This evening, as I made my, self-proclaimed, world famous, tomato sauce, I was half-listening to the evening news. There was a segment that followed up on Iraq veterans ,with severe brain injuries, that the network had interviewed years before. One of them was " better", another permanently disfigured, and one, sadly, passed away during one of his countless operations.

It was a sobering moment for me. I have always been against the war in Iraq. However, I have been guilty of only focusing on those who have lost ther lives, both the American military and Iraqi civilians, and not those who have returned, injured.

Since I was a child, I have been very naive about those who have been "injured". Whenever I hear about an accident, I only worry about the deceased and pay no mind to those who were injured. Its almost as if as long as you remain alive, then you're automatically OK.

Of course anyone who has suffered bodily injury is never OK. I gave my mind a proverbial beating for forgetting those who are still among us. The number of those who have returned injured from Iraq is staggering. We're talking in the tens of thousands. That also means tens of thousands of individuals and families who will never be the same.

As a teacher to children afflicted with severe emotional difficulties, I know that trauma never leaves someone. Therefore, we must also add every person who has served in the military as "injured" as their emotional health will never be the same.

Tonight, I though about how easy it would be for me to change the channel. I thought how, in a matter of seconds, I could make that painful reminder disappear. With the push of a button, I could be finding out who Britney Spears is dating, or what the Jona brothers are up to. I could have pusehd the button and thus erase the thought of all those men and women, whose lives are forever changed.

I didn't change the channel. I continued to watch. I also became enraged, again, at the Bush administration for getting us into this mess. However, I cannot let my anger be the way in which I honor the men and women in our military. I cannot continue to spread anger and bitterness into the universe. Hate begets hate.

I read about the massive funeral in Israel this week, to honor those who had died in the attacks in Mumbai. A rabbi there spoke of forgiveness. He spoke of reacting to those terrorists; hate by doing good deeds for the rest of the world.

I don't fight in Iraq. I admit that I don't want to. I'm not a member of Congress who voted for this war under false pretenses. I'm not one of the private security firms that's making millions off of the lives, limbs and minds both our men and women in service and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

I am merely a civilian, who wants the war to end. Honor the memory of those whos lives were lost, but also, respect the day to day struggle of those who are still among us.

They are here, but no longer forgotten in my eyes.

Open your eyes, this war needs to end.