by Logan Finley
David Finkel is a man oozing with stories. As he conveyed the circumstances surrounding the men and women affected by war, his words seemed propelled by deep convictions. Often, his awareness to the audience passed into oblivion, as he entered into his own mind- a mind tortured with the stories. There were moments throughout his speech that the remnants of what he experienced while in Iraq not only exploded off of the pages, but filled the aisles and crept into the hearts of those who were listening. The surrounding theme of the talk was stories; stories of brokenness, stories of devastation, stories of remorse, stories of the men and women who not only fought a battle in the Iraq War but also the war that was waged after their return home. I believe David himself said it best, “Good Soldiers is only half of the story. Its an ongoing war when you return.”
He portrayed the story of Shumann, a man labeled as the “good solider”. A man who experienced deployment three times before leaving as an injured and dead man in a red cross helicopter. His wounds weren’t external but internal. Finkle depicted the story of Michael Emory, who lost his daughter and wife because of his irrational actions. Now, his relationship with both is fully expressed through phone calls and a cross country distance from his family. Amanda Doster’s story was told. She is a woman battered by the loss of her husband, constantly living within the grips of a false reality that he’s alive somewhere and will be returning home to her one day. And finally, the story of Danny was told- the story of a man who couldn’t find his way out of the deep, dark depression that encompassed him until the day he hung himself, in order to obtain some sense of solace.
We all have a story being written, a grand, and meaningful script to follow. Everyone in the universe has some war being waged inside of them and your individual story comes out when you choose to either fight or submit. This life unfortunately is not constructed around peace. After hearing David Finkle explain the affects of war, it illustrates just how desperate this world is for something more meaningful- a ray of light, if you will. I believe wholeheartedly that our generation has the ability to unite and shine a light bright enough to eliminate the shadows caste by a war zone. It is time to rewrite the story of humanity. Opposed to destruction and violence, love and peace will be the ink. Opposed to war, unification will be the pen, and opposed to enemies, friendships will be the scribe. [1]
[1] (Sleeping At Last- Mars) This song was playing in my head the entire time David Finkle was speaking. If War had a theme song, I believe this would be it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?