A Victory of Community Over Politics in Crawford

You certainly noticed the cover of this publication. The photo [below this paragraph]  shows a group of involved citizens in a show of unity rather than division. What is remarkable about the photo, and the event that precipitated it, is that these folks all met at the Crawford Town Park [in Crawford, Colorado] at 10am on Saturday, March 15th, at cross purposes -- and I am certain that everybody was at least a little bit uncomfortable at first. At least I was. 

After all, the participants in the two camps ranged between the ages of two and 93, and nobody recalled a rally of any type being held in Crawford - ever! But within an hour, those present, though still divided on certain issues, felt kinship enough to put down the placards, pick up the flags that both groups brought, and stand together for a photo. American patriots of different stripes, so to speak!

So what was it that brought over twenty people to the park on a beautiful 60°morning, with the birds singing songs of spring? The answer is War . . . or Peace, depending on your inclination. 

But a Peace Rally in Crawford!? The idea of it almost requires an exclamation point and a question mark! I decided to attend for several reasons -- curiosity, novelty, a desire for journalistic material, and a wish to cast my vote publicly for "another way".

Well, like all of us, I have my opinions and could editorialize no end, but for now I will spare you my views of our international situation. 

Here's how a Crawford rally and counter rally work -- and don't think that there are many other places in the world like Crawford . . . 

By 10 am there was a group of about a dozen peace demonstrators -- myself included. We all had our placards. They read "No More War", "Why Must My Gasoline Come With Blood", and so on. But by the time we became semi-organized, a group of about ten "counter demonstrators" had assembled in another corner of the park. Some sported camouflage and blackening under their eyes -- in support of our troops as it turned out. Had I not known everyone in this group, and known them to be fine people, I might have begun to worry.

Then came the only prepared speech of the morning.  Event organizer, Karen Gallob, made a thought provoking speech to those assembled. And instead of the counter demonstrators disrespectfully interrupting -- as might happen in other places, the group listened and slowly came closer.  When she was done speaking, Karen asked those opposed to the peace rally to share their thoughts -- also not typical of rallies elsewhere. 

The result was a mostly civil and impassioned discussion (not argument) with people of every viewpoint speaking. One member of the counter demonstration, who lost a brother in Vietnam, explained, "I gathered up everyone I could find to come along and support our troops". Another said, "You get the impression from television that peace activists are against our troops. I'm not really for the war, but I want to support our men and women." 

A number of the demonstrators seemed taken aback that the counter demonstrators believed that the rally was anti-military. And when it became apparent that it was not, most of the animosity seemed to evaporate.

After about 45 minutes of discussion, most present came to realize that there was far more common ground around the issue than any had at first realized. We likely all had our own viewpoints altered somewhat by the exchange.

And in the end, democracy was the winner and community prevailed over politics. Let's hope that happens in the rest of the world! What a great country we live in.