In the Midst of War, Life Goes On

It has to. Commitments made months before must still be honored. Projects begun need to be finished. Laundry still needs to washed, sorted and put away. It feels mundane, inconsequential--but it must be done.

Today I've been working on storytelling. Tomorrow is a full day of telling at a school in Tyler County, and the teachers requested world folktales. I haven't done a program like that in a while--my usual gig is Appalachian stories. So today was a day of research, reading and preparing a program of stories that span as much of the globe as possible.

I made certain to include a story from Afghanistan, a couple of others from the Mid-east. Why? Because the way to understanding a culture is through their stories. That is where cultural mores are found, where they are passed down. The other reason is that children should know that what we hear now about Arab cultures in the media is not all there is to know.

There are many aspects of mid-east life not covered in the news, ordinary people living their lives as best they can. Not all of them want war. Not all of them hate Americans. Their stories are one way we can know them and their culture, and perhaps through that medium find compassion and understanding---even as we abhor those who are killing our soldiers and each other.

I find myself struggling to understand their culture while at the same time fearing it and wanting our soldiers out of there. As a storyteller, I want to present the world as a human whole. We are all the same in our desires for love, happiness, and stability. As the mother of soldiers, I do not understand the Arab cultures at all, or why they hate each other so much that killing seems to be the only option.

I do not hate them. I hate what they do to our soldiers and to each other. It's a personal conflict I will not soon resolve. But tomorrow the children will hear of Nasruddin and his wisdom. Perhaps they will understand that the conflict is not one-dimensional, that there is depth and history and things worth learning.

I need that reminder myself today.