We frequently hear current conversations about war crimes being committed by Russians against Ukrainians. And again and again I am triggered into remembrance of experiences I’ve had — such as attending a Winter Soldier event years ago in which I listened to the horrors, heartbreaks, and trauma of American veterans as they told their stories of the atrocities they’d witnessed or participated in themselves in Iraq and other places where our country has engaged in war. And again and again I am reminded of the profound costs of war, the enormity of the war crimes committed by my own country, how the funding of war feeds the pockets of the most wealthy, and the truth that war is not peace, it is terrorism. And my heart breaks. Another world is possible. It is up to us to do our part in birthing this new world together. ― Molly
Today is the 50th anniversary of the My Lai Massacre, when US soldiers raped and murdered 500 Vietnamese civilians and burned their homes. Only one man, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, and his flight crew stopped the massacre by blocking American soldiers and threatening to kill them, saving countless lives and later testifying against the murderers. For this, he was denounced as a traitor and spent much of his life suffering from depression, PTSD, and nightmares. He died in 2006. Today, he represents the importance of disobeying orders and enduring the hate of the public for doing what’s right. I wish we had more of him.
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