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Guerra de la Paz’s sculptures get personal because they are made out of the discarded camouflage clothing of the millions of faceless soldiers engaged in battle every day. To see more of their work, hit the link below. |
... "The US military loses more soldiers to suicide than to combat. The unemployment rate of young veterans is twice that of their peers who don't enlist. One in three women in the US military is sexually assaulted. Domestic violence in military families is triple the civilian rate. Over 25,000 military families qualify for food stamps. The Pentagon spends over $4 billion a year on recruitment."
This morning I also helped my dad, a war-veteran, unfold his flag and display it on our porch. And I think , especially today, of the boys I loved who have been utterly destroyed by war as have those who attempt to help heal their wounds. I think, too, of the last lines of a Wilfred Owen poem which states:
"The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est. Pro patria mori."
http://1800recycling.com/2011/07/iconic-depictions-recycling-human-suffering-camouflage-gear/
What a powerful reflection, including the sculpture of Guerra de la Paz’ and the quote from Patal! You remind me to call my father who is certainly holding the folded and boxed flag from his sister's coffin. My own reflection on Memorial Day doesn't mention my aunt, uncle, ex-husband, friends nor my sister-in-law's family who have served for generations and are serving now. I wish to be as brave in my Peace Testimony as all of them were and are in preserving our liberties with the tools they have been given. Amen.
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