Mother, what was war?

“I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, "Mother, what was war?"”
- Eve Merriam




The war in Iraq feels removed as I suppose it might for many American families. Yet certainly war hits home for many families both here and overseas. What prompted this post was a movie I watched last night. The Secret Life of Words with Tim Robbins and Sarah Polley. It's an indie drama love story that's somewhat uncomfortably quiet and slow but in the end political and worth watching.

Because I have young children and often work with children, I think about the refugees and the high infant mortality rate in Iraq. I think about how to talk about war with children, or perhaps they don't need the responsibility of knowing. But the kids in Iraq? They know. The kids in the States who miss their moms, dads, sisters and brothers? They know. And given the history of human civilization, is it completely naive to wish my children will only know war as a historical reference?