their voter laws.
Almost immediately, an on­
slaught o f red states took action
to make it harder for minorities
to vote.
In response, Secretary Clinton
gave a forceful speech to the
American Bar Association con­
demning the practice and urging
Am ericans to fix the Voting
Rights Act, saying that if it isn’t
fixed, “citizens will be disenfran­
chised, victimized by the law
instead of served by it, and that
progress - that historical progress
toward a more perfect union -
will go backward instead of
forw ard.”
S ecretary C lin to n has
been an advocate o f this
issue for many years.
As a senator, C linton
cham pioned a bill called the
“Count Every Vote Act,” which
would have made Election Day
a federal holiday; required states
to work to reduce waiting times
at polling places; provided early
voting periods; put in place fair
and uniform standards for voter
registration and identification,
including same-day registration
across the country; as well as
made it a federal crime to de­
ceive voters, through tactics like
sending flyers to minority neigh-
borhoods with false information,
Issues of fairness, justice, and
God-given dignity are at the core
of voting rights’ assurances.
When we deny citizens the right
to vote, we risk the fiber of our
democracy.
Secretary Clinton is joined in
heradvocacy of voting rights by
the National Council of Churches
and many diverse faith traditions
across the United States who,
like Clinton, see it as our moral
responsibility to ensure that the
right to vote is protected for all.
Religious communities were
at the forefront of the civil rights
movement and fought for the
Voting Rights Act. Today, we
applaud those political leaders
standing up for what is just.
I am rem inded of a M artin
L uther King, Jr. quote, “Injus­
tice anyw here is a threat to
ju s tic e e v e ry w h e re .” K ing
knew, as a preacher and as an
activist, that injustice doesn’t
exist in a vacuum. Rather, like
a corrosive substance, it seeps
in to o th e r p la c e s, e ro d in g
progress and endangering the
rights of all.
And so, in 2014, we continue
to speak out against this injustice
and we strive to reclaim the
victories of the civil rights lead­
ers who came before us. Dq not
oppress the widow, the father­
less, the sojourner, or the poor,
and let none of you devise evil
against another in your heart.
For whoever oppresses a poor
man insults his Maker; and to
obstruct a vote is, without a doubt,
a form of oppression.
I stand with Secretary Clinton
and all others who believe that
America “deserves to have an
electoral system that has integ­
rity, whose results we can be­
lieve in.”
Our nation depends on it.
Rev. Chuck Currie is direc­
tor o f the Center fo r Peace
and Spirituality and Univer­
sity Chaplain at Pacific Uni­
versity in Forest Grove.
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