Project Generation

C/Ped from my personal LJ


I didn’t lose anyone on 9/11.

No one in my immediate family was ever in serious danger, even though we lived just a short drive from the George Washington Bridge.

So while there were many emotions that went through my head on that clear and warm Tuesday morning, fear wasn’t one of them.

I was shocked, stunned, saddened…but I wasn’t afraid. Maybe it was because it took a few days to really understand what had happened, but even then, I wasn’t afaid. I was sort of fascinated by the entire thing, wondering if it was a conspiracy and if so how deep it went...but I wasn't afraid to eat my lunch outside or walk home from the school bus or even to go to Rosh HaShanah services the next week, blatantly advertising my status as a Jewish American.

I felt, perhaps, a little defiant, a little rebellious, watching baseball when it returned the week after. They could tear down our buildings, knock out a tooth in the skyline of New York City, but they would not, they could not, crush our spirit.

It felt fitting that the Yankees went all the way to the World Series and even more fitting when they won in dramatic fashion games four and five, but perhaps most fitting was when they lost the Series—because by that point, they had proven the one cardinal truth in all sports: the one thing that really matters is that you play, and they played.

They didn’t put metal detectors in front of the Stadium, or screen ticket buyers for ties to Al Qaeda or the Taliban, but instead we went, prouder than ever, of a game wholly American and one where New York was better at it than any city in the world (at the time, anyway).

We were Americans first then, and New Yorkers (okay, New Jerseyans too) and we were not afraid.

The high school held a ceremony for the paramedics, policemen and firemen that worked at Ground Zero and the entire audience stood and applauded their efforts. If they were not afraid, neither were we.

They held a concert in New York City for those that had lost loved ones. Bon Jovi was there, so were the Backstreet Boys, James Taylor, Paul McCartney, the Who, Mick Jagger, Melissa Ethredge, Jay-Z on and on, but the most memorable moment wasn’t any of the musical acts.

It was Michael Moran of the FDNY saying, “Osama bin Laden, you can kiss my royal Irish ass!”

We were sad, we were healing, and we were not afraid.

You can never doubt the spirit and the resolve of a New Yorker. Though neither will likely admit it, New Yorkers and Londoners share a similar spirit: life goes on, it has gone on before and it will go on again, and it does no good to wallow in fear.

We honor our heroes and there are few people more engrained in the fabric and consciousness of New York than the city’s police and firemen. They were our heroes on that day and so we honored them. We haven’t honored them enough—many are dealing with life-threatening health problems after inhaling large amounts of asbestos and other chemicals—but that’s a different discussion on a different day.

There are people that are sick of hearing about 9/11 and you might be one of them, but as someone that’s always lived in the shadow of New York and now lives in New York, I can’t just brush it off. It’s a part of me and it’s a part of my life, and yes, it does matter.

However, what I refuse to do is to wallow in fear.

The memory of those lost deserves so much better than that.

 

 

We’re coming to age at an important time, politically. For most of our memory, we’ve only had two Presidents- Democratic Bill Clinton and Republican George W. Bush. Two very different men, one country.

I was fourteen when George Bush came into office. 7 years ago, the Monica Lewinsky scandal was still fresh on everyone’s mind and to my fourteen year old self, I thought that cheating on your wife in the Oval Office was one of the worst things a President could do (I admit, I was influenced by my Republican parents.)

I didn’t like Bush. Even at fourteen, I didn’t trust him. But, I was only a fourteen year old girl who didn’t know a thing about government outside of what I learned in Civics class. So, I put aside my personal feelings and put my trust in the adults around me.

Fast forward four years. Our country was attacked; we’re in the middle of an un-winnable war in the Middle East. The mass support of the country has flipped to against the War on Terror (thought of by some as Daddy’s War, a reference to President George H.W. Bush’s war in the Middle East, called Desert Storm).

After a campaign of slander and “family values,” a majority of our country re-elects George W. Bush. Now he has a mandate. There’s no re-election for him, and the only thing he needs to fear is impeachment.

Fast-forward another three years. Today. We’re in the middle of the 2008 election process. We can only guess how history will look at this year.

No matter what happens, the Democratic party will make history. For the first time, the Democrats will either put up a black candidate, or a woman candidate. One hundred years ago, both groups had very limited political power. Women only got the vote eighty-eight years ago. Blacks safely got the vote a little over forty years ago.

Eligible voters are turning up at their polls for primaries and for caucuses in record numbers. In the state of New Hampshire alone, a state with only four electoral votes, sixty-one percent of eligible voters turned out to vote. January 8th, 2008, out of the 871,723 elegible voters, 529,542 showed up to lend their voice to one of our nation’s most fundamental rights. Records show that while the Republicans had a slightly higher turnout (roughly one percent), most of the independents swung democratic. A total of 63,650 people registered at the polls.

Yesterday was arguably one of the most important days in the political process, beat only by November 5th. Yesterday was Super Tuesday, and 24 of the 50 states had elections and caucuses. While election breakdowns aren’t in yet, there is one thing certain.

Our country is ready for a change. As young people, it is our responsibility to be a part of our change. 50 years from now, what are we going to tell our children? What are we going to tell our grandchildren?


Secretary of State: 61 Percent Voted in NH Primary

If I tell you there are 5.4 million dead, what would you say?

You'd probably tell me to stop wallowing in the misery of the Holocaust and be thankful I was born forty years after it ended, right?

Well, see, thing is, I'm not talking about the Holocaust.

So that makes you feel a bit better, right? Then you ask me, well, if you're not talking about the Holocaust, what are you talking about?

I respond, "the Congo."

You look at me, shrug your shoulders and say "So?"

"So," I say, "there are 5.4 million dead. It's like if you just took the entire state of Colorado, and wiped it off the map."

"B-but, where would I go skiing in the winter?"

"Are you listening to me?" I'm beginning to get annoyed. "5.4 million people are dead."

"Oh, come on, like you really care about what's going on in Africa. Like it affects you."

"Well I don't know about you, but I was taught that killing people is generally a bad thing. As is rape, starvation, cannibalism and malnutrition..."

"If it was that bad, why haven't they covered it on the news? Why don't we hear about it?"

"Because it's Africa," I sigh, "and apparently 'never again' doesn't apply there."

"That's not true, I hear about Darfur all the time!"

"Guess what the Sudan has that the Congo doesn't?"

"I don't know, what?"

"Oil."

"Well, then, what about Rwanda?"

"We did, basically, nothing. Abandoned it, more like. The violence in the Congo, a lot of it, was carry-over from Rwanda."

"Well then, why doesn't someone do something about it?"

"That's what I'm asking."


There's a girl in my political science class who's from the Congo. She's the eldest of seven children (four sisters, two brothers), and her parents are farmers.

She has not seen her family in seven years, because travel back and forth is practically impossible.

She wants to work for the UN, and work for human rights.


She is the type of woman, I expect, that will win herself a Nobel Peace Prize before it's all said and done, her story is that remarkable.


I wish I could look her in the eye and say that I'm proud to live in a country where congress's primary concern isn't the use of steroids in baseball or a cheating scandal in the NFL, but instead that I live in a country where the words 'never again' actually mean something.

Maybe, someday.



Congo Special Report from IRC
Congo on GlobalIssues.org
Congo on Human Rights Watch

Last night for the second time in 3 years, the Boston Red Sox made it into the World Series.  We tied for the best season in Major League Baseball.  It was a happy moment to see the New York Yankees, our arch-enemies get out in the first round of the playoffs.  And have the same thing happen this year that happened in 2004... the Red Sox forced a game 7 against the Cleveland Indians.  We were not 3-0 like last time, but at 3-1 we were close.  We came back from an almost certain defeat to win last night's game 11-2. 
I was doing homework, so I couldn't watch the game.  But I didn't have to, considering that around midnight when the game ended, a riot broke out on my college campus.  Around 300 ran around the campus, so ecstatic that the Red Sox were going to the World Series.  So many people and so much noise that campus safety and the city police were driving all around campus, mostly along the sidewalks to stop the riot from getting even more out of hand.  They even threw tear-gas at the crowd in attempt to break it up.  It failed. 
If there are riots here every time the Red Sox make the World Series, and it's not even winning the World Series yet, there is hopefully, and unfortunately going to be a riot here, very October for many years to come.

There are events which can send an entire nation into mourning. We know this. We've seen this.

9/11, the London/Madrid/Bali bombings, Columbine, V-Tech, the boxing day tsunami.. the list goes on.

All those are events which can shake a country to the core. They raise large questions about governmental policies. They can result in a change of leadership.

It's coming up to two weeks after another event rocked country. They are still mourning, all dressed in black. A sea separates me from them, but the tremors still touch me. I'm an ex-pat of the country. Which?

New Zealand.

So what is this event which can cause such tragedy to a land which proudly calls itself 'God's Own Country'? The answer is one that is most unexpected to anyone not familiar with this small south pacific country.

The Rugby World Cup.

It's been 20 years since NZ won the inaugural cup. It'll now be at least 24 until they can lift it for the second time.

New Zealand is a rugby mad country. To play for the national team, The All Blacks, is virtually the highest achievement possible for any sportsman. Only one coach has been able to retain his job after losing at the World Cup. John Hart in 1995, where a food poisoned All Black side very narrowly lost to South Africa. In 1999, when NZ lost in a major upset to France in the semi-finals, Hart was spat on afterwards. A disgusting act, certainly, and shocking as they ended up 4th overall. Many other teams can only hope to rank so high.

Flash forward to 2007, New Zealand vs France play each other in Cardiff for a quarterfinal match. France won 20-18. For the first time ever, New Zealand failed to make the semi-finals. The rugby world reeled, none more so than the kiwi fans back home. This All Black side was one of their strongest ever, they were indisputable world number 1 (according to the IRB standings). With their worst ever result, the troops flew home to a nation in black.

Not in mourning. In support.

Win or lose, New Zealand will stand behind those they love. Yet in spite of the support, there are calls for the coach's head (figuratively... just), some are even questioning the education policies of the government, saying they are not teaching kids to want to win. That just having a go is enough.

It is not, and ever will be enough for the All Blacks. They have been labelled as world cup chokers for years, and the label is now even more firmly attached.

But there is hope for them. Australia was ranked second in the world before the tournament. They lost to England in another shock result during the quarterfinals as well. They have since sunk to number 6. New Zealand will drop to second, maybe third after the finals. That is just how far ahead they were of everyone else. Their reputation as one of the top teams in the world remains as untarnished as ever. They will be able to quickly regain number one, and build a large lead before Australia can reach second again. New Zealand still holds a strong position in the world rankings.

On top of this, the next world cup will be hosted in New Zealand. It has been years since New Zealand last lost on home soil. Eden Park will be the home ground, and it has been even longer since the All Blacks lost there.




There are events which can send an entire nation into mourning. We know this. We've seen this.

9/11, the London/Madrid/Bali bombings, Columbine, V-Tech, the boxing day tsunami. The Rugby World Cup.

C/Ped from my own journal:


I've been making a lot of baseball posts lately, so I thought I'd share why, exactly I love baseball so much.

I mean, there doesn't seem to be much attraction in a game that takes over three hours to play (usually), where there's no hard-hitting action, where half the time the batters take ten minutes just to set between each swing...

But the thing is, there's nothing else like it.

There's nothing like opening day, when kids cut class to go see exactly how good the Yankees are this year or starting out with so much hope at Wrigley....

There's nothing like sitting in a ballpark that's almost 100 years old, or a park where the ghosts of past still haunt (games 4 and 5 of 2001 world series, anyone?).

There's nothing like "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth", or "I don't believe what I just saw!" or "Touch 'em all Joe" or "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!" or "Stay fair ball, stay fair!"

There's nothing like hosting Boston, wearing t-shirts that say "Babe, Bucky, Boone, any questions?" or watching the visiting team lose the ball in the ivy at Wrigley or the rally monkey at Anaheim, home runs into the Cove at San Francisco (the ones Barry doesn't hit...anyway...), the home run apple at Shea, the water slide at Miller Field, the fountain at Kauffman Stadium, the way the home runs used to leave the field at Coors, the way Tampa is a home away from home for the Red Sox and the Yankees, the way you can book a hotel room and look straight onto the field in Toronto...

There's nothing like bottom of the ninth, game seven, World Series.

There's nothing like the summer of '98 which saw two 60+ home run hitters, 114 season wins for the Yankees, a perfect game, a 20 strike out game, and G-d knows what else.

There's nothing like the way last week was--756 for B*nds, 500 for Arod, 300 wins for Glavine.

There's nothing like peanuts and cracker jacks, and the seventh inning stretch, whose origins, to this day, are a mystery--despite it being one of the most hallowed of all baseball traditions.

There's nothing like watching Endy Chavez or Willie Harris or Melky Cabrera echo Willie Mays, nothing like watching the center fielder dive for the ball, catch it and then throw out the runner at the plate.

There's nothing like seeing the end of a perfect game, live, on TV, and even if the guy pitching it is away, or plays for your most hated rival, you've gotta feel good for him.

There's nothing like watching a rookie hit his first big league home run or his first big league strikeout.

There's nothing like trying to beat out 500 other fans for the foul ball coming your way, and if you're a split second too late, well, it's not yours any more.

There's nothing like this year's feel-good stories, John Lester and Rick Ankiel.

There's nothing like October---where every year there is always something to remember.

There's nothing like cheering Jeffery Maier or booing Steve Bartman (or if you're an Orioles fan or a Marlins fan, the reverse)

It's just a bat and a ball, and some guys standing around a field.


There is nothing like it.

I LOVE THIS GAME!

My computer died.

I'm sitting here, typing these words on my parents computer.

My computer died.

It's odd.

Five years ago, I wasn't so dependent on the computer. Now, I use it daily.

I feel isolated without my laptop handy and turned on, connected to the Internet. I feel cut off from the world at large.

What does that say about our generation? Have we become so isolated from the world around us that we need to sit in small room with a glowing screen in order to gain a social life? Have we become dependent on wires and tubes and satilites to make us feel a part of the world that we are willingly cutting ourselves off from?

I'm curious, how many folks around here know people who are in Iraq right now...or know people who know people? I don't know anyone directly, but have friends who have relatives or friends fighting in the war.

I seems like this really is one of those wars where one isn't really that separated from it.

Oh and do you think there should be a military draft...I know many people are opposed to it and some military people say they like the idea of a volunteer army with people that actually want to be in the military. But, i've heard other arguments with people saying they think the volunteer military has created a sort of "warrior class" where you have only a certain group of people fighting while the rest of the population has no real stake in it and our generation is basically not *really* involved in what's happening and many aren't even paying attention (which in some cases is true...hell, I had to pull teeth just to convince some of my fellow college student friends to vote in the 2004 election). But if there's a draft, suddenly *everybody* has to listen and be attentive, whether they want to or not. I do think there should be some kinda national service, where people are required to be involved in their nation, whether it be military, govt, or other types of service that helps people and the country. The apathy in our generation as well as even others older than us is rampant. Although, there are a large group of 20-somethings who do care about what's going on in the world, i've seen plenty who don't...they're so into their own lives, they don't particularly care about what's going on around them even if it could have a significant effect on them (but not necessarily "in-your-face"). I do think sometimes people should be required to do certain things for the nation they live in and therefore they and the nation can benefit from.

Please feel free to respond to anything i've said here. It's just midnight ramblings hehe.

Where were you, and what were you doing on 9/11/01?

How has 9/11 since effected you?

Not sure how else to get the ball rolling than by sharing stories about the one event that no doubt helps define this generation.

Please feel free to post an entry about it--Write whatever comes to mind!

A Contest:

My professor says that we need a contemporary study on the history of boredom.

I'll make it a little easier and pose these questions:

Why is it, that with the internet, digital cable, movies, theatres, sports...that we still always find ourselves bored?

Why is it that we are so afraid to be bored? (That's direct from the professor)

What are your experiences with boredom?

*****

You may answer one, or all, and in any manner that you see fitting. With luck, and enough entries, we'll have one winner for each question.

Prizes: A grand prize winner will recieve something from the LJ gift shop!

Judging: TBD. If you'd like to volunteer, you're welcome to do that, otherwise I might just nag some non project generation members to give me their picks...

Deadline: 14 February, 'cos it's easy to remember!

Hey all, it's me again. This is just something I've been tinkering with for a while - an adaptation of the beginning of the Declaration of Independence for the Internet generation. Apologies to Thomas Jefferson.


Blog Post of Independence

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one Blogger to dissolve the communicatory bands which have connected him with another and to assume among the powers of the end user, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of the Internet and of the World's Web entitle him, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that he should declare the causes which impel him to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Blogs are created equal, that they are endowed by their Server with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Posts, Readers, and the pursuit of Snarkiness.
— That to secure these rights, Blogs are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the Blogger,
— That whenever any Lack of Communication becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Blogs, laying their foundations on such principles and organizing its weblinks in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Privacy and Snarkiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Silences long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that Bloggers are more disposed to suffer, while Silences are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Silence, and to provide new Blogs for their future expression.

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Bloggers; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Lack of Online Journals. The history of the previous Societies of Man is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Silence over these Bloggers. To change this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

I stared at the screen, which was covered in squares of vibrant color like a chessboard of Andy Warhol. They were icons of bloggers, all of them students (like me) or alumnae of a certain northernmost Ivy League school. I scanned the names and time since last update to find active journals of females. A name looks promising - but it turns out she's a he, or she's graduated 10 years ago, or there's not enough information to get any sort of feel for the person. Still I keep looking.

Yes, it's true. I am reduced to using LiveJournal as a dating service. I look here, on the internet. Why? I'm reminded of the classic joke of a man who has lost a quarter outside, and looks for it inside, because it's dark out there and he can't see. Only here it is my life that's the joke. I cannot look for love in the real world, because it's dark out there and I need the warm, comforting light of my computer screen to see. Let me tell you, dear readers, what happens when a 'Netling tries to uplink to the real world.

We met, as any two people should, in front of a raging bonfire. Well, that's not technically true - it was a nearby art gallery. But the bonfire was the centerpiece of the evening, and the college's homecoming ceremony, so that is how I think of it. From reception to parade to bar to fire, she and I and several others rambled through the night. The bonfire was magnificent, a structure of wooden beams designed to fall in on itself when burned. I felt as if I was watching the collapse of the Lincoln Log Empire. We laughed, we talked. We made plans. All seemed right with the world. Which meant, of course, that disaster was imminent.

Due to my lack of training in the rules of the game, as it were, I played things a little too close to the vest. We "went out" a couple of times, but I was overcautious and so she didn't know that I carried a burgeoning torch. I wasn't forward enough in just the right ways, and so this little enterprise was doomed to self-destruct from the beginning.

And so I retreat, as ever, to my comfortable niche in this corner of the internet. To my dozens of online friends, almost all of them female. Here, I am charming and intelligent and popular. Here, my wit and grace are as spellbinding as Harry Potter. And all with just the slightest romantic overtones, save one significant exception. It was brought to my attention recently that I don't flirt with my online female friends. It would come as a shock to most who know me that I have an exceptionally dirty mind, and the creativity to use it in a very real sense should the opportunity ever arise. But I'm not sure it ever will, as long as I remain restricted to the mating rules of the Internet, and unschooled in those of the dreaded Real World. For me, the internet has permanently changed the way I look for and think about love.

My name is Victor. I'm from Northern New Jersey. I'm a 22 year old charming geek with a rapier wit ... and no one to brandish it for.

I put this in a comment, but to keep things flowing, also put it here...under a cut cos it's LARGE

( Inis Mor, Ireland summer 2005 )

I'm not Irish, but the trip I took for a study abroad program is one of the defining experiences of my life. I like very much how there is still a place that seems totally untouched by time, even in the "first world"...

Keene, NH Oct. 11, 2005 The flooding of Southwest New Hampshire.  that's normally a road.  I goto school in Keene.  Many places in the center of town, the water was so deep that the rescuers used outboard motors on row boats to get the people trapped in their home.  Lots of places it was 2 or 3 feet or water, and the Keene State College officials encouraged everyone who was off campus for the long weekend not to come back until at least Monday.  Many roads and most bridges in the area were closed and or gone completely.

It doesn't have to be something you took.

But it does have to be something you like!

One random photo with location (city, state, country) and date.

That's it! Let's see if we can breathe some life into this community.

( My photo )

Caitlin

Whether you're against or in favor of the War in Iraq and perhaps Afganistan...our generation is at war and so knowing the medical effects on members of our generation as a result of such warfare is important.

National Geographic Magazine did a two-part article called "Front Lines". It came out in the new December issue and talks about combat medicine in Iraq. There are some incredible information and images in this issue...and many of these badly injured and killed are in their late-teens and early-20s.

Here's an excerpt of the entire article posted on the National Geographic Magazine website:

Jason Welsh held the phone close and lied to his mother. He told her he'd been in a car wreck in Iraq, but he was fine. "I think I broke my jaw pretty good," he said, "but that's all." The lie made sense. Telling the truth, that he'd been blown up by a roadside bomb, his neck was broken, his face smashed, that three men died beside him, somehow didn't seem right. Welsh, 25, remembers thinking, If I don't tell her, it'll be OK. It'll be like it didn't happen.

Lynne Welsh, listening in Oklahoma, didn't believe him. Her mind spun. Fear flooded in. "I was so scared my voice got weak," she says. "I finally asked him, 'How are your arms and legs?' "

The question reveals the dread of every military parent, spouse, girlfriend, or boyfriend. The answer would shape the Welshes' future. Dreams would survive, or shatter. "My arms and legs are fine, Momma," Welsh said, and that, as far as it went, was the truth.

Some 20,000 American service members have been injured since the war in Iraq began in 2003. Medical technology and the sheer speed of rescue and treatment have increased soldiers' chances of surviving wounds that would have killed them in previous wars. But any notion that body armor and medicine have somehow made this war safe is unfounded. Stacking armor on troops and vehicles has only bred more accurate snipers, more devastating bombs. Medicine, while more advanced than in previous wars, cannot wipe out the brutality of the battlefield.

On American streets, amputees offer the most public and visually jarring testimony of war. The human eye, drawn to symmetry and startled by its absence, cannot help but scan voids where legs or arms once swung, while the mind wonders how it happened. But there are other injuries, some far worse than amputation.

Of the wounded, more than 20 percent have suffered traumatic brain injuries, called TBIs. As the roadside bomb, or improvised explosive device (IED), is the signature weapon of this war, the TBI has become its legacy, says Dr. George Zitnay, a neuropsychologist with some 40 years experience treating brain injuries. Zitnay, 67, has described brain injury as an "invisible epidemic," a plague the public knows little about or is unwilling to face. Zitnay believes this is because brain injuries carry heavy stigmas. "You get a brain injury in this country, you keep it quiet because here we value intellect so much," Zitnay says. "It's a very frightening thing to think about the psyche, to think about the mind. If you were brain injured, would you want people to know about it?"

The entire article is here: http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0612/feature3/

I recommend everyone buy the magazine which includes pics of the injured soldiers (powerful images) as well as info about the effects of IEDs and also the medical issues amputees face. Very fascinating and disturbing stuff. Hopefully this war will come to a peaceful conclusion...Iraqis as well as Americans are suffering horrible injuries over there.

What are some of the most important events to happen in your life thus far?

Hey guys....I'd hate to see this thing die....so perhaps we can try some sort of activity that doesn't take too much effort?

Perhaps a simple survey like such:

Name:
Location:
Favorite music:
Favorite Movies:
Favorite tv:
Favorite books:
Something interesting about you:


I know everyone is busy and this probably isn't a top priority, but I'd just rather not have it die =)