" You know, it’s funny; when the world changed, I was outside in the sun reading a book under a tree, and I didn’t even know the world had changed until hours afterward. But the world had indeed changed. We all had. Our innocence was officially over. We couldn’t pretend to be ignorant of world events anymore. We were forced to pay attention. We’d been smacked in the face and told in no uncertain terms that things weren’t as we thought they were and that things would never be the same again. I don’t just mean America in general. I mean the youth of America. I don’t think it was just me. I think it was a lot of us that finally woke up that day. As we were forced to pay attention to our country and our government and its response to world events, we began to see something really disturbing. Things that were happening didn’t make sense. We claimed things that didn’t seem right, we didn’t follow through on things that seemed obvious to follow through on, we went in directions that seemed to have nothing to do with anything else. And it kept getting worse.
Sometimes I wonder where our future went. I wonder where I can find that country I learned about in elementary school; the one that always did the right thing and was a beacon of hope and prosperity. I wonder if I can buy a plane ticket to that place they used to call America, because I sure don’t see it anywhere around here. Hope? Prosperity? What’s that? Upward mobility seems increasingly to be a myth, just like all the other things I learned in school that turned out not to be true. Things like presidents who are honest, wise, and strong. Presidents who are bold and compassionate and the best leaders the country has to offer. Presidents I can respect. You see, I don’t think they exist. I know I’ve never seen one.
I feel lied to. I feel deceived. I feel cheated. I feel robbed. I am sick and tired of a government that is not what it should be, not what it could be. I miss something I have never seen. I am angry and I am ready for a change. I am a young person in America."
4 comments:
Betmo
That was very good! I won't add to anything. I will just say I realized everything changed on 9/11. I wrote a book about it titled Rip Van Winkle wakes up in the trenches of America after 9/11. Peace!
If a 23 year old feels this way then maybe someday the revolution for our souls will come about.
There will be change here. Whether or not we will have a hand in steering it is still up to us, in spite of all that's happened.
I'm afraid that there are too many young people more interested in "American Idol" than who will be the American President. We're quite likely gonna pay for that, sooner rather than later.
teach the children well. That was sad but also offers a glimmer of hope for the future.
Post a Comment