“Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes. It can no longer be of concern to great powers alone. For a nuclear disaster, spread by winds and waters and fear, could well engulf the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the committed and the uncommitted alike. Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.”

–John F. Kennedy

Alicia Strusa




One thing that Americans do not do enough of, is ask questions. It’s easy for almost everyone to say they want peace and happiness for all but in order to understand our past and strive for a brighter future, we first need to understand why things are the way they are. We need to start asking more questions.

I believe it starts with inner reflection. It’s sad that we point fingers at others and don’t even bother to stop and look at our own lives, our decisions, and our ignorance of other cultures ending in the consequence that is war.

We can say it all we want but we’re not a united nation. Sure, we call ourselves a diverse nation but to be as divided and unattached to our relationship as a united nation as we are, causes us to be blinded and we’re bound to make even greater mistakes. How can we begin to fix a problem or even care about an issue outside of our nation when we have issues stirring within us? If we had been open-minded, understanding and accepting of other cultures—even religions in the past, I believe our present would not be as cloudy as it is now.

Even some other countries view our nation as a snobby, selfish and cold-hearted one. We’re very quick to put blame and judgment on other cultures, religions and races that we don’t understand, simply because they live different lifestyles than we do.

We need to become more culturally aware. Why isn’t our younger generation being taught to utilize everyday technology for learning about what is going on in our world? Why aren’t we being more deeply educated about other cultures that make up this powerful nation? There is a serious lack of cultural education in this country and that is a scary truth. After all of the wars and tragedies we’ve gone through together, we still stereotype other races and religions showing that we haven’t learned a single lesson from our past. Hatred is an ugly thing, especially when it stirs in the hearts of so many people. When September 11 happened, we were told that a group of al-Qaeda terrorists coordinated four suicide attacks on the United States. Sadly after that, many people couldn’t help but wonder if almost every Muslim they saw was a terrorist. They felt fear in their hearts. They developed hatred.

I wondered why no one bothered to really investigate 9/11. I wondered why the deeper stories weren’t being told; we’ve heard negative story after story about Muslims, being told to us by everyone but a Muslim person. I wanted to know why no one had bothered to go straight to the source and talk to a Muslim who was being stereotyped as a terrorist. I had to ask questions. I interviewed a young woman named Jenan Jondy on a school television program called The Maine Report. Jenan is the outreach coordinator for the Islamic Center of Maine in Orono and an American Muslim. I wanted to hear her side of things in the midst of all the judgments made on her and her family.

“It’s very unfair and unjust for so many Muslims to be aligned with the terrorism acts of September 11. The message of Islam is not about hatred. Our beliefs are being misunderstood and misrepresented by extremists.”
Each time she spoke, it was inspiring. She was genuine, a real person. She was a wife, a mother. She believed in peace and she felt blessed to be living in the United States.

“If we can bring our differences together, we can begin to learn to grow together to create a positive change.”

Why aren’t we hearing more stories of American Muslims like Jenan who have something positive to say? Instead the public is flooded with fear and stories that leave people thinking that all people of the Muslim faith must be bad. As a great nation—and a powerful one—we have the ability to spread peace and truth. This is not only the media’s job either; each and every individual person in America has the right to seek and report the truth.

We can unite and resolve our corruptions within peacefully so that we may truly help our neighbors in other countries who are less fortunate than us. Let’s educate the younger generations about this important stepping-stone in our nation’s history. We need to re-educate family, friends, neighbors and communities about different cultures and rise up against negative stereotypes. We need to incorporate cultural education beyond what the textbooks are teaching children in school. By putting our differences to good use and coming together to protect our nation and the freedom and equality its principles are based upon, we diminish all traces of negativity in our thoughts and in our hearts. When we learn to unite and stand strong, we have a better chance at a better future. We need to act as the change we want to see in this world. For too long hate and negativity has been deeply seeded in our hearts and has accomplished nothing. Hatred will continue to be our crutch if we do not allow love to come in and heal our wounds.

I remember a time back in elementary school when I sat down with my class in the cafeteria to have lunch. Being half Asian, my mother would pack Thai snacks for me in my lunchbox. I remember feeling embarrassed because of all the stares I received. The words they described my lunch as were “weird-looking” and “gross” and not “normal” like their pizzas and bologna sandwiches were. Looking back on that situation makes me want to teach children in today’s society to accept differences and learn about it before judging others and putting them down for those differences.

War can no longer be our answer. It’s time we lead the way to bettering ourselves in order to give respect, peace and love to a hurting world that desperately needs it. We need to ask questions, seek truth, re-educate others and ourselves about other cultures and religions, and most importantly embrace our diversity and unite with love and peace. Peace begins within. Only when we have inner peace within our nation can we begin to see the rest of the world with open eyes.

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