“Remembering Lives Lost to a Lie” Returning violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. —Martin Luther King, Jr. Tonight, on January 20, before the State of the Union address, Pax Christi Naples – supported by Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, other peace groups and faith communities in the Naples area – have gathered to respectfully remember and mourn the 500 American soldiers and 10,000 Iraqi civilians who have died in the war and the chaos that followed. At last year’s State of the Union President Bush deliberately frightened the American people and rushed the nation to war on the basis of these now-famous “16 words” that, at that time they were spoken, were known by the Administration to be false: “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”  Soldiers were sent to war on the basis of this lie and others told about weapons of mass destruction. 500 American soldiers and 10,000 Iraqi innocents died because of such lies. Since the last State of the Union, our nation has been diminished by the loss of all these precious lives. Therefore, tonight we have formed a field of 500 candles, with each candle representing a soldier who died in Iraq. The candle symbolizes the light of that person's life. A banner with the "16 words" will begin a death march down the line of lights. As it moves, a drum will sound and we will call out the name of each fallen soldier, stating their rank, full name, branch of service and age at death. The candle will then be extinguished to symbolize that President Bush's words brought death to this person and cast a pall of darkness over the nation. We will also remember the Iraqi civilians, especially the children. Call to Prayer (Leader): Tonight as we gather to mark the State of the Union Address, we mourn for the U.S. that abandoned diplomacy and waged an illegal and immoral war on Iraq, based on lies, distortions and exaggerations. We mourn for our nation that chose preemptive war in defiance of the UN and in violation of international law. We mourn for our troops who have been exposed to the horrors of war, especially the 10,000 wounded and maimed evacuated soldiers. We mourn for our 500 dead sisters and brothers in the U.S. military and for the 10,000 Iraqi dead who have paid the most severe cost of war. All: O God, who makes peace and harmony in the heavenly spheres, help us understand the futility of war, hatred, and violence. Help us to hear Your voice which counsels compassion, patience, honest dialogue, solidarity among nations, and peace on earth. We pray in particular for these we name tonight and for all the unnamed victims of the Iraqi war that you might bless them with your peace and grant them eternal life with all your saints. We ask this in the name of the God of Peace. Amen. How much longer must we play at deadly war games before we heed the plaintive pleas of the unnumbered dead and maimed of past wars. —Martin Luther King, Jr.