For my statement, I took a 3x3 piece of cardboard and wrote "good morning vietnam" then crossed vietnam out and wrote iraq. I chose this particular message to show similarities between the wars. It represented the sense that our government, even after vietnam, continued with its headstrong ways. I thought it also represented and compared the censorship of both wars and how not everything we watch on tv is what it seems. I was hoping to engage the publics mind in order for them to understand what is really going on in the middle-east right now.
Reactions from the public were a bit surprising to me. During my 10 or so minute walk down under the bridges at the waterfront, I had two men come up to me, one a vietnam vet, who couldn't have agreed more with the sign. The rest of the time i either received blank stares or a disapproving shake of the head. One man yelled at me from across the street, but what he said was completely unrelated to the sign.
It felt good to know that some people who aren't necessarily from my generation still respect and agree with some of the things i have to say. It also feels good to know that not everyone thinks like me. Without the diversity of thought, the world would be a truly boring (and non-democratic) place. It felt like i was actually taking matters into my own hands, even if it was only a small-scale statement. I think standing for what they believe in should make any person proud.