04.02.03
THE SKY IS FALLING!
All my pre (and post)
pubescent fears about Armageddon are here. Global
unrest, catastrophic
disasters, freakish
untreatable killer viruses, terrorist
threats, unexplainable
weather phenomenon. Except for the one where animals talk, all bases
are covered. The end is surely near so I suppose that second sleeve of
Thin Mints won't matter now.
For the anxiety prone
hypochondriacs of the world, let me assure you, these are trying times.
(Not to mention fattening ones.)
Are you ready?
Here's where I state my
position on what's happening in Iraq. All the cool
online
journalers
are doing it.
And here it is. My very own
position. Right now. Coming to you live from Gainesville, Florida. And
the position is . . .
I don't feel neutral
about what's happening in Iraq.
How about that? I am
actually able to commit to saying that I don't feel neutral! In fact,
I'll go so far as saying I'm extremely conflicted about the situation
between our government and the Middle East!
Are you not proud to know
me?
It just kills me that I don't yet know what is right and what is wrong
with regards to this military action. The more I read the more
ambivalent my position becomes. It's very isolating--everyone I speak to
is either FREE IRAQ!!! or NO WAR!!! in all capital letters, loud voices
and many exclamation points. The only thing that is becoming clear to me
is how much we don't know about what's happening, and won't
know until this is all over. At best, all I can do is piece together
what I can; slowly, methodically and with great care.
I have largely ignored US mainstream media with the exception of NPR,
the Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic Monthly, favoring instead foreign
press and web blogs of independent
journalists and plain
old citizens,
both here and around the world. So far, this method has provided me with
what I perceive to be balanced coverage, but everyone has an agenda. I
have not found one source that is not propagandizing in some form
another, and that's okay. I can work with that. It's my moral
responsibility as a citizen of the United States of America in the 21st
century to keep informed. And if that means spending hours each week
wading through the personal biases of hundreds and getting to the facts,
so be it. Compared to what our troops and Iraqi troops are doing right
this very minute, it's the least I can do.
Pass the Girl Scout cookies,
it's going to be a bumpy ride.
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