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FreeThinkers offer solemn vigil
The FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties gathered at the Eternal Flame in downtown Clarksville Thursday evening to acknowledge the escalating number of US soldiers killed in Iraq. On Wednesday, the number of casualties in Iraq reached 3,504, including nearly 200 soldiers from Kentucky and Tennessee.
FreeThinkers founder Debbie Boen and co-organizer Christine Piesyk circled a tree with candles for a solemn, non-political memorial at which the names of the Kentucky and Tennessee soldiers were read. The group stood in silence to honor the fallen.
Boen voiced concern that Americans need to become more involved and vocal in their opposition to the war and the policies supporting it, to read about the issues and ask the hard questions.
“How many more have to die in this fight?” she asked, questioning the motivation behind the war.
Piesyk noted that the soldiers killed included men and women, people who are sons and fathers, mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers. One hundred and eleven soldiers have died from self-inflicted wounds. Coalition countries have sustained heavy losses and the Iraqi people have casualty numbers well over 50,000. (icasualties.org)
“Reading the names puts a face to the numbers in the news,” Piesyk said. “It makes them real, even though we don’t know them. To someone out there, each name represents a broken heart.”
The FreeThinkers have held over fifty vigils at the Flame and have also sponsored other events including anti-war rallies and peace actions at various locations around Clarksville.
About Christine Anne Piesyk 
In my 40+ years in media, I have worked as feature writer, investigative reporter, editor, publisher, and film/theater/arts critic. I brought my liberal New England activism to Tennessee several years ago, having finally completed a mid-life undergraduate degree in community organizing and women's studies, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts with a concentration in Alzheimer's Disease. I served on Future Search Commissions for two colleges and on homelessness for the City of Northampton (MA), where I applied some of my undergrad work in urban planning and community development. I am a member of FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties. I am a certified storm spotter just because weather fascinates me. In my spare time (define spare time please?) I am a voracious reader, obsessive movie buff, ballroom dancer, and classical music junkie. I also create sci-fi/fantasy and renaissance costumes. I see life as an ongoing opportunity for learning and adventure (one current interest is mastering preparation of foods from India and Southeast Asia). My dream: a return trip to Machu Picchu. After all, the best things still to come. All posts by Christine Anne Piesyk as presented on Clarksville Online are copyright ©2006, 2007, 2008 to the author.
Email: womanspeak@gmail.com
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