This past Wednesday marked the first anniversary of the peace walks at Harvard University, part of the Inter-University Coalition that also includes Boston College, Boston University and Suffolk University. The walk was very well attended, with a single file line of about 50 people snaking its way in silence around Harvard Yard carrying signs honoring the civilians and soldiers that have fallen in Iraq. I got to speak with a few of walkers afterward, including a woman whose advisor at the University of California, Berkeley was George Lakoff, a man who sold lighting equipment to Jimmy Tingle and a young man who spoke before the walk about the breakdown of language itself in times of national crisis and ideological polarization. The walks will continue over the summer, so I'll join them as often as I can. It's an easy 2-stop hop on the Red Line during lunch hour from my work to Harvard.

The walk again struck me in its profound simplicity. While it exercises no political power, it is an action, a community gathering and a silent vigil, all done in the name of peace. Action increases resolve. Community builds and strengthens networks. The vigil honors the loss of life and the suffering.