Protesting in the New World

I am sitting here, up late as per usual. And I get this rush of memories overcoming me suddenly. I was watching CNN and they were talking about the war...and I suddenly remembered when it all started. I was sitting in my Cardinal Stritch dorm room debating the need of such a war with anyone that would listen to me. It was the end of February, and CNN and Fox News were filled with talk of war. To go back even further than this, I remember having a discussion on Sept. 11th, right before I found out about the attacks. And my English teacher was saying that we were part of this generation that did not know war. We were naive, and we thought that it could never happen again. Vietnam was so horrible, and no one wanted to experience that again. And I remember thinking that as I watched the bombs come down. I remember thinking that we are in trouble and that we are going to experience more than we ever knew how to handle. And as I watch the death toll add up, I remember the eutopian society that we experienced for most of our lives. Times of growth, solving internal problems, and general happiness. And the war didn't really hit me until I was in my friend Jeff's apartment in Boston. We were playing some ESPN football, when all of the sudden we heard whistles and chants and drums....and we looked out the window to find about 2,000 people marching the streets. This was something of dreams, only seen on history videos. So we rushed out there, eager to be a part of history. As we get on the street, I remember Jeff, like a child trying to take it all in. With me feeling very out of place, like we had hit a time warp back to 1969. "Stop the killing, stop the war!" could be heard throughout the crowd, and I joined in those chants. I stood next to this kid, who couldn't have been older than 7, and seeing his face. The world he would grow up in, would be much different than mine. I remember feeling like we could do something about the war and if enough people protested, we could change the mind of the government...I was so wrong. I later found out that Boston wasn't alone. In almost every big city, there was a protest. But it did nothing, and we are still in a war. I currently know only one person in Iraq, my fraternity brother Jake. I worry about him everyday, literally. And check the list of the dead every chance I get. And everytime I do this, I get very scared. I can't say that there is no reason for war, but the reason we're there isn't justify-able. With 2,267 killed and 16,653 wounded...it hardly seems valid. It hardly seems right. There are 850 U.S. soldiers getting killed every year. And it doesn't seem to stop, it doesn't seem to have an end. I can't imagine the countless family members and friends that grieve every day. It's unbearable. It's too hard to think about.
Next post: Less liberal idealogy, more extistentialisn

Love is a Marathon

As Teddy Geiger writes "love is a marathon...slow down and pace yourself 'cause when it's good it's a long open lord". I've been thinking about this idea of love lately. I've been in Love before, and am in love now...but it's hard to define either. Because love is not a definable entity. This was all brought on by reading (again) the wonderful novel, "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. It's about this guy who sees this girl one day and immediately falls in Love. He continues this love for more than 50 years even though in that time, they live very far apart, she gets married, and she even rejects him. He keeps this idea of love in his head, even though he has no idea if it is returned. I'm amazed by that thought. And I'd like to believe that love conquers all, that true love finds a way. But it's hard to know. I know that it's a common feeling though, there a reason that all those women love "The Notebook". My brother and his girlfriend found a way to get back together and make it work. That amazes me, and makes me wonder. Could I, hopeless romantic that I am, stay with the course. Still keep a piece of my heart for someone that is long gone, someone that would move on? Is there anyone out there that could Love me like that? I'd like to think so...but could it just be a notion left to movies and books? For my sake, I'd hope not.

Next Post: More James Bond, less awww isn't that sweet