The Preciousness of Life

The Precious Life

I went to Portland last week. I went to a museum, college, falls and market. I also enjoyed shopping and eating. I learned many things on this trip and the most impressive things were Mt. View Pioneer Cemetery and the Japanese-American's poems. We were faced with someone's life there. I thought about fragile and precious lives.

The Tour of Mt. View Pioneer Cemetery was a quick tour, because we didn't have enough time. It was a huge cemetery, so we couldn't walk through all of the area. I found a difference between the American cemetery and the Japanese cemetery. In America, there are no flowers, no incense sticks and no snacks and the tombs are irregular shapes and rows. On the other hand, Japanese tombs are square and in regular rows and Japanese people bring and put some flowers, snacks and incense sticks on their family tomb. I was surprised at this difference. I wonder what do American people do for their family tomb? I guessed they just visit their family tomb and pray.

I also knew that a memorial for murdered children is planned to be build there. The construction will start next year and the names of murdered victim will be curved in the wall. I think it is a good idea, because a memorial will help victims. It reminds everyone of murdered children. In short, there are many murdered children all over the world; however, I don't want to believe that there are many murderers. I can't understand why there are murders. If I were a parent of murdered children, I could not forgive the murderer. I am very sad as I consider how the parents of murdered children feel.

The 3rd day of the Portland trip, we went to the Japanese-American Memorial. Aika, Nao and Ayumi talked about what they had talked about with a Japanese-American in Spokane before at breakfast time. I read Weed flower, so I could understand his situation easily. He have moved to the another camp three times and stayed at the camp for three years. At that time, he was angry, but now he is not. If I were him, I might be not able to forgive the American government, because I couldn't understand why I have to be put in the camp even if I did not do anything. When I went to the Japanese-American Memorial, I saw many stones which are curved poems. These were written in Japanese and English. One of the poems is "Sure, I go to school. Same as you. I'm an American." I was moved by this poem. They were Americans not Japanese. They have Japanese faces but their thinking is American.

I thought a lot about the preciousness of life from these things. Of course, there are many tombs in the cemetery. There are many reasons of death like disease, life expectancy and accident, but I think that being killed by someone is the most disconsolate reason of death. Sometimes people are killed for no reason. Sometimes there are reasons why someone is killed. Many people were killed during World War Ⅱ. They might have to fight in the war, but I wish the war and murder would disappear from all over the world. Everyone has to think the importance of life deeply.