Despair
When I was growing up, Bill Clinton was our president. The country loved him. My family owned a nice home and had money to spare. Living costs were fine, jobs were available and paid enough for people to get by. In general, it was a happy time for most people in the middle class. I never, ever, in a million years- thought that I would see war in my lifetime. Sometimes I would have nightmares about bombs dropping in America and other countries and would wake up relieved that I would never have to worry about my safety in that sense. I remember, vividly, being told at school one day that the twin towers had been hit and it was a terrorist attack. I remember not understanding and not having any questions. When I came home, I saw the never ending news coverage. Two giant buildings, collapsing into clouds of smoke. People jumping out of windows and falling to their deaths. I knew something big was happening and I cried and I asked my Mom if we were safe and I remember she told me not to go anywhere that day. No one knew anything. It was awful. George Bush decided to go to war, and this is where I chose to settle on my despair photo. I disagree with the idea of war, and I think that if it is EVER possible to avoid it- we should. This picture shows an American solider walking through an alley way with dead men lining the ground. This is what war is doing. Soldiers are coming back with severe PTSD, physical injuries, or other mental health issues. Many can't get the treatment they need once they come home. The wars have spread, and while troops have been removed more recently- war is still a huge issue in our country. We are trillions of dollars in debt due to the various war's we've gone through.
Looking through the photos of casualties and other images of the war was incredibly difficult. I wanted to post something more shocking, but didn't want to offend anybody in the class. Children, women, men, so many lives lost. The Taliban was scary, the videos they put out were scary, Bin Laden's transcript was awful. But to kill so many civilians along the way- only to just have killed Bin Laden in 2011, was it worth it?
Hope
Another thing I never understood my entire life was WHY homosexuals were treated differently and not given the same rights as heterosexuals? While the entire general view of gay people is starting to change in a positive way, I wanted to focus more on homosexuality in the army. "Don't Ask Don't Tell" was the law of the land for quite some time. Finally, men and women who fancy their same sex can be who they REALLY are and not have to hide it anymore. I am by no means saying being gay in the military is easy now, as I know there are still huge problems and judgmental people that affect being openly gay while serving. That is still a huge issue that needs more attention.
At the time, Don't Ask Don't Tell was seen as a sort of compromise between parties. It prevented soldiers from being investigated if suspected to be gay. It was progress, but our country wasn't ready to go any further. With time, and a new president, Obama overturned Don't Ask Don't Tell and provided same-sex marrieds the same rights as heterosexuals. This is amazing progress. The photo I picked is of a man in his uniform, most likely coming home from serving, kissing another man who is probably his boyfriend or husband. This photo just makes me so happy. I'm happy with the progress we've made but embarrassed that this was ever an issue at all. I hope to see one day everybody being treated the same no matter what their sexual orientation.
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