A Piece of Peace Essay

The terrorist attacks on September 11th affected more than just the lives of those in mickle who were the direct victims of the attacks. An entire acres was victimized and the whole nation grieved for those who suffered in New York City. As the attacks occurred I sat in my high school slope class and while the t apieceer taught I day dreamed. It was a typical Tuesday morning and to be truthful I did non ever hear her the head start time she explained the tragic events that had taken place just muments ago.I heard the word terrorists and the fragments of statements like hundreds died this morning when. Then, I could only hear my heart break down in my ears. I watched my teacher turn on the TV. She flipped by means of several stations. I dont look upon what I saw b bely I can remember what I heard. It was the sound of concourse crying. Over the next few months, as a nation, we followed the story as did the world. I can remember electric chair Bush attempting to comfort the United States and telling us America would be going to state of war for reasons that werent clear to me then and certainly argonnt clear to me now.Somewhere between the night of September 10th, when I was plotting how I was going to avoid school the next morning and the night of September 11th, I grew up. When I look vertebral column on that time in my life I am left with a single haunting thought It is the spare-time activity of peace which leads to destruction. Even today, years after the terrorist attacks, people still talk about how that day changed everything. I agree, in some ways. It changed me and I became something unused. It changed my family. It changed how American stead other Americans and how we view the rest of the world.Americans have since the birth of the nation believed that their way was the best way. Americans were shocked to find out that people hated them enough to unavoidableness to kill them. September 11th forced Americas to reflect on the military, social, and political actions of America and how they effected people of other countries. Perhaps Americans are not always in the right. For example, President Bush I gave weapons to the Afghan people to win a war once morest Russia. When the Afghan people defeated the Russian, Afghanistan was completely destroy. American promised them they will help rebuild but they did not.That is why the terrorist were able to amaze into the country and making a terrorist breeding ground. I dont think that September 11th effects the way Americans conduct their lives daily. People who say it does are feeling the pressure of guilt. Society says we must(prenominal)(prenominal)iness not forget, and as Americans say we wont. As a nation the citizens learned that there is a fine line between terrorist and freedom fighter- we are just afraid to admit it and seem unamerican. Those men who ran planes into building, killed Americans and killed themselves unavoidablenessed only one thing peace.They wa nted freedom from the western world and choose to die. on the dot as we wanted indep annulence from England centuries ago. In looking for peace they destroyed lives, families, and shook the protected ground the United States sat on. It made the country stronger but not smarter. I am anxious over the global discord and the cultural ignorance that seems to grow between the United States and the rest of the world. The problems in Iraq foretell and may spark future clashes with a number of civilizations in the future. Just recently I drove home from work and I flipped through different radiocommunication stations.I caught the end of Bob Dylans The Times They Are A-Changing. Its funny because that is my moms favorite song and I had forgotten it existed. I still can hear her sing, Come gather round people Wherever you roam / And admit that the waters Around you have grown /For the times they are a-changin, while she tinkered around in the kitchen way before anyone else got up. I dont know that I ever really listened to the words before. Dylan knew and my mom knew things I was just beginning to. Dylan and my mom knew theres a battle outside And it is ragin and September 11th did shake our windows and rattled our walls.As a nation its citizens have no right to criticize What we you cant understand and our sons and your daughters Are beyond our your command (Dylan). Our s overageiers fight a war for reasons no one really knows for America that would rather criticize them then help in country that does not seem to want peace. Dylan sings about the disadvantage in war and that we should not be afraid to speak our minds Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance wont come again And dont speak too soon For the wheels still in spin And theres no tellin who That its namin.For the loser now lead be later to win For the times they are a-changin. (Dylan) Bush wants peace but for his own reasons and through those reasons Ameri can soldiers are dying, and so are the Iraqi people. It is ironic that while those terrorists die nobly but ur soldiers die in such a cruel way. McKay writes in his poem, If We must(prenominal) Die, that people should not die for nothing or by doing nothing. That death is inevitable, especially in war, but all people must fight for the things we want in this world and hold on to life and liberty as long as we can O kinsmen we must meet the common confrontationThough far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow What though before us lies the open autograph? Like men well face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back (Claude McKay) In the summer of 2001 I was lying in my hammock and I could see a butterfly in my backyard. I remember as a child learning that caterpillars itch and go into cocoons to find peace from that. transform in a way is a form of destruction. To be able to be someone new people have to give up their old selves and move past who they used to bee.When a child develops into an adult, he must give up his toys, his childhood beliefs like believing in Santa Claus. His childhood fantasies must be destroyed if he is to move on. In the years that followed September 11th I could feel myself adapt to my new surroundings ( livid Line 2). White, through the use of nature explores the scary nature of change I have to shed my skin again Adapt to my new surroundings become other version of myself. The change within me does not happen overnight but through the evolution of my life (White) I was filled with Americans understanding of patriotism and unity.The new American was like the first fish that grew tiny legs (White Line 8). Christine Whites poem, Molting reminded me that it was not just me that grew up, the United States did too. Whites point of view is that change is not a dreary thing and is inevitable. Nearly every person around the country joined unitedly as one unit ed entity to pay tribute and homage to all the fallen heroes. There was a sense of harmony and peace. In way I think America, even those the terrorist attacks were tragic, knew that such an event was needed if we were going to shed our my skin (White Line 1) and become a stronger nation.As time goes by and my bad memories fade I remember America in its full glory. Watching the cumulative effect of humanity shining through the fire and smoke. I remember how many people spoke about the importance of peace and understanding. I wonder if there can be peace if Americans are sort out both support and protest our soldiers in Iraq. The war over there caused a war here between Americans. It is the protesters protest protesters on both sides of the issues each wanting peace in their own way. People who do not want our soldiers fighting in Iraq believe that they would be peace if America stop butting into everyones business.People who are for the war in Iraq believe peace will only come afte r the destruction of all terrorists. In the end these protesters (on both sides) are destroying the morale and lives of people fighting in the Iraq war and are disgracing the memories of those that died. The price of peace is extremely high especially because Americans do not know if we can ever have it. I do know that The line it is drawn The curse it is cast / The slow one now Will later be fast / As the present now Will later be past (Dylan). I do know that America must hold her ground against the terrorists.Americans will not be tyrannized and forced to live like cowards. Even when we face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back (McKay Line 14). The American fight for freedom and peace has also managed to destroy our economy. Oil prices increased, the value of the American dollar decreased, and the stock market bottomed out. When Clinton was President the stock market was well over 10,000 after 9/11 it drop well under 8000. President Bush spe nt the Clinton Surplus on military, and it is just now in 2006 that the stock has become stabilized.I think that our economy will emerge from this disaster and become strong once again like it was before the attacks. In the pursuit of peace and destruction, people in Americans have finally understood their place in society and were back in the sun (White Line 10). Not as a not as a bystanders but an active and willing participants. Americans realize that there needs to be a great deal of change and those changes have started. American citizens encourage our senators, congressmen Please heed the call / Dont stand in the entrance Dont block up the hall (Dylan). And governmental officials are making changes.I think our nation needs to help a new generation of people realize that aftermath of that day when humans lives were lost and Americas unique humanity and independence was demonstrated. This generations police van were opened and turned around in the wake of airplane crashes. On September 11, 2001 many people lost their lives because men were seeking their own individual(prenominal) peace. Daily our soldiers are destroyed one by one for the goal of peace. The American economy struggles because of the war for peace against terrorism. Americans fight Americans over whether we should be in Iraq or not which tears apart soldiers pride.Before that Tuesday in September, I never thought about life and death. I never considered the consequences of war and the defence reaction of freedoms. Now that I am older, I realize that September 11, 2001 was not just pivotal point for me but America itself. Not since Pearl restrain had the United States been unexpectedly attacked on its own land. Just as families pulled together so did the United States as a whole. As a nation we cried together and we healed together. To actually witness the attacks was life changing but to be part of the healing process was life affirming.