Why Do The Heathen Rage?

As I walked into school today, I saw my friend Stacy. She asked me why everyone was standing around in the lobby, huddled around the tv. I told her I didn't know and asked myself, what could have possibly gone wrong now? Turns out everyone was just watching Colin Powell's speech. Now, I knew he was giving the speech today at that time, but I hadn't expected my peers to care. We're not an overly political campus, after all. I had assumed it took at least an explosion of some sort to draw a crowd, but was pleasantly surprised to find that the threat of bioterrorism and nuclear war can do the trick too.

Anyway, it was interesting. I've only seen a crowd gathered in the lobby like that one other time, and that was on 9/11. Today, kids were equally grimfaced. We listened to taped conversations. The translation appeared on the screen. The Iraqi's were hiding nerve gas. Colin Powell, the dove in the cabinet, warned us that it only got worse from then on. There was more. I couldn't stay to finish watching the speech but I really wish I could have. It would have been interesting to see if, when the speech ended, there was an outburst of anger. For the war, against the war, either way, it would have been interesting to see. Expressions of disbelief perhaps. More likely, the crowd just dispersed without any emotion whatsoever.

I'm watching everything as closely as I can these days. While I was alive for the Gulf War, I was pretty young when it happened, and I don't remember it. So, in effect, this will be the first "real war" I have the ability to pay attention to. I don't believe that war is in any way glorious. But certainly it has the occasional side effect of creating giants. Perhaps it's my pseudo-scientific mind, but I have a need to view the gestation.

posted by Sarie @ 5:04 PM >Comments: 0