11:01 p.m. | 2003-08-01
War torn society, and cheescake
I had a thought the other day, as I was reading one of my favorite diaries. I haven't much talked about serious issues, about things other than Gabe and my inane little life surrounding Mac Grill and my friends. The rest of the world is up in arms, don't think that I don't know about it.
We went over the fact that I went through the IB program, let's just say as being a part of that, you're required to have an opinion, and not only that, but a well based one. I followed the news closely. I had always been interested in foreign affairs, especially those Russian, and they seemed to dominate the majority of my thought up until my Junior year. There's where things happened, we've been in school for almost three weeks, I have my first English presentation today on Chaucer's Canterbury tails (gag me with a spoon). I have not studied, I have not prepared, I have no notes or note cards, yet I'm ready to kick some ass.
It's a Tuesday, late start, that means my alarm goes off at 7:45, I roll over to listen to a rock and roll station, only to hear something else. There's panic, there's noises, recordings from NBC, I've been waking up to the radio for so many years, then later an alarm, I'm not coherent. Eventually I roll over and listen, sitting up with my feet danglin off the bed. One of the DJ's comes back on...
"For those of you just joining us this morning, there's been--well a terrible occurance. The Nation is in a state of panic as one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City has been struck by a plane, it teeters on the brink as we speak. The authorities have asked that you please do not over ride the phone line with..."
My mind freezes, New York? My mother's in New York...she's there for some hospital thing. My father, he's in Utah, my first thought is that every single air flight will be cancelled. This is the first time I've been left alone for a week, it's smack dab in the middle. I get confused at first, I get up and turn on the tv, to see every single station, even the Home Shopping Network and every kids station, covered with the same images. People running, smoke, buildings...falling. There's no mention as to school closing, and I go...for some reason, I go.
My first class is band, we sit there and watch, no one talks, we stare at a tv. I fight back tears as I try to think about the details my mother left me, about where she had been staying, was it near? The South of the two towers falls in band. We watch it, not saw the replays of it, I was staring at the tv as it happened. The room gasped.
My second period was English, I had to do the presentation, to a room of teary eyed people, one of them listening to a radio with any updates, news of the pentagon and other things came across. I gave it, I gave it proud, I talked about the social injustice of Chaucer's time. It wasn't right. I got a 100% on the presentation, not that I could have done it any better, she just gave us all a perfect score.
The next weeks were filled with the exact same images, trying to find who did it, I found it hard to return to normal life, would there be normal life? It returned. Then we invaded Iraq, it went away, it was surreal, it was like a war was being fought, but it just started, and like that, it ended.
The entire time since September 11th, while the event itself wasn't, well wasn't as touching as it appears, it was just memorable. I started reading the paper, keeping up on Diplomat's names. I started having an opinion.
I don't think that war is a good thing, I fear there is no other answer, and even if there is, it's going to happen the way the government wants it to. I don't like the way that the US has power over everything, going against the UN and NATO, and moving in at their own will. Though, as much as I don't like the idea of one super power to "keep things safe" it's going to happen that way.
I send my love out to all of the people in the armed services, whether you decided to be there, were pulled into it because of your life, or your parents said you had to, I say thank you. For all of those who have gone before, to fight for things either just or not, I say thank you. It does not matter whether or not I agreed with the Vietnam War, you were there, and you were there in one interest, whether forced or not, and it was us. Thank you.
Gabe has this thing with passing Purple Hearts, I think I'll adopt it, and pass it on to as many people as I can. If I am 5 minutes late to something, so be it, his sacrifice was greater than mine, far, far greater. There's a whole world or wrong and right out there kids, and it's about time we faced it, trying to fix it, peice by peice...
Signing off--Lauren
