Youths' dialogue contradicts first impression
I sat at Starbucks studying for an oceanography midterm. As I studied, a group of four individuals came in and sat down at my table. I began to judge them as white trash or hippie wannabes. They all had long hair and just looked like individuals who did not care much about what was happening in the world today. To my amazement, I soon learned through their conversation that they had a lot in common with me. They first talked about people who were taking turns standing in front of a tree so loggers could not cut it down. They were against this and thought it was rather absurd that they would risk their life to save a tree that is not theirs and is not on their property. Being a farmer's son, I knew how they felt and what they were saying because of the water and land environmentalists took away from my father and his peers in the Central Valley.
But what really amazed me about these individuals was when they struck a conversation about the controversy with Iraq. They began to discuss how the war may be unjust and unprovoked, but they thought that something had to be done about the weapons and Saddam. They also kept saying that the troops are the heroes and it's a shame some people in our country look down upon them as if they wanted to go to war and wanted to kill. They were thankful that the troops are willing to fight and die to help make America a safer place. They also discussed how wrong it was for the Dixie Chicks to lash out and disrespect our president the way they did. They also said that if someone does not want to stand for our National Anthem, they should just leave our country. After listening to most of their conversation, I was very mad at myself for judging them and placing a disrespectful title of "white trash" on them. I agreed with their perspective on the war, and having graduated from Marine Corps Officer Candidate School last summer, it felt good to hear their support for the Armed Forces and troops.
As a future Marine, I know I cannot make the decision to go to war, nor do I want to go to war. But I know it will be my job to obey orders, and serve and protect the country that I love. I guess what I am trying to get across is you can protest the war and all the politics, but don't hate or protest our troops. They are just doing their jobs and obeying orders, so that you have the freedoms you have and the freedom to protest. An article on the Internet sums it up best: When interviewing a Marine on what he thought about the female basketball player who did not stand for the National Anthem, his reply was "get out."
- Clarke Groefsema
public administration senior
I sat at Starbucks studying for an oceanography midterm. As I studied, a group of four individuals came in and sat down at my table. I began to judge them as white trash or hippie wannabes. They all had long hair and just looked like individuals who did not care much about what was happening in the world today. To my amazement, I soon learned through their conversation that they had a lot in common with me. They first talked about people who were taking turns standing in front of a tree so loggers could not cut it down. They were against this and thought it was rather absurd that they would risk their life to save a tree that is not theirs and is not on their property. Being a farmer's son, I knew how they felt and what they were saying because of the water and land environmentalists took away from my father and his peers in the Central Valley.
But what really amazed me about these individuals was when they struck a conversation about the controversy with Iraq. They began to discuss how the war may be unjust and unprovoked, but they thought that something had to be done about the weapons and Saddam. They also kept saying that the troops are the heroes and it's a shame some people in our country look down upon them as if they wanted to go to war and wanted to kill. They were thankful that the troops are willing to fight and die to help make America a safer place. They also discussed how wrong it was for the Dixie Chicks to lash out and disrespect our president the way they did. They also said that if someone does not want to stand for our National Anthem, they should just leave our country. After listening to most of their conversation, I was very mad at myself for judging them and placing a disrespectful title of "white trash" on them. I agreed with their perspective on the war, and having graduated from Marine Corps Officer Candidate School last summer, it felt good to hear their support for the Armed Forces and troops.
As a future Marine, I know I cannot make the decision to go to war, nor do I want to go to war. But I know it will be my job to obey orders, and serve and protect the country that I love. I guess what I am trying to get across is you can protest the war and all the politics, but don't hate or protest our troops. They are just doing their jobs and obeying orders, so that you have the freedoms you have and the freedom to protest. An article on the Internet sums it up best: When interviewing a Marine on what he thought about the female basketball player who did not stand for the National Anthem, his reply was "get out."
- Clarke Groefsema
public administration senior
