Awaria
(Breakdown)

By: Niebezpiczny Ksiezyc

A constant theme that has developed for my generation is that war is unavoidable. Not necessarily in a physical sense, but also in the fact that all students are exposed to it. I often wish that war was the like the proverbial chicken pox; you are exposed to it once and then you become immune. But much like the ever changing and adapting strains of this infectious disease, so does war change. Almost every class uses the topic of war. History is of course one of the main examples, but the science courses, language courses, even art and music all contain parts that are remotely or even directly related to war.

I do not understand the fascination with such a dreary and cataclysmic topic. Perhaps the pride of the victors or the shame of the losers intrigues us. Maybe the great changes that follow the “enemy’s” defeat capture our imagination. Perhaps the logistics and machinery do. Or perhaps it’s the sheer morbidity of the event that will not release our curiosity. Some people love war; they thrive on the chaos or the power, while others protest war and the ideals behind it. Veterans of war are either considered to be champions or failures. Some return home mocked and unappreciated even though they had to sit and watch their comrades die as civilians watched TV.

I cannot fathom participating in war. To take another human’s life in such a useless and pointless manner does not appeal to me. So many men and women die; they had families, they had friends, they were loved and loved others. The propaganda and hype behind war constantly nips at my heels as I try to run from its grasp. The military makes war sound “cool” with hard rock music and fast planes and cars to attract our attention. They also prey upon one of the softest and most vulnerable spots that we humans have, our wallets. Advertisements that say the army will pay for college, provide a check every month, and keep us happy and healthy are tantalizing. But then reality sets in as I ponder what I would have to do to get that money. Would I even survive long enough to attend college?

War in its physical sense is rearing its ugly head and always pulls the strings that connect to my fears. Senator Wrangle proposes to open the draft to every available American citizen. An amendment has been added to Bush’s economic stimulus package, mandating that once every American citizen turns 18, he or she must give his or her phone number to the United States government. We children of America must fight for our country. And yet this baffles me; we have been taught for years that war is bad, atrocities run rampant and that no one can truly win without making grave sacrifices. So what do my peers and me believe? Do we fight for America, or protest and remind people of the massive causalities of past wars? Are we going to be considered unpatriotic and anti-American for refusing to pull a trigger on a gun?

I feel that as a result of the world’s uncertainty, my generation, Generation Y, has lost its innocence all too early. I fought back tears after 9/11 when my sister told me that the principal at the elementary school were she works had to explain to the young students what had happened. And then my heart sank even lower as I thought of all the other children around the world that have probably had some tragic event brutally effect them as well. So now we are expected to unite by country and fight each other for wars started by our predecessors? This defies logic! Should we not instead unite as a global community of Generation Y and protest war and its effect on our lives? We are taught as children to forgive, but apparently we lose this lesson as we age. One can forgive without forgetting.

War, which to me is an entity so futile and barbaric, is always on our thoughts. It taints the nightly news, tinges the newspapers with its dark force and clouds our hopes for the future. So now the American government expects my peers and I to not only solve all economic problems that the baby boomer generation has created, but now I have to fight for this failing economy, social and economic inequality, and inane foreign policy. Thank you modern warfare, thank you for taking my generation’s hopes and never leaving us alone.