What do Golden Globes and Prince Harry Have in Common?

One morning during my winter break, I sat watching one of the major news networks, though it could have been anyone of them, for about an hour and a half. It was your typical news show where two anchors report the latest news events. I had hoped to start my day by informing myself on the morning’s developments in our nation and our world. To my astonishment, I was not informed of any ongoing crises in this world. Had the Iraq War finally ended? Were the tsunami ravaged regions finally rebuilt? Was California given a break from the snow and rain? Had no shots, explosions, or other violent acts been committed within this nearly two hour period?

For this short period of time, our world was in a state of peace. With no urgent news at hand, the news anchors were finally able to focus on the real stories. I had grown tired of hearing about the reality of death and destruction. So, I listened intently.

Television viewers were informed on the secrets of the French physique, Prince Harry’s Nazi debacle, the weekend movies to see and not to see, and all the latest gossip over the upcoming Hollywood movie awards. As I sat learning that French women savor their food in moderation, “Elektra” suffers from the curse of Ben Affleck, and Prince Harry is the world’s biggest moron (despite a fine education), I realized that all of the stories of death and destruction were just “filler” for these pressing news stories.

How can anyone possibly worry about the newest death toll in Iraq when Jamie Foxx received three Golden Globe nominations? The report on how important fashion is at these award ceremonies enlightened me to the life of a show biz star. But wait, no more diets- French women are encouraging people to eat the foods that they enjoy. (The only catch is not eating until explosion.)

Once this news program ended and the next one aired, the temporary world peace came to an end. The anchor reported on the court-marshalling of U.S. Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr. for his role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, the latest developments in the Iraq war, and the rising waters in South California and the mid-west. As I watched and listened to the stories I originally tuned in for, depression began to set in, once again. Finally, watching the news wasn’t entertainment or a joke anymore. Without haste, a beautiful news bunny and hunky reporter returned to report on the And 1 street basketball team; the peace had returned.

In the end, Charles Graner Jr. became the scapegoat in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, as there was a failure by journalists to question the roles of top Pentagon officials. While the real news was swept under the rug, we at least know how French women stay thin.

This Article Published in "The Hurricane"

Where is the Voice of Our Generation?

As the United States prepared itself for the 2004 presidential election, I did as well. From the moment I realized that I would be eligible to vote in the 2004 election, I began to tune myself into the issues that concern our country and the rest of the world. Like many young apathetic students, I felt I never had time for the daily events of the world and our nation. Once my country officially recognized me with the right to vote, I understood that I could no longer hide behind a veil of ignorance.

With knowledge of current events, I find myself at a crossroad. As I witness my country use its military might for both “presidentially-assured, positive” destruction in the Middle East and for selfless aid in the Southeast Asia region, I cannot help but ponder over the hypocrisy of our country’s choices. These are the two faces of American foreign policy.

So, I write here today to ask college students a simple question; something that the citizens of the ‘60s did not think twice about. Why is it that in our current time of war, we seem so indifferent to make our youthful opinions known? Do we not care about life beyond our country or our state or our city or our college? Are we satisfied with the policies of our country? In a military quagmire that slowly begins to mirror the Vietnam War, why are we miserably apathetic? Do we need a draft before we begin to strongly protest the Iraq war or how our government is handling its world power? Where is the outrage?

The nation is divided in half between red staters and blue staters. Fifty percent of the U.S. wanted change, but in the end more was lost than hours in lines at the voting booths. Was that fire for change left at the voting booth? The flame ought to burn brighter than ever. Not even those who pushed for round two of our current administration could possibly be satisfied with the current mess we are in now.

As we continue the process of burying our service men and women, we at home in the U.S. sip Starbucks and listen to our iPods. I ask that you turn off that iPod, put down that PDA, and hang up that cell phone. It is not too late to turn on a news broadcast, read the newspaper, and search the Internet. It is time to educate ourselves of the current events in this nation and beyond. College is the time to form our own opinions. This country is built upon freedom of speech, religion, press, and the right to assemble. Never forget this and never allow anyone to impede upon these unalienable rights. Make your youthful opinions known; peacefully protest, write articles, send letters, create songs, start web blogs. Let your voices be heard; there is always someone who is listening. This is how we make change in America happen.

This Article Published in "The Hurricane"

Can the Southeast Asia Earthquake Unite the World?

Readers of my commentaries, which have been graciously published by The Hurricane, know by now that I focus on social and political issues. But now I am about to embark on presenting the most brilliant revelation UM has ever heard. Space aliens; we need an alien invasion. This moment of extreme clarity came to me while I was watching the 1952 movie adaptation of H. G. Wells’s novel, “The War of the Worlds.” Since 9/11, I have been pondering on what it would take to better our world, and at last, this stunning 1950’s visual effects movie has given me the answer.

We need aliens from another plant to infiltrate the earth’s atmosphere and wage a war on what billions of humans call home. How could an alien invasion possibly help the world’s current violent condition, you ask? Like in “The War of the Worlds,” an alien invasion would cause all nations to put aside their cultural, religious, ideological, and political differences in an effort to defeat the enemy aliens. As the aliens begin to wreak havoc, a world coalition of militaries, which would be called the World Military Defense (WMD), would fight off our foes.

An alien invasion could be a solution to many of our planet’s problems. The Iraq War would come to a quick halt as insurgents and coalition fighters now point their weapons to the skies instead of against each other. Osama bin Laden would hide in a cave and make threatening videos against the aliens. Greed and animosity amongst people would gradually cease to exist. All human efforts would be directed towards overcoming the enemy aliens. People will realize that there is no longer a place for the trivialities of human differences.

But, then, reality hit me during the last weekend of 2004 as territories in the Southeast Asian region were ravaged by a tragedy of biblical proportions. A 40-foot tsunami, one of the most devastating natural disasters in world history, not space aliens, is beginning to unite the world, at least temporarily. Over 40 nations and counting are focusing their attention to the heavily damaged countries as they donate millions of dollars and military aid to the relief efforts.

We cannot stop the catastrophic forces of Mother Nature. We can, however, make sure that humankind never allows itself to create a disaster of mass destruction.

We should only be satisfied when all nations and all people unite for making the planet a better place to live. The tsunami was an unfortunate cause for the planet to come together to provide aid, but the war in Iraq and on terror continues to go on. Suffering and death goes on unabated. Bombs continue to explode in Iraq. We can come together for a natural disaster such as this tsunami, but still the rest of the world remains the same. I still believe we will need the aliens.