June 29th. Just Another Day

I've been reading a little about the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and other rebels in Northen Uganda. I came across a myspace profile for "Invisible Children;" a national movement to raise awareness about the war crimes of Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA, and the effects that they have on the people of Northen Uganda. It truly is disgusting, and makes me wonder what kind of world could mother the degree of aggression and hatred that this and other militant groups show. We were reading an article in class about one victim that was kidnapped, beaten, disfigured; his nose, upper lip, ears, and hands were severed, and nearly killed by the NRA. This idiot Marine in my class, completely aloof to the magnitude of the situation, decided to make fun of this man they were speaking of. I was appalled and then proceeded to inform said Marine of what an asshole he was. But through his ignorant approach, I realized that it seems to me that we in the US are so very uninformed. So much so, that we completely seperate our perceived reality from that of the rest of the world, or the real world as I could call it. Take for example, what happened in Haditha, Iraq. Marines (allegedly) executed however many Iraqi citizens in broad daylight. Imagine for a moment, that we in the US came under the occupation of, say, China. Imagine that they came in, overthrew G.W. and began imposing their laws on us. Then imagine that they began killing our families and friends, due to unproven accusations. The problem with the scenario, due to the improbability of it, is that we as Americans cannot possibly imagine that ever happening. And rightfully so. But it is because of this assumed invulnerability that we are not able to empathize with those who do expirence such things. All we know is comfort and security, a thing terrorist organizations try to take away. But maybe losing that security is what it would take to open our eyes to the crimes that take place in this world. Because all over this world, all of humanity is under constant attack from itself. Still, I get angry when I don't have my coffee in the morning, while children are being abducted to fight in militias against their own families. We are blessed, without any doubt. But what happens to those that are not?

Politics aside, I have my final final final speaking test tommorrow. I'll be happy to get it over with. I'm coming home Saturday morning, and I'm excited about that. Take it easy. Peace in the Middle East.