Reply #41: These are the next 4 paragraphs.... [View All]

[hwmnbn]

to stay within DU guidelines.....


The media buzzed because of one of her web site’s Flash animations, titled “What Would Jesus Do?” In it, a child sings “Jesus Loves Me” as horrifying photos of Iraqi children, wounded by war, slide across the computer screen. The animation caught the attention of other anti-war activists, and Ava found herself a center of attention.

The startling juxtaposition of innocent faith and painful reality are typical of the Peace Takes Courage web site. In many ways, the site reflects the same kinds of juxtapositions found in Ava herself.

For someone on the verge of being sweet sixteen, Ava was a remarkably poised and focused young woman, unlike the materialistic girls who throw their parents into mountains of debt for birthday parties on MTV’s “Sweet Sixteen.” At the same time, like a genuine teen-ager, she was passing up the carbohydrates offered on our dinner menu because someone told her she looked “fat” in her CNN interview. (She’s not; she’s simply a teen-ager whose body is still developing). She wouldn’t smile for a photograph, either; she wanted to hide the braces on her teeth.

Ava and her mother, Tamara, acknowledged that the sudden interest in Ava’s efforts has been a challenge, but one they relished nonetheless. Tamara said her gifted daughter has long been someone who bucked society’s systems. (Tamara’s last name, which is different from Ava’s, and her occupation are being withheld to protect her daughter). For instance, Ava got into trouble in the third grade for a book report on Franklin Roosevelt, her favorite president. Her teacher insisted that she couldn’t possibly have read and comprehended such an advanced book by herself, and gave her an embarrassing lecture in front of her class.