Editor's Blog

By Erin Polley, Eyes Wide Open Program Assistant This morning, Peter Lems (AFSC's Iraq Program, Marq Anderson (Eyes Wide Open Nat'l Tour Manager) and myself ventured over to the 7 Stages Theater in Little 5 Points. There was a screening of "The Ground Truth", followed by a screening of the AFSC produced documentary "Bringing the War Home" about the 3 year national tour of the Eyes Wide Open exhibit. I have seen both documentaries several times, but was still moved to tears by the images of the war and the stories of returning soldiers in "The Ground Truth". Even watching our own documentary brought tears to my eyes hearing the stories of military families and remembering all the incredible vets, families and organizers I have met over the last three years with the tour of Eyes Wide Open. Below the fold... It was a pleasant surprise to find that many of the people in the audience had seen Eyes Wide Open in their own communities or had heard about it through the media. Many people asked if we could bring it to their hometown. Sadly, we had to share the news that we are no longer touring the national exhibit because of it's unsettling size (we are currently at 3,578 U.S. casualties as I write this), but that we are breaking the exhibit up into 50 state exhibits. A few folks spoke to me afterward about coordinating the exhibit in their states or hosting an existing state exhibit in their community. I was glad I ventured over to the Little 5 Points neighborhood for the screening of these two great films that I admire and have seen over and over again. If you haven't seen either of them, "The Ground Truth" is available for rental from many video stores as well as www.netflix.com. "Bringing the War Home: On the Road with Eyes Wide Open" is available on our website at http://www.afsc.org/eyes/experience-ewo.htm.