In Remembrance
Today is September 11. I can't believe it's been five years since the buildings went down. I really can't believe it's been five years since I was a junior in college either, but that's an entirely different psychological issue I'm ungracefully handling.
But seriously, have you ever really thought about that day and what went down. If you think about it hard enough, it becomes incredibly scary, or at least to me it does. I don't let fear dictate my life though, which is fortunate. September 11 is really heartbreaking. It will forever leave the questions "how" and "why". Because when I start to think about September 11, and especially its aftermath, I fear for the direction our country is headed in. I don't want to live in a country that the rest of the world hates, and where I feel our government's actions are not representative of its people. What percent of the American people are really happy with the way our government has handled the whole situation, but more importantly, what percent of those unhappy are doing anything about it? According to a poll done by CBS last year, 55% of Americans believe going into Iraq was a mistake. (In 2003, the number was only 25%.) It just makes me sad to think that the general public can easily be so ready to support an attack on a country that didn't attack us by tying it to a separate incident. I am pretty sure Osama is not in Iraq right now. Remember him? It amazes me we haven't captured him yet. It seems if the U.S. really wants to arrest someone (Saddam) then we go in and get it taken care of (war in Iraq). Are we so easily swayed by a media call for patriotism and waving flags in our faces? But my main point here is not how stupid most of the American public is or how the government started a war under false pretenses, my point is that I am afraid that we have become way too complacent. If any of you are like me, then you don't really approve of our country's actions and behaviors in regards to the attacks. But if you are still like me, you haven't really done much about it, even enough to know what better course of actions could have been taken. It appears I care, but not enough. And it scares me to think that most people are more concerned with finding the perfect picture to post on Myspace than to try and change things they perceive to be wrong. It seems easier to just ignore the tough issues and go on being self-absorbed, self gratifying beings. Yet, if we all are like this, where is our future headed?
But seriously, have you ever really thought about that day and what went down. If you think about it hard enough, it becomes incredibly scary, or at least to me it does. I don't let fear dictate my life though, which is fortunate. September 11 is really heartbreaking. It will forever leave the questions "how" and "why". Because when I start to think about September 11, and especially its aftermath, I fear for the direction our country is headed in. I don't want to live in a country that the rest of the world hates, and where I feel our government's actions are not representative of its people. What percent of the American people are really happy with the way our government has handled the whole situation, but more importantly, what percent of those unhappy are doing anything about it? According to a poll done by CBS last year, 55% of Americans believe going into Iraq was a mistake. (In 2003, the number was only 25%.) It just makes me sad to think that the general public can easily be so ready to support an attack on a country that didn't attack us by tying it to a separate incident. I am pretty sure Osama is not in Iraq right now. Remember him? It amazes me we haven't captured him yet. It seems if the U.S. really wants to arrest someone (Saddam) then we go in and get it taken care of (war in Iraq). Are we so easily swayed by a media call for patriotism and waving flags in our faces? But my main point here is not how stupid most of the American public is or how the government started a war under false pretenses, my point is that I am afraid that we have become way too complacent. If any of you are like me, then you don't really approve of our country's actions and behaviors in regards to the attacks. But if you are still like me, you haven't really done much about it, even enough to know what better course of actions could have been taken. It appears I care, but not enough. And it scares me to think that most people are more concerned with finding the perfect picture to post on Myspace than to try and change things they perceive to be wrong. It seems easier to just ignore the tough issues and go on being self-absorbed, self gratifying beings. Yet, if we all are like this, where is our future headed?
posted by April at 8:43 AM
2 Comments:
FTR (for the record) choosing a myspace photo is a really big deal.
you're right. the wrong picture would be social suicide.
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