1) Anthony, coming from a wealthy Republican family, became disillusioned with his forced marriage and decided to dedicate his life to the anti-war movement after the US involvement in Vietnam. 2) He left everything behind six years ago to become an activist, joining protests and rallies on a daily basis. Though he lost connections with his family, he felt part of something important. 3) One morning, as he prepared for another day of protests, Anthony heard on the news that the war was over, leaving him in shock and questioning how his life would change.

1. Just Another Day
by
Gilda Bastías Villagrán
He thought everything had been a dream when he heard it... Years of
protests, rallies, bed-ins, sit-ins, and all the possible forms of “ins” had come to an
end. “Surreal” was the only word he could think of at that moment. His face went
pale; his absent look described the surprise he felt, his hands were shaking and he
dropped the cup of coffee he had prepared minutes ago. Was the war over? Was
this another trick of the government? Questions that Anthony couldn’t stop asking
himself... He was skeptical and didn’t know what to do or think. A cold sweat ran
down his back, and a bizarre thought invaded him: “If it’s true, what am I going to
do now?”
Another normal day of living the life of a fugitive had started a couple of
hours ago. Like every day, Anthony would get up, wait for the phone calls that
would reveal the strategies to be followed that day, and he would begin a new day
in the struggle for peace and justice. Nothing foretold that that day his life would
change so dramatically once again.
Six years ago he had made a decision that had changed his life for the first
time. His involvement with the Anti-War Movement had brought both bitterness and
happiness to his life. He had lost his family; he had gained a bigger one. He had
lost his very well-paid job; he had gained a twenty-four hour job with no payment.
He had lost everything, he had won freedom. However, Anthony had no regrets, as
he felt that the cause was worth fighting for. Now he was living his life the way he
had always wanted to.
Coming from a wealthy Republican family, he never thought his life would
change so dramatically after the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War: “I have to
do something,” he had thought at that moment. And so he did. He became an
activist, a fugitive, a dreamer, a believer. He was 25 when he decided to leave
everything behind and dedicate his life to the movement. He had never been
pleased with his life or with the way his parents made him live it. They had forced
him to marry an aristocratic American woman for whom Anthony had no feelings.

2. His marriage had been a three-year lie and a three-year nightmare for him. His wife
was a calculating woman who never cared about him or his feelings. The only thing
she could think of was parties and dresses. “Life with her is like a neverending
dinner party,” he used to say to his parents, but they were too busy finding a new
exotic location for their next vacation to care about what Anthony had to say. “How
can I go on with this fake life?” Anthony would ask himself every night as he went
to bed with his spouse by his side. “This can’t be all there is,” he used to think while
we was falling asleep, his wife’s warm skin contrasting with how cold their
relationship was. God knows how hard he had tried to lead this kind of life, but he
never felt the slightest bit of excitement or joy for it. And then, what everybody was
expecting to happen happened—an event that marked Anthony’s fate forever.
After being attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats, President Johnson had
ordered the U.S. Navy and the Airforce to strike back in North Vietnam. For many
U.S. citizens—and for the whole world, for that matter—the U.S. involvement in this
war was absurd and ridiculous. Anthony, however, used to recall this day on a daily
basis and always remembered it as the day his soul was set free. It had been
another hot and humid summer Sunday. Families, trying to escape the heat of the
city, had run away to their houses in the suburbs. The temperature had climbed up
to 98°F, and the sun had no mercy as it burned the pale skin of Anthony and his
family. As usual, everyone in the family but Anthony headed to the backyard where
the swimming pool and the big chestnuts were, trying to avoid the relentless sun.
Anthony observed them from the luxurious living room where his mother kept the
Victorian furniture, and where all the paintings of his ancestors were hanging from
the crisp white walls. While staring at this picture that seemed so fake to him, he
listened to the news on the radio and heard about the attacks of U.S. troops in
North Vietnam. The contrast between seeing his family enjoying themselves in the
garden and hearing the horrifying news amplified what he had been feeling for so
long. So on that day, and without a good-bye, he left for good. That day, Anthony
turned his numb life around.
After selling everything that could tie him down to his past, he became an
activist for the Anti-War Movement, joining the Students for a Democratic Society.

3. Family, friends, home—everything was in the past now and there was no way
back. In spite of the theselosses, Anthony felt for the very first time like a part of
something important.
Since then, every day had been worth living and fighting for. Every day was
full of excitement. Every day, a battle for ideals, dreams, values, peace, and love
was waged. Every day, humankind was filled with hope.
Within months, Anthony became a model for his fellow compatriots, who
recognized in him the values of peace and love. But becoming such a prominent
figure had also brought problems with the police, as he had become one of the
local icons for maintaining peace. Although the protests were peaceful, there was
always a reason for the police to break up the marches and disperse them.
Six years of protests; six years of chosen loneliness; six years of living a
new life, different from the one he was born into; six years that had gone by so
quickly and yet so slowly. Six years of deep scars that no one but him could see...
His whole life passed in front of him in a matter of seconds.
And there he was, getting ready for another day of peaceful protests, of civil
disobedience, of fighting his own war. Walking around his small apartment, feeling
anxious like every morning, waiting for today’s intructions, and wondering where
life would take him today. Anthony poured himself a cup of coffee, walked to the
living room, switched on the TV, and heard the announcer say, “The war is over.”