The voices inside my head were never as loud as the voices I heard this morning from the vigilers at the Voices for Peace Vigil this Thursday, March 10, 2005. I came to the vigil late, about half an hour late, but I still managed to get a few ideas from these peace-maker vigilers.

"Even though it's a simple witness, a small group of us," Julia said, "we're taking a stand. At least once a week we're connected to this issue and raising awareness." And at least once a week since last April, almost a year, they've been taking this stand. It's a commitment few have had the pleasure of making, a commitment few will ever make. And this awareness doesn't phase them one bit.

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Every week I go to the vigil, the mood is very high, the vigilers are talking happily to one another while holding their signs and flashing peace signs to drivers passing by. One might think that each week would be the same, but it's not. Each week someone new shows up or someone can't make it. Like a few weeks ago, a man joined the vigil holding a sign that read, "The KKK is right!" The vigilers quietly greeted the man and as it approached 9:00 a.m., the time to break up, they gathered their signs and other stuff together and walked away leaving the man and myself on the corner talking about why the man thought the KKK was right.

"All Life is Sacred." That's the main theme of most of the signs. Other themes include 'no war,' 'shelter the homeless,' and 'stop the killing.' Their presence on the corner of Bridger and Las Vegas Blvd. is welcomed by most. As I was interviewing one of the vigilers, a man from a car yelled out that he wanted some information. The vigiler walked up to the car, handed the man a flyer, and came back to finish the interview.

"The theme came out of the frustration from the post-election reports of people voting their conscience against abortion and against gay marriage," Eugene says, "yet, these same people support war?!?" Yeah. How is it possible to be against the killing of fetuses but not be against killing people in a very violent and vicious way?

Ryan Hall has been out there vigiling for some time now, so I asked him what brings him to this corner. "It has to do with a desire to change the world," he says even though he realizes that this small group cannot change the world alone, he still feels it's important to be out here. "Culture tells us what's important is what you own or how much power you have," he continues, "not the value of human life. It's important for people to be a witness to the value of human life."

That's just what these courageous peace-makers are doing. Every week, at least 45 weeks so far, they're out on this corner to be a witness to the value of human life. They witness humanity so the rest of us will know what it looks like when we've found ourselves overwhelmed by the hyper-technical society in which we live. Happily, they stand on the corner. Someone' s gotta do it.

If you're interested in attending the vigil or if you want to help out in other ways, call Eugene at (702)327-7460.