Eyes Wide Open at Arlington West (tags)
Eyes Wide Open, the American Friends Service Committee’s widely-acclaimed exhibition on the human cost of the Iraq War joined Arlington West last Sunday. Each and every Sunday since February 15th 2004, this memorial is set up on the sand just north of the pier at Santa Monica Beach. We've been putting up this memorial as a way to acknowledge the costs and consequences of the addiction to war as an instrument of international policy. Similar to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C., we've a weekly updated placard listing all the fallen American military personnel since the U.S. invaded and occupied Iraq to the present day. People read the names, ages, rank, hometown and circumstance of death, write their name on a piece of paper along with any thoughts or sentiments and attach this to any cross along with a flower. In addition, we've also a sign to acknowledge the fact that if we were to put up a cross for each Iraqi person killed the numbers of crosses would fill the entire beach. As we have no way of knowing the various faiths or philosophies of the many who have sacrificed their lives fighting for their illusions, the simplicity of a cross is used as a marker. Arlington West is a place to mourn, reflect, contemplate, grieve, and meditate, and to honor and acknowledge those who've lost their lives and to reflect upon the true cost of war.