I am a lurker. Oooh, that sounds kind of naughty. No, seriously, I do a lot of lurking at forums like the Conserative Underground, Liberal Underground, Democratic Underground, Neutral Underground and Peace Takes Courage Forums. There are others but for this post these five are topic.
In the last few days I have been catching up on threads about Ava Lowery, an Alabama teenager who created a site for a contest The Huffington Post is/was running. Ava is fifteen-years old. She is also anti-Bush and against the Iraqi war. “I was just so mad about it,” she explains. “And the media are not showing the real images of the war, so I did a lot research and started my own website.”
You can see Ava's contest submission here. But a warning before you click, the animation has pictures of small children that have been ravaged by the conflict that surrounds their lives. IF you are sensitive I wouldn't bother watching it.
It is NOT clear who is responsible for the damage to these young people. All that is clear that these children have been injuried. It could of been anyone. Ava says, “The object of the animation is to get the following point across: Jesus loves Iraqis, too.”
Ava's messages of "What Would Jesus Do" with quotes from Beatitudes is in itself a good message. I am sure the Good Lord would embrace the children who have been injured and give their little hearts peace. Here is the catch, many of those children probably do not believe in Jesus the Christ. The children are probably not taught to have a personal relationship with Jesus and that he is a prophet. Interesting, isn't it?
Back to the forums. As I mentioned, between my daily chores I have been reading the threads at the above forums about Ava and her animations, the article at the Progressive, Ava's Mother, and the other adults who have decided to discuss this message from a teenage peace activist.
Boy what a deal that has been. Ava's mother has posted an open apology. 
In this apology she states that "i might have made things worse with my 'lioness protecting her cub' day- " Oh ya think Ma?
Gee whiz, you daughter enteres a contest, has an article written about her submission and your child posts her submissions on forums where there are adults who have the opposite opinions of the anti-whomever crowd, that engage in name calling and in the end you get involved to include using suggestions that lawyers are going to be involved.
Let me tell you Ma, your emotions did get the better of you. You should of handled this one a whole lot differently than you did. Some of these people have screen capture utilities that proved their point. Seriously, did you really think that something else would of happened on these forums? If you post something on CU that has a DU line of thinking don't expect roses and candy and visa versa.
People are still entitled to their own opinions no matter if you are Pro-Bush, Anti-Bush, a Moonbat, Neutral or what not. There are very few public forums where you won't find name calling and a strong opinion if it differs. So when you post at these forums you SHOULD expect the members to tell you what they think in terms that probably not used at your kitchen table. Heck that stuff is why I go and read at those forums, it is cheap entertainment.
Edited to add: It has been pointed out to me that young Ava is posting with her actual picture as an avatar. Anyone else think that MA should be monitoring the child's internet activities closer and remind her that using her actual picture as an avatar is inviting trouble from the ugly factor? Just not smart. No indeed.
Ava, dear young woman, I admire your effort. It would be hard for me not to admire your efforts. I was once 15, I learned about I learned about Kent State, watched too many Billy Jack movies and nearly drove my dear mother nuts with all my ideas. I would suggest that you get your nose out of the Anti-crowd and do a bit more research. I think it is time for your eyes to be opened a bit more on how the real world actually works. Don't stop thinking about world peace, once we forget that is the main goal then it might not ever come true. But in the meantime, there is so much you can learn about the world that the ANTI-crowd just won't teach you.
My mother asked me often just what could I do about it, being one little girl who lived in Kansas. Oh how I tried and tried to will the world into peace. My mother then sat me down and taught me about WWII, Hitler, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, Communism, guerilla warfare. She did it in a way that I learned pretty fast that you can believe in peace, struggle for peace and even fight for peace but peace might not come in our lfetimes. That it takes the whole of the people to change their minds, their hearts and their desires. And if this happened, would be still be people or just robots with no emotions.
My mother also taught me that peace starts within ourselves, the choices we make and how we contribute to our communities. Living a peaceful life is more important than anyone puts value upon. By the time the Iranians took hostages, my mother's lessons sat down hard upon me. It just seems that with humans there will always be someone out there to make choices that do not contribute to the idea of peace.
It would be wonderful if the world was at peace. That there were no wars, conflicts and everyone got along. But today there is no peace. There are people in need and there are things we can do to help. It matters not if it is in your own community or overseas. But learn. Learn about people like Gulsoma, who is so young to have so many scars. The world is a tough place to be in.
I am lucky that I am an American. That in this country I have more chances in my life than if I lived in many regions of this world. I am grateful that when I was born I was born right here in the Good Ole USA. This is not a flippant statement either. Everyday I am greeted with this gratitude, when I pray, take my medicine, use the phone, have food to eat, a bed to sleep in, a house to live in, my children are educated and healthy. All this is because of the opportunities we have here. I do not take it lightly or for granted.
The United States of America is an idea that came to pass. Even if it is not perfect. I find people who look for perfection in this idea to be a bit foolish. There is nothing perfect in this world. I don't think the world was meant to be so perfect. Maybe when more people stop looking for the perfection and start working with what we got available to us, things might just get done.
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