On Wednesday I joined the Suffolk University Peace Walk for their last walk of the term. (Walks will resume in September.) This group is the sister group of the Harvard Peace Walk group that I joined two weeks ago for a walk around the Harvard University campus. Both are part of the Inter-university Coalition, which includes Boston College and Boston University as well.

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On the Peace Walk we carried signs honoring the soldiers and civilians who have died in the war in Iraq, walking silently throughout the campus. It was a simple act. There was no fanfare, no outcry, no hype. Just silent walking. But in that simple act, I experienced a renewal of purpose. The simple act of walking, of DOING something active for peace, was quite satisfying.

Suffolk University is located within blocks of the state capitol building, the Boston Commons and Public Garden, the theater district, the red-light district, the financial district, Beacon Hill and city hall. Walking through this area brings one in contact with all walks of life, from the affluent residents of Beacon Hill to the homeless residents of the Boston Commons, from arty theater people to stiff politicians. This area is a major tourist attraction with its many historic buildings, and with its "Freedom Trail", a walking route that takes tourists past the many buildings.

So walking through this area holding a sign that read "Jasem Ala Ata, age 18 months, died in Iraq in 2003 from shrapnel", and the others in the group carrying similar signs provoked every kind of reaction. Many, many people gave thumbs up or smiled or nodded approval. Stiff politicians seemed nervous or resigned. Toursits snapped pictures and took video. A throng of high school students pointed and joked, and some approached for flyers. A piano mover struggling to lift a piano into a third story Beacon Hill loft window yelled out "peace y'all!" We even walked past the Fox News office, which is directly across the street from the capitol building.

The effect is that people are shaken, if only for a moment, out of their daily pattern and reminded of the issues of war and peace. They are reminded that real people have been destroyed and that their fellow citizens care. This simple momentary reminder secures the inevitable success of the Peace Walks, each week.