When I was young my parents gave me a complete Sherlock Holmes anthology. All Holmes stories in a single enormous volume. Oh the delighted hours I spent in the pages of that book! I don’t often think of it anymore since it seems to have so little to do with most of my modern day “issues.” But there is a story I wanted to mention. (This comes from “The Adventure of the Cardboard Box,” though there is an almost identical incident in another Holmes story.)
Finding that Holmes was too absorbed for conversation I had tossed aside the barren paper, and leaning back in my chair I fell into a brown study. Suddenly my companion's voice broke in upon my thoughts: "You are right, Watson," said he. "It does seem a most preposterous way of settling a dispute." "Most preposterous!" I exclaimed, and then suddenly realizing how he had echoed the inmost thought of my soul, I sat up in my chair and stared at him in blank amazement.
(More below ... )
Holmes had used his intimate knowledge of his friend to analyze a seemingly imperceptible thought process in which Watson relived the futility of war, and faithfully expressed those thoughts in his facial expressions, manner and in the energy he projected during the exercise.
This diary serves as my public engagement with a song written and performed by Small Potatoes, about love, war and remembering. To me the song is simultaneously personal and political, intensely so. For background, at the time, my siblings and I had been attending an annual series of folk music concerts. I cherish the experiences I had listening to that music. I found it exciting because it is my broadest exposure to fresh new music since I went to college. In many ways, this music is fresher than that was, because there is nothing mass-market about it. In a very real sense it is music “grown locally,” even if where it was grown is not immediately next door. One artist one night thanked us for coming out, saying she realized that marketing companies had spent hundreds of millions of dollars to keep us languishing in front of our television sets. Listening to and enjoying this folk music has been one of the most soul-nourishing things I have done in the past three years, right up there with blogging! The song is called 1000 Candles, 1000 Cranes.
It will take about five minutes to play, but I think you will be well rewarded for the time. Here are the lyrics, so feel free to read along as you listen! (I transcribed these, since I could not find them published online. They do belong to and were composed by Rich Prezioso of Small Potatoes.)
My grandmother had three sons.
She dreamed about her children's children.
But then came 1941...
Only one son would see the war end.
Joseph died marching in Bataan,
Frank on the sands of Iwo Jima.
The day the bomb destroyed Japan,
She thanked God and Harry Truman.
She blamed the godless Japanese
For having crushed her sweetest dreams.
One thousand candles for my sons,
Every day I will remember.
In Illinois far from her past,
Ms. Nakamura still remembers.
She was six when she saw the flash
That turned the world to smoke and ashes.
Her mother taught her daughter well.
Run from the fire to the river.
There she found a living hell,
But not a mother or a father.
Though she survived with just a scrape,
Her family vanished into space.
One thousand suns, a thousand cranes,
Every day I will remember.
My grandmother had three sons,
She never dreamed she'd have a daughter.
But at the age of 81,
She met a nursemaid Nakamura.
And it was a question only meant
To make some talk and pass the hours,
About a picture by the bed,
A photograph of two young soldiers.
They triggered anger stored for years,
Slowly melted into tears
One thousand candles, a thousand cranes,
Every day I will remember.
I've a picture in my mind
Of two women slowly walking.
August 6, 1985,
Walking to church to light a candle.
And they once asked me to explain
Why grown men play such foolish games.
One thousand candles, a thousand cranes,
Every day I will remember.
Let’s dig in! I did not speak with Rich Prezioso (the lead guitarist and singer in this two piece, husband and wife band) about this song, but it screams to me as a song directly from his life. I think the grandmother is in fact his grandmother, and the nameless son who survived the war is his father. The song juxtaposes, for me, in a remarkable way, the war experiences of two female non-combatants in different countries. His grandmother’s sons went off to war, two of the three died. She reacted with thankfulness when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, thanking both God and Harry Truman for the act. Of course, I am sure she had no sense of the magnitude of the horror and devastation those bombs caused; little sense of the suffering wrought by them. She was deeply buried in her tunnel of grief and pain. Even human animals may lash out when they are in terrific pain.
Marching in Bataan suggests Joseph was captured and died in or about 1942 while marching in captivity. The fighting on Iwo Jima was in Feb./March of 1945, short months before the bombing of Hiroshima. To me the idea of the “godless Japanese” is important because of the human propensity to demonize those we perceive as enemies. Do we not all do this to some extent?
Within the context of the song there is no mention of similar animosity or venom on the part of Ms. Nakamura. Additional details of her experiences are not provided, but it is very possible that, prior to her relocation to the United States, whenever that happened, she would have belonged to the ranks of the hibakusha, a term used to describe victims of the bombings. They were often stigmatized and shunned because of fear of the consequences of the bombing. I guess this was warranted because they chose their parents and where their families lived (Comment ironically intended). The United States bombed her home and killed her family, yet she moved here for some reason, and apparently nurtured no hatred or lust for revenge. Remarkable. Late in life Ms. Nakamura and Rich’s grandmother came together, and a picture of his grandmom’s long lost but never forgotten sons led to a final release of the hatred and residual anger held over for 40 years. On the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima the two women walk together to a church to light a candle. The song does not say Ms. Nakamura was in Hiroshima, but they did light a candle on its anniversary. (Rivers pass both cities, so the river mention in the song provides no insight.) Perhaps the closest parallel to the hibakusha in this country are AIDs victims. (If you would like to read more about hikabusha, this site seems a good place to read.) In our society, candles are one of the clearest expressions of peace and of the will to peace.
In Japan origami cranes fulfill a similar role.
Cranes (or tsuru, in Japanese) are possibly one of the oldest birds on earth and they have a long history in Japanese traditions and legends. The crane is among the most majestic of all cranes. Pure white with a magnificent red-crest. Legend holds that the crane lives for a thousand years. In Japanese, Chinese and Korean tradition, cranes stand for peace and long life. Folded white paper origami cranes are often placed at memorial parks to symbolize peace. Folded paper cranes are also given to ill people to wish them a quick recovery. It is said that 1000 folded paper origami cranes make a wish come true.
I particularly like the cranes because of the time (and soul) investment they represent. Even Japanese origami experts cannot make 1,000 cranes very fast. Of course, it could take some time to light 1,000 candles, too! One of the most fascinating things in the song, to me, is the subtle transposition which is described in the last stanza of the song:
And they once asked me to explain Why grown men play such foolish games.
Originally, in his grandmother's view, the war was the fault of the "godless Japanese." Then it became the fault of “men” playing such foolish games. It is a certainty that men play such foolish games, but men aren't solely to blame. All of human society is, to the degree it supports and sanctions war as legitimate human "expression." Rich's grandmom was very quick to thank God and Harry Truman for bombing Japan.
Does anyone reading this diary really believe God wanted to see Ms. Nakamura's family vaporized? Perhaps it is merely another preposterous dispute. But, what if war itself were designated as the true adversary? After all, both sides in a war (or however many sides there are) seem to agree that war (or violence or extremely passionate antipathy) is the way to resolve it. In a sense they are both on the same exact side. And they respond almost identically to the stimuli. To expressing hatred and anger and lust for revenge through violent means. Even women not actively participating in the combat often do, as Rich’s grandmom did, in her endorsement of both God and Harry Truman for the bombs. To me it seems clear that such energy and such endorsements throughout the society is why “men” play such foolish games. Because they feel it is a reasonable and legitimate path.
There was a fascinating original Star Trek episode on this subject. Episode 66: Day of the Dove. The Star Trek crew and an identical number of Klingons are isolated on the Enterprise. All hand phasers and modern weapons disappear, leaving the two groups to fight with swords and spears and hatchets. The injured are hauled away to sick bay, only to regrow arms or legs or whatever body parts were lopped off; the dead resuscitate and come back to fight more angry and more motivated than before. Eventually it occurs to Spock and Kirk that the battle is becoming more than a little bit artificial and contrived. They search and discover an alien that feeds on powerful, violent emotion. Spock and Kirk realize that if the conflict continues much longer, the power of the hatred and blood-lust will grow so strong, they'll never be able to resist it. So they powwow with the Klingon commander and hostilities draw to a close.
For me the episode was very powerful because it illuminated the similarities of the warring parties. They had much more in common than they had in differences. Most importantly, they ALL believed in the power of war to solve a dispute. Though you could clearly see that it stopped immediately upon agreement, as water stops boiling when you remove it from the flame. War is ever gratified and fed by participation in war. Bush and Saddam, Bush and bin Laden ... they all believe we can kill our way to a safer world. But we cannot.
Safety may be achieved, instead, in the healing and the closure found by Ms. Nakamura and Rich's grandmom, walking to church to light a candle. It may be found in their hearts, and in the hearts of any who understand that the ground zero in the War on war, is and will always be within us.
What could not be possible if war were framed as our adversary? If violence was? What could we achieve if conscious and intentional steps were taken to stamp it out (through never indulging and feeding it), as we might an adversary like smallpox or cancer? We play the foolish games any time we indulge our passions for the purpose of harming other human beings. That is hard, because it places the responsibility for stopping war squarely on us, but it simultaneously offers us something remarkable: choice within our direct and immediate influence. We just need to remember this in times of pain and anguish. We just need to remember that pain and anguish do not subside by causing still more pain and anguish. We just need to remember the power of candles and love and 1,000 origami cranes.
And finally, I don’t know if you will ever have occasion to meet any hikabusha in your lifetime, but if you do, would you please give them a hug?
On to comments! clammyc submitted this a bit late for last night's diary, but I am happy to include it tonight!
Just got home to see that my diary got good reviews. Wanted to submit one for tonite: lotlizard's reply to goodasgold regarding the hypocrisy and irony of Greenwald in Greenwald's comments about Germany filing suit vs. Rumsfeld.
reflectionsv37 submitted this one.
Aloha! Firecrow posted this comment to short rant on my hatred of Abu Gonzales. I think his/her comparison of GW actions contrasted to those of Abu Gonzales are worthy of a top comments entry!! Mahalo
Clem Yeobright sends this one:
smintheus on the rationing of "Friedmans!" ;)
From Miss Blue (Some of these are from deleted diaries. I do not know if they can be viewed by non-TU's, but for what it's worth, here they are!):
I would like to recommend several comments stemming from the now-deleted "dog vomit" spam diaries by Andydoubtless. Comment by rserven Comment by Melvin Comment by pat208 Comment by LithiumCola Comment by Arken I'd also recommend the entire diary: Fix the f**king recent diary list, Kos!!!!!!!!!!!!! regarding the same issue. Hilarious. Thank you.
From BarbinMD:
...for tonight's top comments from my "Embittered Washington Post Reader" diary: From distributorcap, a hilarious take-off on the "I Love Lucy" vitameatavegamin bit, and Turkana, makes the important point that "the neocons and the economic conservatives are trying to shift the blame from ideology to implementation."
OrangeClouds115 submits:
I just love this one from McJoan, reflecting on the 04 election.
Cronesense emailed the following comments for inclusion:
Diary: I confess; it's all my fault By: cskendrick cskendrick writes his own lyrics to 'I Fought the Law'. BarbinMD smacks csk for this sin. monkeybiz unloads on csk. cowgirl confesses to her own sins! joynow finds a whole new list of 'blames'! ~~~~~~~~~~ Diary: The Most Memorable Moments of Daily Kos By: Delaware Dem pattyp asks this question.
Finally my selections: This comment is actually out of recommendability, but I still liked it, and hope you do too! marykk on the return of a Democratic prodigal son, GothmogIV, in his first dKos diary. robokos speculates on Kissinger and the role of the Iraq Study Group in changing US Iraq policy in Darksyde's fine front-page story on Bush losing the war on terror. greatwhitebuffalo raises a question which had not occurred to me, at least. This administration was caught writing and planting stories in US newspapers. Are similar stories now being planted internatiopnally, which may then be quoted and cited domestically? francisholland examines preposterous claims as elements of the case for war, in a thought-provoking comment. Is there a critical loophole in Senator Dodd's attempts to amend the Military Commissions Act? Catrina tries to shine a light on some of the flaws, in jlynne's diary on the issue. (The diary is out of recommendability, but not the comment or the short dialogue with jlynne following.) CTLiberal offers a different take on what they may be thinking when they say things are going well in Iraq. dotcommodity recommends focusing attention on robocalls in campaigns like Eric Massa's, in Eric Massa's diary. world traveler with an account of personal spiritual travels in rserven's Teacher's Lounge from yesterday. The comment was made today, however. bronte17 has a detailed comment on the original rationalizations for invading Iraq, with a followup comment from inclusiveheart on the possibility that there were two simple reasons behind Saddam's strange silence about the absence of WMD in Iraq before the war.
Tonight's Top Mojo: Top Mojo - excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments and C&J comments: 1 a candle for you --- bumblebums - 78 2 Investigatin will bring Bipartisan Impeachment --- BentLiberal - 57 3 i completely disagree --- tlh lib - 53 4 oh dear, dear Jerome . . . --- nyceve - 49 5 I count the hours Al, thank you --- craigb - 49 6 dear god --- tlh lib - 48 7 Today's MY Birthday! -- Na na naNa nana! --- CSI Bentonville - 47 8 Wonderful! --- allmost liberal european - 44 9 Imagine --- standingup - 43 10 I take it black, like my men :) nt --- OrangeClouds115 - 43 11 Looks like I picked the right week.,, --- irate - 43 12 DadaKos --- melvin - 43 13 It is scary --- kfred - 42 14 ErrinF not only couldn't get... --- Land of Enchantment - 42 15 there's something very important in there --- Turkana - 41 16 (Video) Kos Kicks Kook on King --- Al Rodgers - 41 17 candles and my condolences --- Avila - 40 18 No lie...I still grieve for him --- cfk - 40 19 'Fraid so. Sniff sniff :( --- cskendrick - 40 20 But... but... We were fighting dog vomit here... --- pat208 - 39 21 Oh, Jerome...my thoughts and prayers --- bibble - 38 22 Maybe what Seymour Hersh was revealing --- sherlyle - 38 23 organic all the way --- Turkana - 38 24 (Video) Bring It On - Jon Stewart X-Mas Warrior --- Al Rodgers - 38 25 LOL. --- Delaware Dem - 38 26 In yesterday's thread the distinction --- Granny Doc - 37 27 Bob Johnson's diary switcheroo. --- pat208 - 37 28 eric, --- lipris - 37 29 when one soldier dies... --- DawnG - 36 30 Oh yeah, the war profiteering is going to be huge --- PaulGaskin - 36
Top Mojo - everything included: 1 Tip jar n/t --- BarbinMD - 280 2 Tip jar --- occams hatchet - 256 3 Tip Jar - November 19 --- Jerome a Paris - 221 4 oh man, getting the new diary editor to work --- OrangeClouds115 - 180 5 here i am! --- buhdydharma - 142 6 where's that candle graphic? --- hekebolos - 123 7 (Slide) Some Wounds Will Never Heal --- Al Rodgers - 114 8 Tip Jar --- Vyan - 103 9 Yay! Pooties, ..... err, Tip Jar! --- PhillyGal - 93 10 a candle for you --- bumblebums - 78 11 here i am! --- buhdydharma - 78 12 And I'm sure that description --- peeder - 76 13 This is now available for your consideration --- teacherken - 73 14 Tip jar n/t --- BarbinMD - 64 15 Most memorable moment? --- Stand Strong - 58 16 Investigatin will bring Bipartisan Impeachment --- BentLiberal - 57 17 just in case --- clammyc - 56 18 i completely disagree --- tlh lib - 53 19 Sleazy --- bink - 53 20 oh dear, dear Jerome . . . --- nyceve - 49 21 I count the hours Al, thank you --- craigb - 49 22 Please don't let this diary --- Nathaniel Ament Stone - 49 23 Both of tonight's resources --- pastordan - 49 24 dear god --- tlh lib - 48 25 Today's MY Birthday! -- Na na naNa nana! --- CSI Bentonville - 47 26 Tip Jar...and if you have action items to add... --- Elise - 45 27 Wonderful! --- allmost liberal european - 44 28 Imagine --- standingup - 43 29 Looks like I picked the right week.,, --- irate - 43 30 I take it black, like my men :) nt --- OrangeClouds115 - 43
Please add your own selections below in comments! We'll be delighted to read them! Thank you for reading tonight! (And Happy Birthday, CSI Bentonville! Great comment!)