Peace Takes Courage

For close to a week, I've been following the story of Ava Lowery. Ava is a 15-year-old from Alabama, the same state where I lived for close to 30 years of my life. I know personally that much of Alabama, particularly rural Alabama, is very conservative. Yet in this hotbed of conservatism Ava operates the Web site peacetakescourage.com. Ava's site has a forum and news updates, but it is best known for her animations, which show, quite bluntly, the tragedy of war and the deceit used by our government officials. She has produced some 70 in all, and most are quite hard-hitting.

As people have found out about the site some have praised it. Others have viciously verbally attacked the 15-year-old girl who is simply standing up for what she believes in. I first heard of Ava in a New York Times editorial, but she has also been featured in other media such as The Progressive, CNN, commondreams.org and on radio shows hosted by Alan Colmes and Stacy Taylor.

I'd like to congratulate Ava on what she has done so far, and I hope she will continue to fight the good fight. Best wishes down in sweet home Alabama.