Meredith Heratd
September 19, 2001
8
Opinion
The United
States has fallen
O The United
States has turned
away from its name>
sake.
Last Tuesday morning
America was hii wiih a terrible
tragedy. The most vicious
aiiack in our history, the most
recent on American soli since
the War of 1812, was unfolding
befwe our eyes.
Millions of people watched
the tragedy as it poured into
their living rooms, pervading
their meaning breakfasts with
images of horror and with
shrieks of terror.
Others were on their way to
work when their morning talk
show was interrupted with the
news.
Frantic whispers turned to
cries in the workplace and later
that day the changing of the
guards roared with our national
anthem and Congress stood
united on the Capitol singing
“God Bless America.”
Relief fundraisers were
established across the country
to give whatever they could to
support the victims and their
families.
The response to blood dri
ves, even those in our home
town, are so full that the wait
ing lists span into next week.
Hie last time there was such
a response from Americans
was during the Oklahoma City
bombing. Still, this past week's
events have brought such an
outpouring of American patrio
tism that enormously exceeds
those of 19%.
For once, Americans have
Slopped what they are doing to
put their values into perspec
tive.
How sad it is (hat something
so tragic has to be the inspira
tion for change.
Up until last week, most of
our lives continued without a
hitch- We may have doubted
something on our daily sched
ule but never our freedom.
Faith prospers when it is chal
lenged. h allows us to evaluate
what is important in a life and
what is not.
This past week, the value of
our liberties seemed to be
heightened, as flags waved
from car antennas and office
buildings, and stadiums of
baseball fans sang with such
vigor as never heard before.
The lives lost in this tragedy
were not lost in vain.
They are not victims of a
religiously fantic man. Rather,
they are the heroes whose lives
were sacrificed, unknowingly,
to show Americans how far we
have fallen from our namesake.
We have become a money
hungry, capitalist-seeking soci
ety whose success is only the
want for more.
Flannery O’Connor once
said, “The truth does not
change according to our ability
to stomach it.”
The truth is that most of us
take freedom for granted.
The truth is that our lives
have become too preoccupied
with self and less of what is
better for our fellow man.
The truth is we now need to
stand together to fight terror
ism in our country.
The truth lies in our ability
to realize how far we have
gone but more importantly, the
truth lies in our ability to not
see freedom as a God-given
right but rather a privilege
worth dying for.
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Americans want best of
both worlds
□ The United
States cannot ignore
the rest of the world.
JONI Smfth
Managing Editor
Americans have beard, read,
and seen so much in the past
week about the terrorist attacks
that shocked the entire world
last Tuesday.
Some of this information we
need to know, like how we can
be keep this tragedy from hap
pening again, but some of it we
could live without, like the way
the burnt flesh smelled to the
passersby on their way to
work.
Here is a piece of informa
tion that all Americans who
support an isolationist view
need to know-
i've heard so much about
how our country brought the
terrorist attacks on itself by
being overly involved in inter
national affairs.
Many people have said that
if the United States would stay
out of other countrie.s' business
we wouldn't be hated by radi
cals such as Osama Bin Laden.
However, what these people
do not understand is that our
country is the world's super
power.
That means that we are
expected to behave in a
parental, nurturing manner;
this is our role in the world.
Since we are the richest
country in the world, we have
to give economic aid to coun
tries in need.
Because we have the most
advanced military in the world,
we must protect countries who
do not have this luxury.
Also, since we have not been
fully engaged in any interna
tional conflicts, prior to last
Tuesday, and we do have a
generous flow of money and an
intimidating military, we are
naturally the country who
should go to the aid of less for
tunate countrie.s.
What would happen to coun
tries like Israel or Kuwait if we
did not intervene in their dis
putes with other nations who
are more powerful, larger and
more militarily capable than
them?
We rush to the aid of other
countries because we have to.
Consider it part of the job
description for a world hege
mony.
We are not the first super
power to help a weaker nation.
The United States was once
on the opposite side of this
spectrum when we were a
fledgling, young country trying
to get on its feet during the
Revolutionary War when we
greatly needed the help of
France to defeat the British.
They obliged because they
were (hen a superpower and it
was their duly.
Americans have a tendency
to want the best of both worlds.
They want to be the most
powerful country in the world
with the best economy and
most stable government, but
they do not want to interact
with the rest of the world and
they certainly do not want to
lend a helping hand when it is
needed.
What would this country be
like today if France had not
pitched in with their calvary,
ships, supplies, and money dur
ing the time when we were
struggling to stay afloat?
The better question is would
the United States of America
even be?