Lesson That You Learned From

¶ … lesson that you learned from LAST NIGHT I DREAMED OF PEACE?

There are several lessons to be learned from the Vietnamese war experience. One thing that really touches me from Dang Thuy Tram's Last Night I Dreamed of Peace is the universal theme of love. The timelessness of her words speaks to us even today and reflects the law of nature ordered toward the common good. More often than not, we take the gift of peace for granted. Last Night I Dreamed of Peace is an opportunity for us to stop and reflect for a while.

Summarily, the diary recounts the war time experience of a young and energetic 27-year-old Vietnamese doctor who gives up her life for the sake of others. It is not only an account of a tragic occurrence, but also an exposure of the internal strife that burns within her. Both internal and external struggles push Thuy to yearn for peace. If she could not find peace in her soul she was able to give it to others via her care for war victims. Hers is a passionate story which confirms that "Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing."1

The unveiling of this wondrous piece of literature reminds us of a similar fight put by Martin Luther King, Jr. -- the quest for peace, justice and equality. Both King and Thuy advocate for the same course in different ways. The Dream comes at the same time. The one is killed in the evening towards dusk and the other dreaming at night. This sets a contrast between night and day, unrest and peace, hate and love. In the long run, good always prevails over evil. The lesson is clear: that of self-giving out of love for the other. Hope takes the dream beyond hard times, past the darkness of war and the injustices of society.

Thuy's selfless demonstration of love is an inspiration for youths all around the world. Phil Shannon asserts that "Thuy's diaries have been a success in Vietnam, especially among young people who make up two-thirds of the population. Here was the human face of war, seen through, as Frances Fitzgerald records in her excellent introduction, "a brave, idealistic young woman, prone to self-doubt and vulnerabilities, a romantic in spite of her discipline." …[destined] to free her country and to find love, the dreams of a young woman for peace -- "the dream of mine and of thirty million Vietnamese." 2

Frederick Whitehurst, a Vietnam War veteran, cited by Michael Sullivan recapitulates Thuy's vision of the invaluable nature of life as he struggles to come to terms with himself. His passion wells up thus: "I'm not a pacifist, I'm not at all," he says. "I come from a military family. I'm a company man. & #8230; when you put a bullet into a human being you cannot take back that thing called life. You cannot get it back, and Dang Thuy Tram describes so deeply what that thing is, that thing called life. And a bullet went right through her forehead and in that instant, she was gone. Can we think of another way to do this?"3