09/11/11

"Today, we are all Americans." - A lady in France ten years ago (translated)

"United we stand, divided we fall." - Abraham Lincoln, I think?

"Nobody wins a war." - My friend in elementary school

"A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon." - Napoleon Bonaparte

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." - Yoda

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein

"Love is the flower you've got to let grow." - John Lennon

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Sorry about all the quotes; I was in a bit of a quoting mood. So ten years ago I was in first grade and the World Trade Center was bombed. I remember coming home and seeing the news, but I don't think I fully grasped what had happened at the time. Today I mentally weep for humanity, for as much as it is expanding, it is also eating itself up. While we might be the most intelligent race in terms of technological advancement, we seem to have the worst judgment. While there are certain types of fauna which take the lives of their own kind, we ought to know better. We knowingly torture, kill, lie, steal, rape, cheat, and so on. If there is a God, [He] must have lost control of us, or perhaps it is [His] plan to have us end the world. Perhaps the Big Crunch will be our mortician or janitor, to sweep away a barren world.

Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for the bombings, was recently assassinated by our troops. I do not agree with what the man did. I don't miss him. And yet, does killing a killer reduce the number of corpses? Very unpatriotic. George Washington must be spitting from heaven. It's like if a child gets into trouble for fighting and the parent hits him to teach him violence is wrong. Or saying "Do not swear, dammit!" [see "Bad Words" - a recent post of mine]. This makes us no better than anyone else. If a police officer shoots a criminal who draws a gun first, that's one thing. But putting the criminal away and executing him or her? Murder is murder, no matter what clothes it wears.

This is one of many reasons I won't join the military. I am willing to defend who I love, but I don't go looking for trouble. It finds me. (And yes, I just quoted Harry Potter.) And to quote Ringo Starr:

Peace and love!!!!

- Lewis

And I'm Nearing the End

"Even if I knew for certain that the world would end tomorrow, I'd plant an apple tree today." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (approximate quotation)

I heard something interesting this morning: that the world will end tomorrow. Will it? I have my doubts, but if it did, would it be worth panicking? I should think not. If it did, I'd like to spend my last day in this world with friends. I'm not the type to freak out about death; I either laugh at it or calmly accept it.

That's not the original purpose for this post's title (which is an ALL CAPS lyric, by the way). The original point was about yet another school year ending. It's not quite over yet, but it will be soon, and then there are only two more before I get shipped off to college somewhere. I feel like this has more or less been the best year yet, largely thanks to Creative Writing, but also due to other things. Even though I've much to work at, I am happy. I am still trying to break into acting, but I have some time. Book club goes well. I had my third meeting today, and it was the first one at which I reviewed a book (The Floating Islands - the review is on my other blog, Winter Reviews).

I saw a play last night, titled The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. It was funny, and I recognized one actor from my school. I think I could write plays as well as act in them. Why not? I'm still young.

I might have my first guitar lesson this weekend from Hannah, but nothing is certain. That being said, I might go to this Autism Society campground tomorrow to look around. That might be interesting.

I watched Thor last Sunday, and it was excellent. I really loved Loki. I might see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides this weekend, if lucky.

Summer will hopefully be spent reading, watching movies and Doctor Who, and writing and blogging. I might do something I have not done in many a year: attend a camp. I'm thinking writing and/or acting camp.