Happy Holidays from Willie Nelson Peace Research Institute

Danny Parker and Jody Parker share their Art for Peace with us on the eve of an annual holiday dedicated to sharing and giving thanks with family and friends. Danny Parker, USMC 1/3 68-71, wrote Alone about his experiences in Vietnam. Jody Parker, Danny’s son, performed all the vocals and guitar as well as creating this powerful and moving  video.

In Saigon, Danny received his orders and a gun, “…Do what you have to do to stay alive. You’re Alone…”

The song continues to remind us that the great equalizer is death and we all meet our end Alone.

Back home in Los Angeles, Danny says,”…You’re dying a little bit more every day even though you’ve come home…”

The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) was conducted by the U.S. government following a congressional mandate in 1983 to better understand the psychological effect of being in the Vietnam War. There were about 479,000 cases of PTSD and 1 million lifetime PTSD cases as a result of the Vietnam War. The numbers keep rising rapidly as we enter this current era of continuous war.

When you are celebrating tomorrow, please remember that some 18,000 children die every day because of hunger and malnutrition and 850 million people go to bed every night with empty stomachs, a “terrible indictment of the world in 2007,” the head of the U.N. food agency said. This was almost 2 years ago.

Enjoy yourself tomorrow and embrace the spirit of sharing and giving thanks with family and friends with the following in mind.

There is no separation.

We are One Global Family and if one member suffers
we are all  diminished.

Please extend this season of giving to every day of your life and do something to help someone who needs help. You don’t have to look far.

Thanks much to Danny Parker and Jody Parker for this generous gift of love and peace.