Today, as we sit in class feeling bored and looking forward to the end of the day we should be thankful for our safe, little town in the United States of America. Across the globe teenagers in Paris and Brussels are wishing they had the luxury of a boring school day as they nervously return to school with police on every corner and a terror mastermind on the run. As I hear about 224 innocent people blasted out of the sky on a Russian airliner, the beautiful city of Paris brutalized and Brussels certain that it is next, I have to ask, What the ##@! is going on? How did we get to this point of no return? How have we become so apathetic as to let evil shut down our free and open societies?
Just a week and a half ago, on Friday the 13th, (not a coincidence) three teams of ISIS gunmen and suicide bombers killed 129 people and injured hundreds more in six different locations in Paris. As the shock of these heinous acts continues to echo around the world, countries are showing their support. The French flag was illuminated on the Empire State Building, the Christ the Redeemer sculpture in Brazil, and flies above the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia. In Paris, the lights of the Eiffel Tower were lit again on Nov. 16, this time in the colors of the French flag. Even the T.V. show, The Voice, paid tribute to France and freedom with Pharrell Williams performance of the song, “Freedom,” as the French flag waved in the background.
As many of us at Eaton High School change our Facebook profiles to the French flag, we must remember how closely linked we are to France and understand that an attack on France is an attack on us and the rest of the free world. We will forever be connected to France through the Statue of Liberty, or “Liberty Enlightening the World.” The statue was a gift from France to celebrate the centennial of the United States’ Declaration of Independence in 1876. We must honor France by keeping the light of freedom burning strong.
Although we have grown up in the shadow of 9/11, our generation has been protected from many of the evils of the world. Now that we are old enough to conceive of such a tragedy, it is important that we open our eyes and don’t take all the freedoms we are blessed with for granted. Our generation must pay attention, vote for strong leaders, and always stand up for the home of the free and the brave. So, as we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner in our cozy corner of the world, let us send our prayers to the countries where freedom is compromised. Let us be thankful to all who help secure our freedom because freedom is not free.
