Thank you to Clyde Haberman of the New York Times' Retro Report for bringing El Salvador back to the news cycle. That said, a characterization such as "the right-wing military-dominated government and left-wing guerrilla groups" is such a gross over-simplification that it does injustice to the masses of landless peasants for whom and with whom the guerrillas fought... the meek of the earth, those who, through no fault of their own, have been stripped countless times of any semblance of human dignity. From the conquistadores to the oligarchy to the military to many aspects of the church, the peasant, the campesina/o was forced off her/his land and impoverished. For the peasant to come to full conscientization of their own worth as a human being, to stand up to the unjust systemic powers-that-be, should enlarge our own hearts toward them and against their oppressors wherever they may be found. To use the phrase "left-wing guerrilla groups" simply perpetuates the misguided, bifurcated US rationale of the past, encourages the polemic divide already deep in our society and minimizes the struggle for justice.
How else might we characterize the struggle for a just peace in places dominated by oppressions past and present?
What stirred in you as you watched the video?
How might we express solidarity with the struggle?
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