I dedicate these words to those who have just lost their lives and to everyone on this earth. It is times like this that we all must embrace our humanity.
Tuesday, I cruised around campus to watch the news from practically every room that I went in, never missing anything. Between the news and listening to everyone on the street, I could not help but reflect on how amazingly stunned I felt. My jaw was super-glued to my forehead, and my throat was choking on my eyelids.
In this crazy time, I feel the best thing we can do is organize vigils and mini-conferences to publicly address the burning issues that we might carry. It is crucial that we collectively talk about what happened, especially if it might mean we are to go to war, which I seriously pray will not happen.
I wish this day, which carries clouds that smell like grief and frustration, had never happened.
I wish the conditions that breed these types of insane acts abolished.
A burning question that I pose to people is: Could we have prevented this tragedy if our foreign policy and practices were different than what they are today?
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Or should we multiply the bloodshed and carnage across the world?
The media has most government officials united in saying that a war has been declared, and make no mistake about it, our country will show its military power. Those involved should indeed be seriously punished, but if these nightmarish images of civilian casualties are what haunt us, then going to war will always kill and increase the causalities.
These unconscionable acts of violence can never be justified. As a student who loves this country, learns from its history and truly believes in the unity under peace, justice and equality, I feel we must not surrender to pure hostility for the "other."
It is amazing and understandable how quickly we are able to point fingers at an entire people as being terrorists, even threaten massive extermination, when we don't know who was involved.
Now, more than ever, it is a serious challenge to all of us to study, learn and talk about the immense inequality present in the world and what could have caused these insane acts of violence.
George W. Bush stated that "America was targeted for attack because we are the brightest beacon of freedom and opportunity and no one will keep that light from shining."
A real leap for humanity is not only one that condemns such violence, but it is also the expression of a respectful humbleness that looks beyond geographical and cultural boundaries. We must not be weighted down by an elevated sense of ego superiority to the rest of the world without the responsibility to address the many internal problems within our own fundamental way of life.
The extent of this horror not only strikes at what it means to live in this country, but what it means to live in this world. For a better future for us all, we have to embrace humanity and critically challenge our consciousness. I encourage everyone, students, teachers and friends, to challenge yourself by becoming more involved in world policies, practices and relationships.
Study our economic sanctions on Iraq that have been harming millions of lives, the bombing of Vieques and Puerto Rico, and our involvement in economic and environmental exploitation for profit. We are all responsible for our actions and we all have the ability and determination to be united under the banner of human grief, solidarity and universal respect.
The future will test how we will live today, and we will never come close to the "beacon of light" if we only stand united when it boils down to anger, retribution and warfare coupled with "U.S. jingoism."
by Maceo Carrillo Martinet
Daily Lobo Columnist
Comments, questions or suggestions can be sent to Maceo Carrillo Martinet at conuco8@unm.edu.
