CLICK A TITLE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THAT ARTICLE
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
| In the BUUF is the monthly newsletter of the Berrien Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 4340 Lincoln Avenue, Saint Joseph, MI 49085-8712. Articles should be given to the newsletter editor no later than the 20th of the month. | |
“The War”
In the spring of 1945, after covering Wold War II for four years, CBS radio correspondent Eric Sevareid told his audience: “Only the soldier really lives the war. The journalist does not – war happens inside a man – and that is why, in a certain sense, you and your sons from the war will be forever strangers. If, by the miracles of art and genius, in later years two or three among them can open their hearts and the right words come, then perhaps we shall all know a little of what it was like…”
The miracles of art and genius did combine, it seems, in Ken Burns’ and Lynn Novick’s production of “The War” which aired in seven parts on public television this fall. It was a deeply moving account of four American towns and how their citizens experienced the war. It was an account that reminded those of us who lived it, and informed those of us who did not, in ways that allowed the viewer no room to remain unmoved.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Burns and Novick for, fifty years later, bringing us the first-person accounts that Sevareid longed to, but simply could not provide his audiences.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Marv Fuller who is sharing his knowledge and experience of the war in a classroom setting at Lake Michigan College.
We owe a debt of gratitude to all those willing and able to tell us what the war was like… what the war is like. For it is in these first-person accounts that we are most likely to finally find peace. It is in hearing the true horrors of war from those most intimately involved that we might best be moved to “study war no more,” to take up the study of peace as vigorously as we take up the study of war. It is in the first-person accounts that we are most effectively moved.
An estimated fifty to sixty million people lost their lives in World War II, more than 400,000 of whom were Americans. Though initially reluctant to enter the cataclysm, virtually every American citizen became invested in the cause: intent, involved, and willing to abide national deprivation and sacrifice in a common, unifying effort, the effort of creating a lasting peace.
That has not yet happened. And so let us continue to listen to the stories. Let us continue to make room for our veterans and our victims of war to open their hearts so the right words may come. Let us continue to be moved toward peace.
-- Beth
THANKS TO WORKERS - IMPROVING OUR BUILDING
The 4-hour Work Party at BUUF on Saturday, Oct. 20 was very productive due to the labors of Harvey Johnson, Dick Berndt, Ken Richards, Amy Cottingham, Teresa LaPlante and Emily Bettencourt. The shed was repainted, 3 apple trees were planted; trees trimmed and brush cleared near the entrance of the driveway, windows were washed inside and out; kitchen cabinets, appliances and table tops were washed; and the supply cabinet in the rear was cleaned out and reorganized; toxins were secured in the attic; the cabinets and drawers clearly labeled; and we all sat down together and had a delicious soup and sandwiches prepared by Chris Sirotiak. While not there on Saturday, thanks to Tricia Johnson for coming in earlier and washing the walls of the entrance to the Sanctuary, and Charles Long and Gary Cook who continue to repair fluorescent fixtures and change bulbs to give us light. It was good being and working together.
