Posted March 18th, 2003 by Michelle

It’s over 60 degrees, I’m walking down the street with an iced (iced!) latte in one hand and a whole wheat bagel, in a crushed brown paper bag, in the other. I’m wearing a tank top and cutoff jeans, my hoodie wrapped around my waist for want of the warm sun on my skin. Spring seems possible, life seems possible, joy seems just around the bend. And then a thunderous sound fills the air, so loud I could feel it in my chest, and I look up to see ten helicopters flying in formation directly over my head. They are not flying fast. They are not media. They are circling my city. They are here to watch. They are here to defend against hatred coming my way because of the decisions of one small, foolish man. I am paralyzed with revultion and anger and fear. I am quite sure that life as we know it shall soon be altered again, and I am desperately looking forwards toward the day when this small man can be ousted and we can try to repair his mistakes. But… maybe this is what we need. Maybe we needed to hit this bottom, this ugly, short-sighted, greedy bottom, before we could become a compassionate country. Maybe these terrible times will give birth to a terrible time that the entire country can feel. Maybe all of the people out of the big cities who put this small man in office could be affected in a way- even if it means no gas for their cars, or perhaps just true images on their televisions of the blood and death that we as a country will inflict- that could possilby open their eyes to the reality our our country. I certainly wish no more ill on us, of course not, but I wouldn’t mind some of our conveniences taken away, long enough to create change and understanding.

And I feel it. I feel the other shoe dangling on a dirty, undernourished foot.