| The world has been turned upside down Shattered in the blink of an eye The event that shook the whole nation In the form of terror in the sky Don't let their deaths go unnoticed Don't let their deaths be in vain Don't forget why this tragedy happened Why so many were brutally slain We need our revenge And so we've gone off to fight It might be our way of coping But that doesn't make it right People are dying in millions All destroyed by the same evil fate Someone forgot to teach tolerance And now we are driven by hate Don't let the cycle keep going round We were wronged but we have to forgive If we sink down to their hateful level There will be no life left to live A tooth for a tooth makes us go hungry An eye for an eye makes us blind If the world cannot all work harmoniously There's no future for all humankind We'll never all come to agreement But that doesn't mean we can't compromise We can live in this world all together That's proof that we're still civilized We can't drive out darkness with darkness Only light can displace all the hate We have to stop hatred with kindness And we must do it before it's too late. |
| Tomorrow |
| September 11, 2001 is one date in particular that my generation will not soon forget. Just as our parents remember December 6, 1941, this Tuesday morning was our "day of infamy." Tomorrow was written in response, not to the event itself, but to the reactions to that event. It is posted now on Expected Acumen on its two-year anniversary. |
Coming from a country that is known for its mixture of individuals, one must wonder how it came to be the most prosperous nation in the world over such a short period of time. The great empires of history forced their leaders to conquer neighboring nations in order to expand their power. The American "empire" was not built by the battlefields; it was built by the businesses. The corporate world has been the ambassador of American influence. And what keeps the corporate world in motion? The continuous flow of new people and new ideas. Innovation comes from those who think differently. Of all people, they should be welcome here. From the ruins of WWII came the axiom "Never forget." It took on a new context for those near Ground Zero and across the nation alike. But what is it that we are remembering? Terrorist acts come in more forms than suicide bombers. Holding an individual against his will without due process is an act of terror and intimidation. Locking up "potential terrorists" in the interest of "national security" has proliferated through the country to becoming very near a trend. Based on looks or alleged associations with individuals "unbecoming" of a US citizen, the lives of unsuspecting and innocent individuals have been irreparably damaged. If we wish to defend our rights, we must defend the rights of others. If we give the government power to imprison individuals and deny them their constitutional rights, we will soon be subject to equal treatment. The fact that these injustices do not directly affect us now does not guarantee us amnesty. We may find ourselves in the same boat in the very near future. Individuals targeted by national security cannot be denied their rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness without due process. One cannot keep an individual imprisoned on the charge of "potential murderer." Suspicion is not equivalent to guilt. Dropping bombs and occupying foreign countries, or giving others the power and authority to do so, does not make us safer. Fostering hate for those who are different from us does not make us safer. Only when we give up violence as a solution will this self-perpetuating horror cease. Embracing these differences, the diversity of the world, this is how we unite. |
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