With the twentieth anniversary of Sept. 11, we are bombarded with reminders of the events in New York, Washington DC, and the field in Pennsylvania. I don’t mind remembering what happened, and the fact that I lost five friends that day, but I resent the fact that EVERY network on TV has some sort of jaded commentary about what happened telling us to “Never Forget.” I want to know how we are able to forget when we are constantly reminded?
I’m sorry, but in my way of thinking differently, this type of “reminding” is nothing more than propaganda. During most modern era wars, propaganda is the most common form of instigating hatred by the citizens towards the enemy. We not only see this in trying to rile people up against other nations like Afghanastan, but we see it locally in our own neighborhoods with “the people versus the police.”
Now call me crazy if you’d like, but aren’t “peacekeepers” supposed to keep and promote peace? Then why do “peacekeeping missions” to the Middle East always result in the deaths of thousands of civilians? Don’t get me wrong, I am no passivist by any means, but I also don’t see the need to be overtly aggressive towards someone else just because they think or act differently. To quote Mr. Rodney King “Can’t we all just get along?”
There is nothing more confusing than hearing a nation talk about “peace treaties” while sending in hundreds of heavily armed soldiers with orders to “shoot to kill.” What exactly is the message they are trying to convey? I wish I had an answer to that, but I don’t.
Why is it easier to promote hatred than it is to keep the peace? Let me know what you think.
Matthew F. Mehlhaff
DOC #864454
