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Jordan Davis March 18, 2012 The Untouchables

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I remember that day like it was just yesterday, the day that changed my view on the United States being the most untouchable country ever. After September 11th, I have come to better understand war, hate, and appreciate the freedoms that I was born with. I have seen good things come out of war and I have seen some of the saddest things come out of war as well. I have seen women dancing in the streets of Iraq for being able to vote for the first time, I have seen a people granted freedoms they had only dreamed of before, but I have also seen many innocent people killed and a lot of hate towards the United States. Although I dont find violence to be the right way to accomplish anything, I feel that there are some things that are worth fighting for, even going to war for. Although I dont feel that George Bush was a hundred percent honest in his reasoning for Operation Iraqi Freedom, I do believe that in that moment, the number one priority on Americans minds was their safety and the safety of their families. President Bush was able to use this to his advantage when asking us as a nation, to support his decision to go to war to free its people and save ours. While I feel that derision should be addressed as top priority, I do not believe that going to war with Iraq was the right decision. When President Bush addressed the nation after 9-11, he called all Americans to action. He asked that all of us give our time, to each other because it was our civic duty. He also addressed us about going to war to disarm Iraq, free its people and save many from terrorism. When I read how his speech was worded, how could I not support going to war? President Bush did not say, We are going to send your sons, daughters, brothers, and friends, to fight in a war where they may or may not lose their life. He instead projected a view of uniting to fight for freedom and equality.

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In week 2, we studied the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution and Bill of rights, where we saw struggles for freedom and equality for ourselves. The Declaration of Independence states, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." When I look at what President Bushs reasoning for the war, I think, isnt freedom what we once fought for and isnt that what everyone wants? After seeing the war and all the lives lost, I wonder, what do we have to show for it? Before the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, many people of the nations did not have such freedoms that people of the United States were born with. Many could not listen to any music, work wherever they wanted and were controlled by their leader Saddam Hussein. When I see this and hear President Bushs message to the U.S., I cant help to feel that it is only right that we help their people, but now that the war is over, I wonder how much freedom the people or Iraq and Afghanistan have. Although Iraq has had a new President since 2005, al-Qaeda still have a strong presence and the Taliban still have control over much of Afghanistan. Iraq and Afghanistan are two countries that both have a strong religious influence. Ninety-five percent of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan follow the Islamic Religion and have been raised through these views. The terrorist who took part in 9-11, believed that they were doing right in the eyes of their God. The one thing that I do not believe is that all people of Iraq and Afghanistan believe that doing this is the right thing in the eyes of their region. I have asked myself many times, will countries that have such a strong unified religious base, ever be able to become a democratic nation? Although I would love to see this happen, I do not feel that this is something that can be accomplished through the United States. Recently, countries such as Egypt and Syria have fought against their government in the pursuit of

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freedom. I believe the only way Iraq and Afghanistan will see change is through their own citizens fighting for that change. When I look at how the United States has changed many other countries with McDonalds on every corner and Starbucks, I wonder, was that our vision for Iraq and Afghanistan? I ask this question because I dont think thats the life they envision for themselves. Just because people from another country dont have malls, movies, and other activities that we enjoy, doesnt mean they are not living a happy life. I do believe in democracy and people being able to make their own choices, but how many choices are they able to make now compared to pre-war? The last reason why I do not see the war as a success is the absence of weapons of mass destruction. When I heard the words, weapons of mass destruction, I was frightened by what the United States would find and fully supported the war, but after finding no evidence of such weapons, I feel that the lives lost were for nothing. Do I believe Bush thought that Iraq had nuclear weapons? I do believe he felt that Iraq had some type of dangerous weapons, but I also think that the rhetoric was to invoke fear in people mind and need for war. Although 9-11 was almost eleven years ago, we are just now pulling all of our soldiers from Iraq. I think that over the years, the fear of being attacked has slowly left many Americans minds and has shifted to other issues such as high food and gas prices have become. Recently, wars that have broken out around the world have affected the United States as well. Many of us have noticed higher gas prices, higher food prices and have yet to see higher pay at our jobs. I believe lowering the cost of living is the number one priority for many Americans. Recently, the average price for gas in Colorado $3.85 a gallon and are expected to rise higher. Due to high gas prices, food has also become more expensive because of shipping costs. The same countries that are fighting for freedom and equality are the same countries that the

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United depend on for oil. Although many of us understand why they are fighting, we still dont want it to inconvenience our lives as well. In order to lower the cost of living in the United States, the people have to demand it and fight (nonviolent) in order to see change. Every day, I see people advocate for a variety of cause, recently most noticeable, Kony 2012. One organization is all it took to educate the world about a man killing and kidnapping young boys in Uganda. Through the internet, Invisible Children were able to gain supporters from political leaders, celebrities and many everyday citizens. Due to one video, many people were able to learn about a man who we may have never heard of or failed to care about. I believe that in order to see change in our cost of living, we must get people passionate enough to do something instead of accepting it. One of the best and easiest ways to advocate for this would be social networking. As we seen with Kony 2012, information on the internet spreads quickly and if people are able to appeal to ones emotions, they will be able to gain support for their cause. One video was able to educate millions of people around the world and motivated them to want change. The video is a viral phenomenon which makes no secret of targeting social media users -- images of people using Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are woven through the film, particularly as the narrator outlines the call to action. The plan is simple -- create a siren of voices throughout the world, via letters, videos, phone calls and yes, social media, to get our government to take Kony down, ((Bailyn 1). The first thing I would do to advocate for lower living costs would be to educate and get people caring about the issue. Through social media, rallies and marches could be set up around the United States demanding change. When banks wanted to charge fees for debit cards, many people walked into the banks and pulled out all of their money. This in turn changed the banks

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decisions and became a successful campaign for the people. Before I even knew about the chances of my debit card being charged a fee, banks had already backed down. My bank Wells Fargo head stated that, "As we adjust to changes in our business, we will continue to stay attuned to what our customers want, (Kadletz). This statement was sent to all costumers after many people pulled all their money from the bank. I feel as though college students today are one of the most important demographic in the United States because in our generation, we are more out spoken on issues that affect us. Rallies at colleges would be the most successful because it would be an easy place to get students to sign petitions and call their local government offices. Many of the Grassroots campaigns such as, Save the Children, have been using college campuses such as Auraria to raise awareness. The ways to advocate for lower costs are demanding that our president drill in country for oil and become less food dependent on other countries. In recent news, other politicians have fought for drilling within the United States, but have had little success. Without the willingness of the citizens to get involved, costs of living will not be changed quickly. The high gas prices are even driving the advertising for the 2012 Presidential elections. In a recent commercials, Obama attacked his opponent Mitt Romney stating, "In all these fights, Mitt Romney's stood with Big Oil," (Obama). Romney, fired back with stating that Obamas regulations for blocking more production on oil is what is fueling high prices, (David 1). If many of us want to see change, all we would have to do is vote in our own elections. This is a privilege that many other countries are fighting for. Although the people of the United States are far from the wars going on across the world, we have seen the affects in both violence and our quality of life due to conflicts in other countries. We have felt the effects of terrorism and now dependency of other countries. Now that

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the war is over in Iraq, I believe that we will begin to see the effects of debt and dependency on other counties make the cost of living continue to rise. Through the wanting to demand change, the United States can become what it once was before the day that changed the Untouchable country.

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Works Cited David, Jackson. "Obama vs. Romney, gas prices vs. Big Oil." USA Today [McLean, Virginia] 03 04 2012, 1. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. <http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/04/obama-vs-romney-gas-pricesvs-big-oil/1?csp=34news>. Bailyn, Evan. "The Difference Between Slacktivism And Activism: How 'Kony 2012' Is Narrowing The Gap ." Huff Post 03 19 2012, 1. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-bailyn/kony-2012-activism_b_1361791.html>.