Dear Mr. President,
Nine years ago I was a sophomore in high school. I woke up before my alarm clock. I remember I was having a dream about drowning. On any other day I probably would have forgotten the last wisps of this dream as the rest of my morning routine replaced it. I went downstairs and ate a bowl of cereal, squinting at the TV because I hadn't bothered to put in my contact lenses. My stepmother told me a plane had hit the twin towers. The rest of the morning was a series of stories, some true, some false, some never to be properly accounted for later. I was safely on the other side of the country from what was happening, but all morning long I could see my own turbulent emotional reactions in the faces of my classmates. We all felt the magnitude of what was going on; even if we didn't yet understand it, even if we didn't experience it the same way that people in New York and DC did. I remember I heard boys just 16 years old calling for blood, wanting to enlist that day and kill whoever had planned the attack.
Nine years later I still remember the images we all saw on TV. I still remember the haunted way my coworkers at the Washington DC bookstore sounded when they told their own tales of that day. I still think about the havoc we rained down upon millions of innocent people in response. I remember the lives we have ruined and displaced, the hundreds of thousands we have murdered. I can't talk about 9/11 without also talking about these shattered lives. There was no number of Afghan or Iraqi civillians we might have killed to bring back those lost on American soil 9 years ago today. Every time I hear 9/11 used to justify these wars we wage as acts of vengeance, I feel tired in a way that I don't think I'm old enough to feel. It all seems so pointless, so tragically, miserably heart breaking and pointless.
You have asked us today to remember the tragic events of 9 years ago. We might choose to remember this day in isolation, to recall nothing of what came before or since, and I understand why many choose this. This day was so shocking, so traumatizing and devastating to so many that I can't ask any one to do more than what they feel they can. But I think we should not choose to remember this day in a vacuum. I think that, no matter how painful its memory is, we should not feel entitled to the belief that we were alone in suffering it, or numb ourselves to the pain so many others were forced to feel as a result. Today I remember the dead, I honor the dead, but I do not imagine that the death toll of September the 11th ended on our shores. I choose to remember all who have died since and all those who continue to suffer for it. Nine years of suffering has not made this day any less tragic. We are nine years older, our hands are nine years bloodier and the death toll just keeps rising.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Showing posts with label al-qaeda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label al-qaeda. Show all posts
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Day 227- Defense spending
Should we really be up in arms over a temporary projected shortfall of about 100 Navy and Marine strike fighters relative to the number of carrier wings when America's military possesses more than 3,200 tactical combat aircraft of all kinds? Does the number of warships we have and are building really put America at risk when the U.S. battle fleet is larger than the next 13 navies combined, 11 of which belong to allies and partners? Is it a dire threat that by 2020 the United States will have only 20 times more advanced stealth fighters than China? Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Dear Mr. President,
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has proposed cuts to the defense budget that would amount to a savings of $100 billion over five years. This is, predictably, leading to more than a little hysteria from conservatives on the hill. Senator Saxby Chambliss (demonstrating exactly why the Senate has gone from somber, dignified statesmen to cartoonish, angry old men who are difficult to take seriously) actually claimed that the White House is "willing to sacrifice the lives of American military men and women for the sake of domestic programs." As though cutting 100 billion of a 3.5 trillion budget is going to cost lives. As though lives are not depending upon essential domestic programs. I'm not sure I ever had much respect for Mr. Chambliss, but he certainly isn't demonstrating the kind of tempered wisdom that I'd expect from a member of the US Senate. (Yes, I managed to keep a straight face while typing that last sentence.)
Concern for the deficit is perfectly reasonable. The necessary cuts to spending must be applied across the board and the defense budget should be no exception. There can be no incentive for a more peaceful world when so much of our economy and our federal budget is tied up in the tools of war. Al-Queda pulled off 9/11 with 19 plane tickets and 99-cent box cutters. In this world, there is no amount of money that can ever make us completely safe. We have to have a smarter and more modernized military, and that is exactly what Secretary Gates is proposing. We have to look for alternative ways to defend ourselves; all the weapons money can buy won't do us half as much good as better diplomatic relations, stable global allies and more education at home and abroad. We simply cannot kill our way to a more peaceful world.
I applaud Secretary Gates' efforts to curtail the reckless defense spending that has plagued the federal budget for decades. In a time when congress cites budget issues as cause to hold up funding for treating 9/11 responders' lingering health problems, extending unemployment benefits that sustain individuals and families through the recession, or even ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable healthcare, how can we justify spending so much money on an outdated defense strategy? The way we spend our money reflects our values as a society, and, clearly, those need to be reexamined. Mr. President, please don't allow the hysterics from conservatives to prevent Mr. Gates from implementing these necessary cuts.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Dear Mr. President,
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has proposed cuts to the defense budget that would amount to a savings of $100 billion over five years. This is, predictably, leading to more than a little hysteria from conservatives on the hill. Senator Saxby Chambliss (demonstrating exactly why the Senate has gone from somber, dignified statesmen to cartoonish, angry old men who are difficult to take seriously) actually claimed that the White House is "willing to sacrifice the lives of American military men and women for the sake of domestic programs." As though cutting 100 billion of a 3.5 trillion budget is going to cost lives. As though lives are not depending upon essential domestic programs. I'm not sure I ever had much respect for Mr. Chambliss, but he certainly isn't demonstrating the kind of tempered wisdom that I'd expect from a member of the US Senate. (Yes, I managed to keep a straight face while typing that last sentence.)
Concern for the deficit is perfectly reasonable. The necessary cuts to spending must be applied across the board and the defense budget should be no exception. There can be no incentive for a more peaceful world when so much of our economy and our federal budget is tied up in the tools of war. Al-Queda pulled off 9/11 with 19 plane tickets and 99-cent box cutters. In this world, there is no amount of money that can ever make us completely safe. We have to have a smarter and more modernized military, and that is exactly what Secretary Gates is proposing. We have to look for alternative ways to defend ourselves; all the weapons money can buy won't do us half as much good as better diplomatic relations, stable global allies and more education at home and abroad. We simply cannot kill our way to a more peaceful world.
I applaud Secretary Gates' efforts to curtail the reckless defense spending that has plagued the federal budget for decades. In a time when congress cites budget issues as cause to hold up funding for treating 9/11 responders' lingering health problems, extending unemployment benefits that sustain individuals and families through the recession, or even ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable healthcare, how can we justify spending so much money on an outdated defense strategy? The way we spend our money reflects our values as a society, and, clearly, those need to be reexamined. Mr. President, please don't allow the hysterics from conservatives to prevent Mr. Gates from implementing these necessary cuts.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Day 182- Control
Dear Mr. President,
I'm a control freak. I like to be in control of myself, my emotions, and the things that happen around me. Psychologically, this is probably due to the amount of time I spent feeling not in control of what what happening to me or what I was feeling as a child. I recognize that this is often problematic, as I can't control things like Al-Qaeda, or a person's access to a phone, or the time difference between here and Africa. My best friend, who has been in Burkina Faso for only a little more than a week, is being evacuated with the other Peace Corps volunteers. I'm assuming that this is related to the AP story I read earlier today, describing kidnapping threats from AQIM against westerners in Mali and northern Burkina Faso, though this is only speculation. Before she was evacuated, my friend was able to send me a text from a borrowed phone, and assure me that she is OK.
That was 9 hours ago. I have no reason to believe that she is not still safe, but, of course, my lack of control over the amount of information I'm receiving has me anxious and worried. Her friends and family have had sort of a phone circle going, making contact for the sake of our own comfort, as no one has any new information yet. It's funny the way that fear changes us. I've been angrier about this than I ever expected to be. Al-Qaeda's ability to disrupt and terrorize with just a threat is so frustrating. Also, while I believe that the wars we're fighting, the prisons we've built, and the murders we have sanctioned, ostensibly intended to keep us safe from these threats, are actually making the world more dangerous for Americans, I have no clear idea of what a solution would look like. I don't have any respect for the rhetoric, methods or goals of Al-Qaeda, but I do not believe that its members are wholly irrational beings, or that American foreign policy is not responsible for much of the antipathy that generates more Al-Qaeda members. What is most upsetting is that the people who will ultimately suffer in all of this are not the members of Al-Qaeda or the men making the decisions they find so objectionable, but those soldiers, civilians and volunteers like my friend who are caught in between.
I know that the US government will do everything in its power to make sure that my friend and the other volunteers are kept safe, or brought home, and I am grateful for this. I hope that it also finds a way to make more of the world safe for Americans who travel and work abroad- a goal that no amount of military might can achieve. We can't always help the way the Al-Qaedas of the world feels about us, but, speaking as a control freak, I think we'd win a great deal more good will if we accepted that there are some things we can't, and shouldn't, try to control.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
I'm a control freak. I like to be in control of myself, my emotions, and the things that happen around me. Psychologically, this is probably due to the amount of time I spent feeling not in control of what what happening to me or what I was feeling as a child. I recognize that this is often problematic, as I can't control things like Al-Qaeda, or a person's access to a phone, or the time difference between here and Africa. My best friend, who has been in Burkina Faso for only a little more than a week, is being evacuated with the other Peace Corps volunteers. I'm assuming that this is related to the AP story I read earlier today, describing kidnapping threats from AQIM against westerners in Mali and northern Burkina Faso, though this is only speculation. Before she was evacuated, my friend was able to send me a text from a borrowed phone, and assure me that she is OK.
That was 9 hours ago. I have no reason to believe that she is not still safe, but, of course, my lack of control over the amount of information I'm receiving has me anxious and worried. Her friends and family have had sort of a phone circle going, making contact for the sake of our own comfort, as no one has any new information yet. It's funny the way that fear changes us. I've been angrier about this than I ever expected to be. Al-Qaeda's ability to disrupt and terrorize with just a threat is so frustrating. Also, while I believe that the wars we're fighting, the prisons we've built, and the murders we have sanctioned, ostensibly intended to keep us safe from these threats, are actually making the world more dangerous for Americans, I have no clear idea of what a solution would look like. I don't have any respect for the rhetoric, methods or goals of Al-Qaeda, but I do not believe that its members are wholly irrational beings, or that American foreign policy is not responsible for much of the antipathy that generates more Al-Qaeda members. What is most upsetting is that the people who will ultimately suffer in all of this are not the members of Al-Qaeda or the men making the decisions they find so objectionable, but those soldiers, civilians and volunteers like my friend who are caught in between.
I know that the US government will do everything in its power to make sure that my friend and the other volunteers are kept safe, or brought home, and I am grateful for this. I hope that it also finds a way to make more of the world safe for Americans who travel and work abroad- a goal that no amount of military might can achieve. We can't always help the way the Al-Qaedas of the world feels about us, but, speaking as a control freak, I think we'd win a great deal more good will if we accepted that there are some things we can't, and shouldn't, try to control.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Day 24
Dear Mr. President,
It's nice to have a cartoonishly evil face for our enemy. Pretty much any time I've managed to lose myself in the complexity of our conflicts, Bin Laden issues another message to remind me that we're actually living in a comic book. I thought his latest warning, that attacks in America would continue as long as we support Israel's occupation, was particularly interesting. Since Al-qaeda has little or no presence in Palestine, I feel like Bin Laden has gotten a bit desperate. America, under your administration, is much more difficult to hate than under President Bush. It has to be difficult to recruit these days. Tying our country to the Israeli occupation- their own cartoonishly evil Super Villain- is probably the best way to keep morale up.
I'm not suggesting that we alter US foreign policy because of Bin Laden. I just want to be clear on that, right away. But if you consider the conditions in Gaza, the abject suffering, the isolation, the inability even to rebuild after tragedy, if you consider all of it and how long the people of Gaza have suffered, it is difficult to see a clear course of action. Some people are going to get angry. Some are going to write letters. Some are going to protest. Others are going to get violent. I'm not excusing that course, but what option have we given them? Years of protest and struggle got them nothing. Democratic elections got them an even worse situation. A ceasefire accomplished nothing. This stalemate has become unacceptable. And the plight of the Palestinians is such that it will always rouse sympathy and anger from those that identify with them- either as fellow Muslims, fellow Arabs, or fellow human beings.
"America will never dream of living in peace unless we live it in Palestine. It is unfair that you enjoy a safe life while our brothers in Gaza suffer greatly." Radical words. Even to me, an ardent supporter of the Palestinians, they ring incredibly hollow. Bin Laden may not be suffering alongside the Gazans, he certainly is not serving their interest with his tactics, but yet he feels he can invoke "we". He may be a truly abhorrent individual, but he isn't stupid. Bin Laden knows this issue is powerful, emotional and divisive.
I don't expect you to pay much attention to the words of such a person. He is a petty criminal, his words rendered meaningless by his manipulation and his hypocrisy. A much wiser man once had some truly radical sentiments; "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” You can disarm Bin Laden, sir, you can move the peace process forward, you can renew America's neutrality by ending our unconditional and unreasonable support for Israel's illegal activity, you can give the people of Gaza hope. And then, when they finally have a state of their own, when they finally have regular access to food and water and resources to build their economy, people will remember that as something America and not our enemies, helped them to achieve. This time, on this issue, we're on the wrong side. It may be years or it may be centuries, but history will judge us, judge you, for these crimes.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
It's nice to have a cartoonishly evil face for our enemy. Pretty much any time I've managed to lose myself in the complexity of our conflicts, Bin Laden issues another message to remind me that we're actually living in a comic book. I thought his latest warning, that attacks in America would continue as long as we support Israel's occupation, was particularly interesting. Since Al-qaeda has little or no presence in Palestine, I feel like Bin Laden has gotten a bit desperate. America, under your administration, is much more difficult to hate than under President Bush. It has to be difficult to recruit these days. Tying our country to the Israeli occupation- their own cartoonishly evil Super Villain- is probably the best way to keep morale up.
I'm not suggesting that we alter US foreign policy because of Bin Laden. I just want to be clear on that, right away. But if you consider the conditions in Gaza, the abject suffering, the isolation, the inability even to rebuild after tragedy, if you consider all of it and how long the people of Gaza have suffered, it is difficult to see a clear course of action. Some people are going to get angry. Some are going to write letters. Some are going to protest. Others are going to get violent. I'm not excusing that course, but what option have we given them? Years of protest and struggle got them nothing. Democratic elections got them an even worse situation. A ceasefire accomplished nothing. This stalemate has become unacceptable. And the plight of the Palestinians is such that it will always rouse sympathy and anger from those that identify with them- either as fellow Muslims, fellow Arabs, or fellow human beings.
"America will never dream of living in peace unless we live it in Palestine. It is unfair that you enjoy a safe life while our brothers in Gaza suffer greatly." Radical words. Even to me, an ardent supporter of the Palestinians, they ring incredibly hollow. Bin Laden may not be suffering alongside the Gazans, he certainly is not serving their interest with his tactics, but yet he feels he can invoke "we". He may be a truly abhorrent individual, but he isn't stupid. Bin Laden knows this issue is powerful, emotional and divisive.
I don't expect you to pay much attention to the words of such a person. He is a petty criminal, his words rendered meaningless by his manipulation and his hypocrisy. A much wiser man once had some truly radical sentiments; "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” You can disarm Bin Laden, sir, you can move the peace process forward, you can renew America's neutrality by ending our unconditional and unreasonable support for Israel's illegal activity, you can give the people of Gaza hope. And then, when they finally have a state of their own, when they finally have regular access to food and water and resources to build their economy, people will remember that as something America and not our enemies, helped them to achieve. This time, on this issue, we're on the wrong side. It may be years or it may be centuries, but history will judge us, judge you, for these crimes.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Day 2
Tonight I actually said the words, "No, I can't go out, I have to work on my blog." OK, this is going to be a bigger commitment than I anticipated. Also, I got around to buying stamps which are surprisingly expensive. At first I thought that I would send e-mails, but ultimately decided on letters because it seemed more "authentic" (Whatever the F that means) and more egalitarian. But this is false! Stamps are expensive! Oh well... Also, my handwriting looks like an angry 3rd grader's.
Today's Letter:
Dear Mr. President,
Today I started Dreams From My Father. I was struck by the poetry of your writing style. As a bookstore employee, I may not be the most discerning reader, but I certainly read enough to appreciate the rare quality of your words. I am not as picky about what I read as I am about food, for instance, as a trashy sci-fi novel every now and then probably won't rot my brain as effectively as high-fructose corn syrup, but I find myself more often drawn to fiction, as it is usually more beautiful prose than nonfiction. Your book seems to be proving me wrong in this assumption. Thank you for that.
I watched your address from Saturday online. CNN.com ran it under the headline, "Obama promises justice for Christmas terror plotters," which I found rather off-putting. It brought to mind the false "War on Christmas" that O'Reily and his ilk are so fond of using to divide Christian and non-Christian Americans. I was happy to see that this was not a phrase you used in your speech. After listening to you, I read up on Yemen a bit, as it is not a country I'm comfortably informed about. In reading about the 2004 civil war and 2009 escalation of the insurgency, I felt ashamed that this was completely new information for me.
I think you did a good job of reminding us who the enemy is, however, I feel like this speech also spent too much time focusing on the offensive tactics we were taking militarily and through the intelligence agencies. Yes, there is a childish part of all of us that wants to hear words like "punish" and "justice", but you mentioned the poverty many Yemeni people suffer as well, without expanding upon that idea or even drawing the connection between people suffering and militant groups like Al-Qaeda. That's an important point- a truth that is difficult to admit and impossible to impart to those that will not hear it, but it is essential to understanding the type warfare we ought to engage in.
I guess my point is that, maybe we as Americans should also resolve to learn something about Yemen in 2010?
Anyway, Mr. President, good speech. Not your best, but it got the job done. Thank you for your continued efforts to keep our country safe, and may that job get easier in the coming year.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Today's Letter:
Dear Mr. President,
Today I started Dreams From My Father. I was struck by the poetry of your writing style. As a bookstore employee, I may not be the most discerning reader, but I certainly read enough to appreciate the rare quality of your words. I am not as picky about what I read as I am about food, for instance, as a trashy sci-fi novel every now and then probably won't rot my brain as effectively as high-fructose corn syrup, but I find myself more often drawn to fiction, as it is usually more beautiful prose than nonfiction. Your book seems to be proving me wrong in this assumption. Thank you for that.
I watched your address from Saturday online. CNN.com ran it under the headline, "Obama promises justice for Christmas terror plotters," which I found rather off-putting. It brought to mind the false "War on Christmas" that O'Reily and his ilk are so fond of using to divide Christian and non-Christian Americans. I was happy to see that this was not a phrase you used in your speech. After listening to you, I read up on Yemen a bit, as it is not a country I'm comfortably informed about. In reading about the 2004 civil war and 2009 escalation of the insurgency, I felt ashamed that this was completely new information for me.
I think you did a good job of reminding us who the enemy is, however, I feel like this speech also spent too much time focusing on the offensive tactics we were taking militarily and through the intelligence agencies. Yes, there is a childish part of all of us that wants to hear words like "punish" and "justice", but you mentioned the poverty many Yemeni people suffer as well, without expanding upon that idea or even drawing the connection between people suffering and militant groups like Al-Qaeda. That's an important point- a truth that is difficult to admit and impossible to impart to those that will not hear it, but it is essential to understanding the type warfare we ought to engage in.
I guess my point is that, maybe we as Americans should also resolve to learn something about Yemen in 2010?
Anyway, Mr. President, good speech. Not your best, but it got the job done. Thank you for your continued efforts to keep our country safe, and may that job get easier in the coming year.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
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