stream of teen spirit

exercise #17

(National Guard Advertisement, show in movie theaters before feature, 2009)

(film shot in Iran & smuggled out via cellphone the night before the elections, June 2009)

Take a moment to imagine war in a personal way.

If you can, take a moment to separate your political beliefs & knowledge of current events & world history to imagine what it would be like to have war on the streets of the town or city that you live in?

Imagine if you were called into service for your country via a draft and there were no option but to go.

Can you imagine?

120 years of history (exercise #17)

I saw 120 years of history, the beauty of giving life and the horror of taking life.  I saw my ancestors killing and being killed.  I saw the screw ups of the people, but I forgive them.  They were just doing their job but it resulted in the death of innocent people.  World War I and II: the deaths of people fighting for freedom.  But they made it worse by fighting because the killing will never stop.  Families separated and killed.  And now we have to fight to stay alive.  War is everywhere.  But we must stop fighting for what is wrong and fight for what is right. Killing is wrong.

We are all part of the same family in a way.  Do you kill family? No, you help family.  You keep family alive.  Say no to war, stop the killing and be more peaceful so more people can stay alive and fewer people die.  Help keep people on earth and out of heaven.

~ j. lambert, 15 (newfane, vt)

war (exercise #17)

A draft? I won’t go.  My government cannot convince me to kill another human being.  You may ask why or insert a bunch of what-ifs but I still will not change my mind.  I will not kill another human being. I believe in the power of human dignity and I believe in common good.  Even most of our adversaries have feelings, families and friends and people that they care about.  Who am I, someone who has never met this person to take the most precious thing they hold?  I am under the impression that I have not been given the authority to take something so important from another person.  I also believe in the value of human redemption.  I believe that a human being can do great things for the world despite their previous actions.  You might say that people like Hitler or Osama Bin Laden are beyond that, but should some 16 year-olds be the ones to judge them?  My government can convince me to support its health care policies but not its war policies.

~ brendan mcpherson, 15, (westminster, vt)

war (exercise #17)

People can be apathetic, even comfortable about warfare so long as it isn’t on their doorsteps.  This can go either way.  It’s easy to pull the “your freedom” gambit when you’re not affected.  When you are forced to march off once more in the name of imperialism, your mind will probably change.  Instead of demonizing the naysayer, you will begin to understand where their views come from.  You’ll realize that your fight has nothing to do with freedom.  It’s really all because someone’s pissed off for not getting his way.  The invasion is equivalent to a tantrum.  They are throwing their weight around like an overgrown child in order to get what they were denied and you are equivalent to a thrown object: painful but expendable.

~ duncan sullivan, 17, (alstead, nh)