Everybody remembers what they were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001. I was in my sixth grade classroom intently listening to my teacher give instructions on an assignment when our principal rushed into the room and told us to turn the television on because an airplane had just crashed into the World Trade Center. Our class watched in shock as the smoke came billowing out of the first tower, and we also saw a second airplane hit the second tower. We could not believe what was happening. Finally, both of the towers came down and the World Trade Center was no more.
One year after the World Trade Center came down, we went to war with Afghanistan. Even though I believe in peace, it did seem like the right thing to do at the time. I mean, everyone was so patriotic and supported invading Afghanistan, as did I until we went to war with Iraq. The problem was, I believe in peace. Not only did we send troops to both places, we kept sending them to replace the men and women who were dying in service to their country. Now, I felt unpatriotic because I believe that peace is the right answer. So many wars; so little peace. Just believe in peace.
I have a friend whose cousin was killed in Iraq. That impacted me so much that I have totally changed my mind about the wars the United States is involved in. I want to be patriotic and support my country, but when we keep sending soldiers over, it makes me turn the other way. I also always see on the news that we are making progress in Afghanistan and Iraq. What is the progress? From what I see, we went over there to create a peaceful environment for their countries, and yet we are creating more problems by sending more troops over whenever the men or women serving die. If we would have settled it by a more peaceful means, like meeting with the leader of the country and taking it from there, we would not be involved in two wars. That is why I believe in peace.