STILLWATER, Okla. (U-Wire) — Over the past several weeks the dominant stories on TV, in the newspapers and in magazines have been about the United States facing a war with Iraq.
The idea of a war to me is scary, but I know it is something that must be done in order to ensure future generations a safer, less terrorist-threatening world to live in.
Although lives will be lost and many innocent people will die, a war with Iraq will be in the best interest of the American people in the long run.
The thought of being away from home during such a critical time is starting to dawn on me. Last night on the news they showed how you tape up your window in case chemical weapons were used to poison the air so that you would not have to worry about the inside of your house getting contaminated.
It’s the things such as that that can really hit home. You never really imagine all the terrible things that can happen until the local news station is warning you about them.
Last night my roommate and I were in the midst of trying to fall asleep when we started to discuss how scary a possible war would be, and how it was strange that we were not living with our families anymore.
If something bad did happen, like if the air was contaminated or the water supply, or if a bomb was dropped in the United States, I would not want to be in Stillwater, Oklahoma, four hours away from my home. I would want to be in Texas with my family.
A war with Iraq could break out any day now, leading the country into a long war that will most likely be a hard one to fight. It’s something that we will all have to live with for the next couple of years whether we want to admit to it or not.
I am not saying I want to quit school and go running back home with a tail between my legs because I want my mom.
Instead I’m saying that I have realized the seriousness of the situation that terrorists could harm any part of our country at any time, and to me that is a really scary thing not being around the people I love most at such a critical time.
My roommate joked with me last night by saying “well we are in a really safe spot, who would want to harm Stillwater, its in the middle of nowhere.”
I agreed. I couldn’t help but think that terrorists are out to get a shock of disbelief from the people they are harming. Of course, I am not wishing or hoping for an attack on Stillwater, but just over-analyzing the fact that no place is really safe anymore.
It has been proven to our country that no one is really ever safe. Unfortunately Sept. 11 made that clear to us all.
The other night’s news was definitely a wake up call to me. I can’t imagine having to tape up my dorm’s windows, let alone be trapped in a residence hall for God knows who long.
Hopefully our country will never be faced with something such as that, but in case the time does come I will be thankful that I was aware of how to prepare for such an incident, and if I forgot I know I could always call home.