the stentorian I ncssm
opinions & editorials
december 2001
Letters to the Editor
Freedom is nothing more
than a fleeting thought if
we do not defend it
To those who were so
adamantly protesting the war
on terrorism on Wednesday,
December 5th 2001, I ask for
you to remember this; One day
before the date of your protest
in 1991, journalist Terry
Anderson, the last and longest-
held American hostage in
Lebanon, was freed by his
Islamic captors after being-held
for 2,454 days. Eleven of his
fellow captives were murdered.
Two days after that date, in
1917, a German submarine
sunk the USS Jacob Jones and
64 American sailors died. In
1941, one day after that, the
attack on Pearl Harbor left
2,403 Americans (civilian and
military) dead and another
1,708 injured. One month
before in 1780, Patriot irregu
lars under Colonel William
Campbell defeated Tory forces
at the Battle of King’s
Mountain in South Carolina.
Fifteen days before this, on
September 22nd of 1776,
Nathan Hale said, “I only regret
, that.Lhave .butjone, lifejtD lose,
for my country.” The 21-year-
old Captain and schoolteacher
was then executed by the
British. Eleven days before this,
in 2001, almost 4,000
American civilians lost their
lives in the terrorist attacks on
the Pentagon and World Trade
Center.
I’m not against protest, nor
do I think your right to protest
should be silenced. It is a right
guaranteed to us, it is a right
that was embodied and protect
ed by everyone listed above. It
was also the right of each per
son who has died for our coun
try. And it is a right protected
by those who serve in our mili
tary. Freedom is what America
stands for, but the idea of free
dom is nothing more than a
fleeting thought if we do not
defend it. By protesting the
protection of America and her
way of life you are protesting
the foundation of America as
well as dishonoring every man
and woman who has died to
ensure our freedom and to pro
tect our way of life. As an
American, I feel that one
should honor what we stand for.
I respect those who want
peace, but I respect those who
.died,for America more.,They
have more than words and ideas
to command respect with: they
have their actions. They don’t
want to die, but if their death
means peace and protection for
Americans, they are willing to
do so. Protest that.
Dan Piergallini
Class of 2002
What justifies thou
sands of innocent peo
ple dying?
I would simply like to pose
some questions to the NCSSM
community about the war. First
of all, I will state that the cur
rent situation is continually
changing in Afghanistan, and
the war is practically over as I
am writing this letter. But even
at the close of our war on
Afghanistan, many of my
queries have been left unan
swered.
We’ve probably all at least
considered this question: What
happened to the war on terror
ism? I don’t see the correlation
between the Taliban, originally
funded by our country during
the .Cold War, and the. current
Rejecting the Greater Challenge
Stephanie Poole
W e all have those
nights. You know
the type. You finish
your chemistry, check the a.m.
time, look longingly at your
bed and sigh. Then you take
another gulp of caffeine and
start working on the English
paper that’s due tomorrow.
Ever wonder what it’s all for?
Ask any senior, and you’ll
uncover the Science & Math
goal.
“I just want that diploma
stamped with the flaming dia
per,” says Rebeca Yutzy.
It’s true. Forget the danc
ing sugarplums; when seniors
do get to sleep, visions of walk
ing across the graduation stage
are in our dreams. Yet some
times in the midst of the strug
gle, I stop and wonder if it’s all
worth it. Do I really need that
diploma?
Certainly, I thought during
one of these late night moments
of existentialism, there must be
people who did not obtain the
official release papers from
high school and went on to lead
happy, productive lives. So I
started researching, and what 1
have discovered may shock you.
1 have found proof that debunks
the “We must all graduate (or
die trying)” theory.
There have actually been
plenty of successful people who
never had the honor of sporting
the lovely cap and gown. Peter
Jennings, the man who reported
some of the greatest events in
the 20th century, never finished
his high school education. John
Major was a grammar school
dropout at sixteen and the
Prime Minister of Great Britain
30 years later. Forget the need
to prove your intelligence;
Albert Einstein certainly
believed in his own abilities as a
high school dropout. Others,
such as Samuel L. Clemens
(Mark Twain), Charles Dickens,
Benjamin Franklin, Anton von
Leeuwenhoek, Walt Whitman,
and Thomas Edison, all became
leaders in their academic fields
without bothering with a sec
ondary education.
If you’re worried about
your financial future, remem
ber that there are dozens of mil
lionaires and billionaires who
skipped out on graduating. Jim
Clark, founder of Netscape and
the first Internet billionaire, did
not obtain his diploma. Neither
did George Eastman (inventor
and founder of Kodak film roll
camera and corporation),
Andrew Carnegie (self-made
millionaire businessman and
philanthropist), Amadco Peter
Giannini (founder of Bank of
America), and Frederick Hemy
Royce (co-founder and design
er of the Rolls Royce Motor
Cars Company). John D.
Rockefeller, Sr. actually
dropped out of school just two
months before graduation and
went on to become history’s
first recorded billionaire.
Oddly enough, American fast-
food monopolies also share the
dropout trend, as Ray Croc
(founder of McDonald’s), Dave
Thomas (founder and
spokesman of Wendy’s), and
“Colonel” Harlan Sanders
(founder of Kentucky Fried
Chicken) were all self-made
billionaires without a high
school diploma.
There are also hundreds of
successful artists, singers,
authors, actors, photographers,
film directors, athletes, coach
es, and television executives
who further exhibit why drop
ping out could prove to be a
wise life decision. I’m also
positive that there are thou
sands of people in the world
whose lives show that a earning
a diploma does not guarantee
happiness or success.
So why do we endlessly
stress over this meaningless
piece of high-quality paper? I
certainly have no idea. The evi
dence is there: dropping out
could very well prove to be the
best choice. 1 wish 1 had more
time to think about it, but I have
to start studying for my exams.
“War on Terrorism.” The ties
between al Queda and the
Taliban are shaky at best. And
although Osama bin Laden
claimed responsibility for the
horrifying mass killings of
September 11th, the logic in
attaching accountability for
such a collaborative action is
absent. It seems as though our
leaders simply needed a scape
goat - someone to blame for
the terror. And since al Queda
had hidden itself too well, our
leaders turned the might of the
United States against
Afghanistan, a poor, sup
pressed country. (I might add
that the predicament of this
country was facilitated by the
U.S.’s funding of rebels fighting
the Soviet Union way back
when. The economic turmoil
birthed the Taliban - a group
that holds vast resources in a
destitute nation.)
My second question is
this: What justifies thousands
of innocent people dying? I’ve
heard lots of rhetoric, but not
the meaningful answer that I
am seeking. Even if some feel
that they can justify the mas
sacre of innocents with “daisy-
cutter” bombs, I stress that
death is death. I do not see any
essential difference between
the students here at NCSSM
and young adults living in
Afghanistan. What makes
them deserve to die? I thought
that after the September 11th
tragedy, there would be a mass
movement of peace. I believed,
in my foolishness, that people
would see that no one deserves
to die - that all human life is
sacred. Unfortunately, some
did not see that as truth.
Instead, they opted to “bomb
the hell out of Afghanistan.”
What did Afghanistan do?
George W. Bush said that our
enemy was terrorism.
Finally, I ask, “When will
this cycle of violence end?
Where will it end?” The war on
Afghanistan is almost over.
What next? It seems that our
leaders have begun to point
their guns at a new enemy: Iraq.
And, since al Queda is still
functioning, will they retaliate
against our war on
Afghanistan? I do not under
stand the lack of governmental
concern for the roots of our cur
rent problems. They simply
focus on clipping back the
numerous leaves, which grow
as fast as - or faster than - they
can clip. Our leaders don’t care
why “they” hate “us.” Perhaps
it is too complicated for them to
bother with. Perhaps it would
mean a total restructuring of the
way the world is run. But one
thing is certain to me: the terror
needs to end. The United
States citizens, the Afghani cit
izens, the Iraqi citizens, and the
inhabitants of the entire world
do not deserve to live in fear of
hatred and violence.
So I propose that every
member of the NCSSM com
munity think long and hard
about what life is for - what the
purpose of this existence is.
The answer may not appear, but
the reflection may just give a
deeper understanding of the
entire situation.
Sarah Wilson
Class of 2002
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