Osama bin Laden Dead!!

It has been almost ten years since September 11, 2001, where approximately 3,000 people were killed at the Twin Towers in New York City, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

This was started by hijackers hijacking four airplanes under the command of Osama bin Laden. Throughout these ten years, bin Laden has been sending videos, basically mocking the United States and telling us that he commanded the attack against us. He has also been in Pakistan these past several years.

President George Bush said that we should do everything to stop terrorist groups and take down bin Laden. He should be getting the credit. Not Barack Obama because he has only received the war. He has not even served in the military before. The credit should most definitely go to our military. And even Bush for sending troops to the Middle East. Obama should only get credit for giving our troops the go-ahead for the finding of bin Laden.

Richard Engel, a correspondent for NBC, said that bin Laden was the "symbol for war against the United States."

Brian Williams, anchor for Nightly News on NBC, said that New York City is under security for the next few days because of bin Laden's murder. He also said that it will be hard for people to enter or leave the city during the present time. Williams said that it has been 9 years, 7 months, and 20 days since the attack on 9/11.

Jim Miklaszewski, a correspondent for NBC at the Pentagon, said that the threat level has been raised due to current news.

In Obama's speech, he began with telling the United States and the world that Osama bin Laden is dead. He went on to start with 9/11, reminding us of how it was a clear day. And then the attacks occurred. He said that, in light of the attacks, the people came together. "[W]e were united as one American family." Obama said that bin Laden was committed to killing innocents in the U.S. and around the world. He said that, in our Fight Against Terror, we have killed several of the men that had helped in the plot against the U.S. He said that in the gunfight against the U.S. and bin Laden, no Americans were harmed, nor any civilians.

Obama continued with saying that Bush said that the war was not against Islam but against bin Laden, a mass murderer. Obama said that we "did not choose this fight. It came to our shores..." He also said that we know what the cost of war is. He went on to say, "[W]e will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed." Obama finished his speech by saying, "Justice has been done." And said: "[O]ne nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

After the speech, Williams gave numbers to the attack on 9/11. He said that there were 2,600 killed in New York City, 125 in the Pentagon, and 256 on four air crafts. He said that this attack "surpasses Pearl Harbor." He gave a quote that was said by a man who had lost his wife in one of the World Trade Centers. The man said that he was "glad this man's evil is off of this world forever."

Final Exam Essay

I think that the central question is how one should live in a Mennonite community, given the circumstances of the world such as wars or pop culture. I have no idea what the exact answer is, but I think that the answer might be that you should live by the "rules" and "laws" that were laid out before you.

On page 3 of Peace Shall Destroy Many, you have Thom Wiens calling those that are flying the airplanes overhead in what is World War II "heathens." Throughout the book, we see Thom basically saying, "War is bad." This is something that was forced upon him, not something he could figure out on his own. Also throughout the book, we see Thom having an internal conflict of whether or not to join the military. In Chapter 5, Joseph is talking to Thom. On page 75, Joseph says, "Thom, you personally are hemmed in - physically - you lose all perspective." During one point of the book, Thom sees a Canadian recruitment poster. And when Thom is working at the Block farm, Elizabeth tells Thom to leave the community. On page 285, Thom punches Herb, the first time that he has ever punched anyone. It is the first time that he has done something "un-Mennonite." There may be a lot of "signs" and a lot of people telling him to, basically, think for himself and to leave the community, but the book is left open, making the reader wonder if Thom chose to stay in the community or join the military. As far as we know, he could have stayed in the community and drowned in beliefs that were forced upon him.

In Katya, towards the beginning of the book, you have Katya holding a piece of wool and saying a prayer to God, something her father had taught her to do when she gets angry because it is not "Mennonite-like" to get angry. Throughout the book, we see Katya doing things that are "Mennonite-like" and those that are not (such as throwing a cup down a well). But throughout the book, we see Katya following her religion, not getting into trouble.

In A Complicated Kindness, you have pop culture that is brought into a Mennonite family. On page 5 in the last paragraph, Nomi says,"...a ban on the media, dancing, smoking, temperate climates, movies, drinking, rock 'n' roll... That was Menno all over. Thanks a lot, Menno." She mentions this, because, at least in the past, all of this stuff was banned. No Mennonite was allowed to do any of these things. Towards the beginning of the book, she mentions the family having gotten a TV because someone they knew was going to be on a show. She basically said that Menno Simons would have a cow. She also mentions Queen and Pink Floyd. In Mennonite tradition, none of this would be allowed. Towards the end of the book, she says that her mother left her husband so that he wouldn't have to choose between her and his religion.

So, in the end, it seems like all Mennonites are not supposed to watch TV, listen to music (well, music that is not soft religious music), or anything else. It seems like they are supposed to live in the 1400s rather than the 2000s.

Canadian Poets

One thing that the Canadian poets in A Cappella have in common is that they write about family, religion, or nature. In a couple of Sarah Klassen's poems, she talks about her mother while Patrick Friesen writes about his father.

In some of the poems, instead of writing it in the first-person, these poems are written in the second or the third-person. I think that with the different uses of the person, you might learn or catch something new than if it had been written in the first-person.

In a couple of the poems (one written by Audrey Poetker-Thiessen and another by Leonard Neufeldt), italics are used on a few of the words. For some of the poems (by Audrey Poetket-Thiessen and Di Brandt), there were no titles on these poems.

Responding to Ann's Post-9/11 Comment

On April 13 in class, Ann had made a comment about post-9/11 and how Mennonites said something to the effect of, "They did it to us. Let's stay the victims."

In my opinion, the Mennonites do not get to keep the name of victim. You just perpetuate the cycle. You are guilty because you, with your pacifist ways, will be allowing the enemies to terrorize the United States again and again, possibly giving us another 9/11.

The reason we had gone to war in the first place was to stop the terrorists. I have told my parents constantly that if we did not go to war, we could have had a million 9/11s by now. You are probably thinking that the war should be over by now. But there has been no relief in terrorists! The numbers are still most likely huge, possibly even larger than before!

If you want to look at how long a war has been going on, look at World War II. World War II had already been happening for a few years before we were forced to join. And it still took another five or six years after we joined the war for it to be over. So you're looking at probably a decade! Sure, the tenth year anniversary of being in war is coming this September, but wars take years. They are not over in one day. If all wars were over in one day, that would be either a miracle or just plain weird.

As I was saying, Mennonites do not get to keep the name of victim. I think that they would take on the name of enemy. Because Mennonites are pacifists, and they would most likely stand aside and let another 9/11 happen without fighting to try to stop it from happening.

Miriam Toews's A Complicated Kindness

In A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews, Nomi Nickel's mother had left the family about three years before "Nomi's memoir" was written. On page 144, "Nomi" writes, "...my mom leaving town to spare my dad the pain of having to choose between the church or her..." This leads to my question: If you only had one choice, would you choose your religion or the person you love (specifically someone of a different religion)?

I think that if the Bible says you have to marry someone in your religion, then it is idiotic. If it does not say it and people just think it says that, then the people are either blind or idiotic.

What if the Bible does say that you have to marry within your religion? I think that it is wrong. Let's say you choose religion over the person you love. After the both of you break-up, you never fall in love again. This would be the total "soulmate" thing. Are you supposed be sad for the rest of your life, never falling in love because you chose your religion over your soulmate?

I personally would say screw the religion. If nobody in my religion likes the fact that I am in love with someone of a different religion, then they don't have to talk to me, just so long as I am happy with the person I love.

If you fall in love with someone that is in your religion, then okay. But what if you fall in love with someone outside of your religion? Do you choose your religion and be sad for the rest of your life? Or do you choose the person you love, be happy, and say "screw the religion?"

Jimmy Jack from Translations: "Do you know the Greek word endogamein? It means to marry within the tribe. And the word exogamein means to marry outside the tribe."

Sandra Birdsell's Katya

Katya by Sandra Birdsell was a bit long in my opinion. In the first half of the book, there was not really much dialogue going on. If there was dialogue, it would only be one or two sentences before going back into the descriptions. In the second half of the book, there is clearly much more dialogue than the first half.

In the book, there was a word or two I knew from taking German. The word that was mentioned was "Oma." "Oma" is also used in Germany. It is another word for "großmutter." Both of these words mean "grandma/grandmother." The same can be said for "Opa" which is also used in Germany, the same word for "großvater," and means "grandpa/grandmother."

In the front of the book is the newspaper clipping. If someone was to only glimpse at it and not realize that the book is fiction, the reader may think that the clipping is true. It gives the who, what, where, when, and how. Unfortunately, such news in the newspapers were probably very common during those days.

On page 134, Franz Pauls says, "If there should be a war, then I, for one, will be among the first to volunteer. I'll willingly go wherever I'm sent and do what I'm given to do." This is similar to Joseph in Peace Shall Destroy Many by Rudy Wiebe. Franz says that he will serve if there is a war and Joseph is serving. Joseph is not on the front lines carrying a weapon, but serving in the Medical Reserves. Another similarity between Franz and Joseph is that both of them are in Mennonite communities. Bringing up the topic of serving in the military (no matter if you are only in the medical department or on the front lines) in such a community is basically a big "no-no." My reasoning for it being a no-no is because you are in a pacifist community. Even bringing up the military is asking for you to be shot. By pacifists! If you bring up that, then Mennonite pacifists will think that you are crazy.

A Family of Military Service and Almost Serving

Like I promised in my previous post, here is my "Personal Column" that I wrote in Feature Writing a couple of months ago. Two of you have already read it.

When I was in high school, I was preparing to apply to serve in the National Guard. I wanted to get away from my parents and sister because I had had enough of our family problems. During the time that my dad and I were talking to a National Guard recruiter, I was experiencing what some doctors from an area clinic had called “partial seizures.” Since the end of my eighth grade year, I was losing my vision for a few seconds at a time. Sometimes, it would happen once or twice every day or every few days. My vision was not filled with dots: It was literally like the saying, “Wool being pulled over my eyes.” At one point, I was losing my vision several times every day for ten seconds rather than only a few. At that point, my dad talked to the recruiter who said that I was not eligible for military service given my medical condition. He gave examples to my dad as to why my condition meant I could not be battle ready. If I was on the battlefield, he said, soldiers in my unit could end up dead – myself included – if I could not see. Simply put, I would be a casualty to the group.

To this day, I still have my partial seizures, but it is not as bad as it had been several years ago. Sometimes, I can go two or three weeks without having one. At other times, I will have one in a day which would occur every several days.

I was raised in a family in which we honor the troops of the past, present, and future. In my family, there is a history of service – and of almost serving – in the military, and I am part of that legacy. My dad’s house that he and his four siblings grew up in was patriotic. He told me that the front and back of the house was red because of the bricks that had been used, the sides were white because of the siding that had also been used, and the roof was blue. He also told me that my grandfather had a flag pole in their backyard which was about 30 feet tall and the flag was possibly a 4’x6’ flag because “it took two people to fold it.” My dad said that the flag could be seen from about a mile and a half away. This was before the small town they lived in was beginning to develop into a city. He said that when his siblings and he were taking down the flag, it had to have thirteen folds (life, eternal life, honor and remembrance of the veteran, weaker nature, country, where our hearts lie, Armed Forces, the one who entered the valley of the shadow of death and to honor mother, womanhood, father, Hebrew citizen, Christian citizen, and the national motto: “In God We Trust”).

My grandfather on my mom’s side served in the Navy after World War II. Because he was in a car accident at the age of fourteen, my grandfather on my dad’s side could not be in the Army. Also due to a car accident just two weeks before he enlisted in the Army, my father had to find something else to do with his life. He wanted to serve because “there was nothing to do in Matteson.” He would have been in either Grenada, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Bosnia, or all of them.

As I look back to what I wanted to do to get out of the house just because we had “major” family problems (I have been speaking my mind to my parents for the past few years now), I see that it was a selfish reason and it should not have been a reason why I wanted to join the military. The reason that anyone would want to enlist in the military should be that they want to serve the country, not for any selfish reasons or other reasons that does not have to do with the country. Even if I did have the reason of family problems while serving, I am proud that I would have served my country.

I love my country and her soldiers from all of the branches of the military. I am proud that someone in my family was able to serve. I am also proud that people in my family wanted to serve, even if they could not because of reasons largely beyond their control. As my dad says, if he served, he could have been killed, never met my mother, and I would not be able to tell this story of my family’s military support.

I could have been the first woman in my family history to be part of the U.S. military. Given my partial seizures, I need to sit on the sidelines while soldiers keep me free and safe. I know what they need to do. I appreciate the troops needing to do what they do for our freedom, independence, and for keeping us safe. If I was able to, I would be standing right next to them right now.