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Title: With Iraq Play, Students Act on Beliefs (Intimidation FAILED)
Source:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/columnone/la-na-iraq
URL Source: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/06/22/2026/print/
Published: Jun 22, 2007
Author: Erika Hayasaki
Post Date: 2007-07-03 13:40:34 by Calamity
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Keywords: Iraq, Students
Views: 527
Comments: 46
With Iraq Play, Students Act on Beliefs Their war drama was halted before it could premiere. Old enough to fight in it, they were being silenced. It didn't seem fair. by Erika Hayasaki WILTON, Conn. - She could not look at her principal. The words coming out of his mouth infuriated her. There would be no play about the war in Iraq, he told the drama class at Wilton High School: The topic was too controversial, too complicated. Sitting in the front row of the campus theater on a March morning, Erin Clancy squeezed another drama student’s hand and tried to hold back tears. They had been preparing for the production of “Voices in Conflict” for two months. One student sitting onstage began to yell and curse. The performing arts department head ordered her to address the principal with respect. Erin didn’t want to offend him either. In her four years at Wilton High, she had grown to like the principal. But this play meant more to her than others she had acted in, like “West Side Story” and “Grease.” She had to say something. Her voice trembled. She was 18 - old enough to fight in the war, Erin told him, and old enough to vote for leaders who send people to war. So why couldn’t she perform in a play about it? It was not open for debate. Principal Timothy Canty told the students his mind was made up. He left, and the students swarmed their drama teacher. It had been Bonnie Dickinson’s idea for them to research the war and come up with monologues based on the words of U.S. soldiers culled from documentaries, books and articles. Dickinson had stayed quiet during the principal’s talk. The students asked her: What do we do now? Dickinson told them she didn’t think there was anything they could do: He was the principal, and he made the rules. The students talked of writing letters to the local newspaper or protesting the principal’s decision. There had to be something they could do to change his mind. It didn’t seem fair, Erin recalled telling her father in their family room later that evening. There was a war going on, and she wanted her classmates to care about it. – IT started as an end-of-the-year project. Dickinson, 53, a drama teacher at Wilton High School for 13 years, wanted her students to perform something with substance. She thought of a former Wilton High student, Nicholas Madaras, who had joined the Army after graduating in 2005. He was killed in September by a roadside bomb. Dickinson had not followed news about the war closely but figured she could learn about it, along with her students, by creating a play. She began collecting sources in which soldiers had talked about their experiences. The goal, she told the class, was to present different viewpoints. They would piece together a series of vignettes from real-life characters. One of several documentaries students watched for their research was called “The Ground Truth,” http://thegroundtruth.net/ in which veterans condemned the war and their treatment by the military after returning home from Iraq. Many supporters of the war consider it a biased film. To balance the students’ references, Dickinson found books and articles in which soldiers talked proudly of their job, and the importance of fighting for freedom. The veterans in “The Ground Truth” touched some of her students. James Presson, 16, could not get Navy veteran Charlie Anderson out of his mind. In the film, Petty Officer 2nd Class Anderson, 30, talked about suffering from post-traumatic stress, and how his life fell apart after fighting in Iraq. James was named after his uncle, who died fighting in the Vietnam War. He watched the news daily, and couldn’t understand why his teachers did not discuss the war in his social studies classes. He often noticed yellow ribbons, American flags, and “Support Our Troops” banners in Wilton, an affluent community of 18,000 about 50 miles northeast of New York City. But he seldom heard anyone talk about why the troops were fighting and dying. Watching the film, James wondered how Anderson must have felt to come home to a daughter who didn’t remember him and a marriage that fell apart. He thought about what it would be like to go from being a proud U.S. soldier to a lonely veteran who could not find a job. James wanted to act Anderson’s story. Erin, who loves wearing high heels and anything pink, was surprised she identified with soldiers who had shot people and lost limbs. She empathized with the young woman who joined the military to pay for college and ended up agonizing over starving children in Iraq. Something Anderson said in the documentary stuck with Erin too. He talked about coming home from the war and trying to relate to his friends: “It’s just that our priorities were different,” he said. “It was hard finding friends. People were boring to me, not that I was that interesting of a person. I just always thought they talked about stupid stuff.” Before working on this play, Erin used to listen to reports about Paris Hilton. Now she pays attention to news about soldiers killed in Iraq. Her friends outside of drama class didn’t understand her preoccupation. After her research, Erin concluded that she supported the war. She believed the government should finish what it started. She wanted other students to learn enough to form their own opinions too. The class had not finished putting together a script when the principal called the drama teacher into his office. Canty told Dickinson that parents were concerned about the play’s content, she later recalled. A student, whose brother was serving in Iraq, had expressed interest in performing in the play. But once the student got involved, she disagreed with its direction because she felt it was antiwar. Her mother complained to the school. Dickinson offered to revise the script, but Canty was not satisfied. When he visited the class, students asked whether they could perform the play for their parents. Canty said no. They could not perform the play at Wilton High, or anywhere else. – A few days later, someone tipped off the media. The drama students suspected it was a parent, angry that the play was canceled. Local and national television programs and newspapers did stories. Strangers from across the world encouraged the students, and soldiers stationed in Iraq sent words of support, including Anderson from “The Ground Truth.” Then came the backlash. Someone had started a Facebook Web page criticizing the drama class. One posting said the students should be “hanged for treason.” Others called them “worthless” and “unpatriotic” kids with “liberal pig parents.” At first, the drama students were scared and nervous to return to school. In hallways, kids tried to pick fights with them. Others talked behind their backs or shouted: “You take that play somewhere else!” The girl with a brother in Iraq had been friends with many on the cast, but she stopped speaking to them. “Our student body has very much rejected our play,” Erin said, “and everything we stand for.” James learned to shrug off the name-calling and glares. He tried instead to explain to people why he felt so strongly about the play. “Getting away from the body counts and images is OK,” he said. “You need to escape and watch ‘American Idol’ or ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ But there are times when the real facts must be faced. We’ve got something huge going on.” Supt. Gary Richards issued a statement calling the script’s language “graphic and violent,” and said allowing students to act as soldiers “turns powerful material into a dramatic format that borders on being sensational and inappropriate.” Outraged by the censorship, professional theater directors contacted Dickinson. A Connecticut playhouse invited the students to perform there, and two New York venues asked to feature “Voices in Conflict” off-Broadway in June. A 1st Amendment attorney who had heard about the play contacted Dickinson. He offered to represent her pro bono. With the lawyer’s backing, the class made a decision that the school administration did not fight. The students were headed to New York. – GRADUATION and the play were a month away. Erin stayed busy preparing for the ceremony, taking final exams and practicing her lines at night. The days grew more hectic. For most of the students, their biggest audiences had been made up of friends and family. Now it would be theater-lovers and reporters. In June, they had three hourlong performances scheduled in Connecticut and three in New York. Dickinson coached the actors late into the night. They rewrote the script at the last minute, incorporating letters from soldiers and the students’ experiences after the principal banned the play. The teacher smiled and teased the students during rehearsal, but she had her own worries - the school had placed her under administrative review. Her attorney, Martin Garbus, said Dickinson had been accused of trying to present a biased play that violated copyrights, mobilizing the students to follow her political agenda and lying about what was in the script. It would be weeks before the administration concluded Dickinson’s job was safe. Until then, she tried not to let it discourage her. “This is high school with kids who could, at any minute, enlist,” she said. “We have recruiters in the cafeteria all the time. They wanted to learn about the war. Can’t they learn about it for God’s sake?” – IN 20 minutes, the final show in New York would begin. Inside the Public Theater, the cast gathered in a basement dressing room, littered with their McDonald’s bags and Starbucks cups. It was the same building where “Hair,” a play about hippies opposed to the Vietnam War, had premiered in 1967. Forty years later, the drama students from Wilton High were about to have their most important night in the spotlight. “I’m kind of freaking out a little bit,” said James, pacing in a corner. In less than two hours he would meet Anderson, the war veteran whose character he was playing. The students and their families had paid to fly Anderson from his home in Virginia to see the show. Erin applied foundation around her eyes in front of a mirror. She would graduate tomorrow, but she was more anxious about tonight. Erin could not believe she was going to act in front of such an imposing audience - most notably Anderson, and another character in the play, National Guard Lt. Paul Rieckhoff. Dickinson whisked through the dressing room: “Kids, listen up, put on your strongest voices!” “I’m nervous!” a student yelled. “Bonnie, do we have a full house?” “Oh yes,” she said. “There’s many people out there lined up. It’s totally booked.” As the lights dimmed, more than 225 people waited for the show to begin. The 16 teenagers stood onstage, forming two parallel lines. They wore jeans, cargo pants, T-shirts, canvas sneakers, black flats. One wore a camouflage bandana. Together they said: “We choose to hear the voices of those who serve.” A harmonica played. Erin stepped to the front of the stage as the rest of the cast sat in chairs behind her. She recited a monologue from Army Reserve Sgt. Lisa Haynes: “So I go to Iraq. And on the road we saw a lot of Iraqi kids, poor kids, hungry, pretty kids. Malnourished with big stomachs. We were told not to give them anything. They would come up to your vehicles hungry and we weren’t allowed to give them anything.” Then it was James’ turn. He rubbed his hands together and brushed his fingers through his hair: “The doctors say I have post-traumatic stress disorder…. My symptoms didn’t show up right away. Then everything just caught up to me and hit me all at once.” “I have nightmares,” he continued. “Everybody says I didn’t do anything I should be ashamed of. So why can’t I sleep?” As the play went on, the characters talked of killing insurgents and killing innocent people, missing their families and missing Iraq, loving their country and feeling anger toward it. One spoke of praying for the opportunity to fight. After serving, he talked of witnessing life get better for the Iraqi people. Some of the words came from soldiers who had been killed in the war. The actors recited their names, ages and dates of death. “Voices in Conflict” ended with a standing ovation. Some audience members wiped tears from their eyes. Anderson walked up to James and gave him a hug. In a discussion afterward, Anderson rose from the audience: “The Navy’s core values are honor, courage and commitment,” he told the class, “and I can say beyond any doubt that you all exemplified all of them.” Anderson asked the students how this experience had changed them. Erin answered on behalf of her classmates: “We just have come away with the utmost respect for everything that you have done for our country,” she said. “Thank you.” 
Drama teacher Bonnie Dickinson, whose job was at risk over the play, greets the audience after the performance. “This is high school with kids who could, at any minute, enlist,” she said. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
Students from Connecticut’s Wilton High School perform their play about Iraq veterans at the Public Theater in New York. “There are times when the real facts must be faced,” one student said. “We’ve got something huge going on.” (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 38.
#1. To: All (#0)
Everyone, I heard about this story on the radio this morning. A station I had never heard of called American Public Radio. I could not find this story there, nor, a podcast to share, which was incredibly powerful. The host had the HS teacher and two of the students in to tell their story. They also had some audio from the play, which I also could not find, so I will try to paraphrase the best I can. The whole thing brought me to tears. In the show they did a 'rap' song, a chorus of which went something like, FOR THOSE WHO ARE FREE, STAND UP FOR THOSE WHO ARENT, YOUR WELCOME! It's repeated several times, and just knocked me off my chair. It was almost like a military cadence in tone, and meant to stick in your head. Had I not been trying to remember as much as possible about this whole broadcast, I probably could remember more of it for you. They talked a soldier who is suffering from PTSD, and said, "I went away to war, and someone stole my country." Where am I? An uncle of our of lost, sent a letter to the HS teacher and asked if she could include the thoughts of a last letter home of his nephew. He was saying, STAY IN SCHOOL, YOU'LL BE OLD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND LATER.... He died at age 24. LASTLY, The HS teacher mentioned that as part of the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT, recruiters are allowed on campus every day, YET, the school found this play objectionable. ... IN trying to locate this story to post, I did find a couple of other links to share. A few movie reviews. I'd never heard of the movie, have you? The Ground Truth Director: Patricia Foulkrod Rating: 8/10 This is a documentary about a subject that should get more attention than it does -- veterans who've come home from the War in Iraq and are now facing problems in assimilating back into civilian life. Its revelation is that our wounded vets -- with special attention paid to those who are psychologically wounded -- aren't getting the treatment they deserve from the government that employed, trained, and damaged them, as their symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder are ignored and their financial benefits and medical treatment are withheld. As filmmaking goes, the movie's about as spare and direct as can be, and I've often said I'm not particularly fond of the find-fascinating-subject- and-just-shoot-it style of documentary, but here the subject is as strong as it gets, creating an exposé every concerned U.S. citizen should see. Ultimately, on a more indirect level, it could become raw evidence of our times; I admit my mind actually wandered towards thinking about how differently wars have been fought, how ancient wars were unlimited in their barbarity, and how in contrast the modern age can watch a soldier traumatize himself based on guilt from conscientious acts of savagery (e.g., killing an unarmed woman or child). It actually says something concrete about the instilling of moral values in this kind of society and the depths of its effects on ordinary people. The movie, even as a simple appeal to compassion, can thus become a study of relative humanism. Its existence, then, can somehow make us feel lucky for living in this civilization where a plea to the conscience can even be a rational idea at all. (added 9/14/2006; edited version featured at ReelTalk Movie Reviews) The Ground Truth: http://www.rottentomato es.com/m/the_ground_truth/ Film Review http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=16008 By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat The Ground Truth Directed by Patricia Foulkrod Universal Studios Home Video 09/06 DVD/VHS Documentary Not Rated Vietnam veterans had some powerful truths to tell about war, killing, patriotism, duty, and honor, but few Americans listened to them. They returned home from war with physical wounds and emotional scars. Now the same thing is happening to those coming back from the war in Iraq. But thanks to Patricia Foulkrod, the courageous and perceptive director of this extraordinary documentary, these veterans can be our spiritual teachers. They are speaking truth to power, and we are called to listen and learn. The documentary begins with scenes of recruiters for the American military targeting men and women of color and those who are confused about who they are and want to be. In a series of interviews, soldiers who enlisted give their reasons: getting money for college, serving the country they love, lack of job prospects, and escaping from the ghetto. They all agree that what are conspicuously missing from the recruitment pitches are any references to shooting civilian women and children, torture of those held for questioning, or the trauma that they could bring back with them from the war zone. Here are some facts, as of June 2006: • The war in Iraq is now in its fourth year. • More than 2,500 U.S. deaths and 18,000 U.S. wounded have been recorded since the war began. • From 2003 through 2005 calendar years, 210 active/deployed U.S. Army soldiers have committed suicide. The number has risen in each successive year, and the 2005 toll is the highest since 1993. • An estimated 1,600 children have lost a parent to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, • Defense CEOs make 160 times the pay of an army private in combat. • 95% of Army Reserve Soldiers in Iraq and other Middle East bases are experiencing significant pay/compensation problems. • The war in Iraq is costing the U.S. nearly $200 million a day and nearly $6 billion per month. The training of soldiers for the Iraq war is depicted in all its dehumanization as these young men and women are whipped into shape as efficient killing machines. They are advised to respond with aggressive violence in every situation and to see everybody in the country, including civilians, as the enemy. Or as Charles Anderson, who served in the U.S. Navy puts it, "You don't go to war in a country and not go to war with its people." Iraqis are portrayed in chants and other brainwashing techniques as people who deserve to be exterminated. All this training leads soldiers to actually look forward to the situation where they will kill someone "just to see what it is like." The warrior myth of training camps also includes a strict adherence to duty and obeying orders. Segments from the actual war in Iraq give us a sense of the terror these soldiers feel as they face the threat of death from gunfire or explosives every day. Two veterans give accounts of murdering civilians in cold blood: one is in a tank that runs over a child; another shoots a woman who turns out to have had a white flag in her purse. Whereas the news media covering the war never uses the word kill, it is a constant in the lives of these soldiers who see their comrades die and often respond in revenge, taking out whoever is handy. More facts: • On May 19, 2005, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reported that, out of 360,000 discharged veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), more than 85,000 sought medical care from the VA — or, 1 in 4 veterans. • The three most common physical health problems for war veterans are musculoskeletal ailments (principally joint and back disorders), mental disorders, and dental problems. • Because of better equipment and medical treatment, the survival rate for injured soldiers is higher than in previous wars; many are now living with severe disabilities. • 35% of Iraq veterans have already sought out mental health services. • 1 in 3 homeless Americans are military veterans. • As of September 2004, the VA's patient-to-doctor ratio was 53 to 1. • In 2005, the VA forecasted a $2.6 billion shortfall for meeting the growing health care needs of U.S. veterans. "We put everything that we are, and everything that we ever will be, on the line when our country asks us to do so. . . . You expect them to fulfill their commitment to you, just like you don’t hesitate to them," says Sean Huze, a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps who has just completed a play which addresses Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The last section of The Ground Truth takes a hard look at the unconscionable treatment of those who risked their lives and served in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is amazing and morally distressing that a country that spends so much money on the engines of war and the technology of killing can spend so little to take care of the veterans when they come home. There are heart-breaking interviews with the loved ones of these veterans who share the pain of their difficult ongoing journey. Nickie, Sean Huze's wife, speaks for many of them: "I was blessed that he was home. . . . and not in a body bag or coffin, but a part of him died over there and I don't think . . . I take that back, I know he'll never be the same person." She's speaking not only about those who have lost hands, arms, legs, or walk the streets with disfigured faces or bent and broken bodies. Equally tragic is the plight of those who are troubled by PTSD, also known as shell-shock or combat fatigue. Symptoms include depression or anxiety which is manifested in nightmares, flashbacks, extreme emotional detachment, and survivor's guilt. One couple talks about their son's suicide, and an articulate African-American talks about his constant fear that one day he will take his own life. As these veterans struggle with the demons of war, the Department of Defense has been busy trying to deny the scope and reality of PTSD and failing to take responsibility for those suffering from the disease. The Ground Truth is a clarion call to action for citizens and Iraq veterans to work together to bring an end to this senseless operation. The filmmaker gives the last word to Camilo E. Majia of the U.S. Army who refused to return to Iraq and spent nine months in prison: "There is no higher freedom that can be achieved than the freedom we achieve when we follow our conscience, and that is something we can live by and never regret."
Here's a link to an NPR audio report on this. You can hear the cadences, the insane response by some fascist Bushbots, etc. These kids (and their wonderful, courageous teacher) give me hope that this country indeed does have a future and, somehow, despite all of our endemic, systemic problems, will, one day, be free again. Happy 4th everyone!
And here's a mainstream media report on the play from ABC News.
Here's an incredible two part Democracy Now interview of the teacher, cast and one of the soldiers given a voice in the play: It turns out that Wilton, CT was the town that inspired Ira Levin to write "The Stepford Wives". LOL.
Thanks for that nugget. Seems like their kids have broken the pattern.
Thanks for the links and pings. I totally missed this story until I caught it here on 4um. It sort of gives new meaning to 'No Child Left Behind', at least in my mind it does. Happy Independents (sic) Day!
As in no child shall be left unrecruited by the military? See my post to chrissy above for additional commentary on this. Happy Independents (sic) Day! Nice pun (since we have no real national independence to celebrate anymore).
#46. To: Arator (#38)
As in none before 1959.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestFOR THOSE WHO ARE FREE, STAND UP FOR THOSE WHO ARENT, YOUR WELCOME!
#23. To: Calamity, christine, Red Jones, Ferret Mike, aristeides, Mekons4, Fred Mertz, Zipporah, robin, lodwick, Jethro Tull, Burkeman1, Brian S, all (#1)
#24. To: All (#23)
#25. To: Arator. everyone (#24)
"It's not a war issue, it's a truth issue." bump
#26. To: lodwick (#25)
#27. To: Arator (#26)
It turns out that Wilton, CT was the town that inspired Ira Levin to write "The Stepford Wives".
#33. To: lodwick, Arator (#27)
#38. To: Fred Mertz (#33)
It sort of gives new meaning to 'No Child Left Behind', at least in my mind it does.
Replies to Comment # 38. As in no child shall be left unrecruited by the military?
End Trace Mode for Comment # 38.