Our voices heard

We are six high school students, representing New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Asheville, and Monterrey, Mexico. We are black, white and Hispanic and we want our voices heard. Our opinions are underreported, and we as high school students want to make a statement about the degeneration of our world today. Within the last six years alone, our nation has experienced tragedy on many levels. On Sept. 11th, 2001 our nation lost not only over 2,750 lives, but also our sense of security and trust in our government. In March of 2003, our country went to war with Iraq over the accusation of their possession of weapons of mass destruction; we later found out these accusations were unfounded and untrue. Last, but most certainly not least, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and flooded over 80 percent of the city of New Orleans, killing over 2,500 men, women and children. As high school students we want the world to hear our voice. These matters have significantly changed our lives, particularly the consequences of Katrina and the war with Iraq. Our credibility as a nation has drastically diminished over the last few years. Our economic security has also been threatened thanks to the actions taken by our government. War debt, dependence on oil from the Middle East, and the financial burden of Hurricane Katrina are three situations that stripped us of billions of dollars. We are now living in a state of constant fear and uncertainty. These mental limitations prohibit us from fully enjoying our teenage years, and we want this to change. Much of our blame has been focused on President Bush and his decisions because he has been our nation's leader throughout all of these unimaginable situations. When focusing on the Iraq war, numbers certainly don't lie. "The number of US troops killed in Iraq has reached 2,500 with the death of a Marine," announced the Pentagon recently. What is even more disturbing is that most of the Iraqis that have died in the war are innocent, unarmed civilians. The number in itself is misleading as unofficial estimates vary from 50,000 to over 100,000. With conflicting reports and constant doubtful words from President Bush, the American people and more specifically, the American youth, do not know what to believe. Our president's words, that attempt to comfort us, seem to lose their effect when others contradict his statements. "We're talking about attacks being conducted every day. We're talking about a rise in suicide bombings in Afghanistan, from five in 2004 to 21 in just the first semester of 2006…" said Emmanuel Reinert, executive director of the Senlis Council. Another stunning statistic that affects any hardworking citizen of the United States is that, we are now $320 billion in debt. The funding for the war will greatly raise the burden on tax payers and on all future generations. These future generations, include us. Just recently, the administration received another $72.4 billion for war-related funding from Congress. How the immensity of these numbers will impact our generation is a question no one can answer. The leadership during these harsh times has been very deceiving in the information that they choose to portray to the American people. For instance, during the aftermath of 9/11 the Bush administration claimed that they were not headed for war with Iraq. However, as reported by Common Dreams News Center, in March of 2002, President Bush interrupted a meeting on UN sanctions against Iraq where Condoleezza Rice was present. After realizing the subject matter, Bush waived his hand and told her, "Fuck Saddam. We're taking him out." We personally wonder if he, as a leader, is acting on emotions rather than what's best for the American people. At 6:10am, on Aug. 29th, 2005, a Category 5 hurricane demolished the city of New Orleans, leaving death and destruction in its path. The death toll of Hurricane Katrina is now estimated at 2,500. In 2001, FEMA predicted that a major hurricane hitting New Orleans would be the most significant, potential disaster facing the country. However, in June 2005, several months before Hurricane Katrina, funding for New Orleans was cut by $71.2 million. The day after Hurricane Katrina, President Bush was out playing golf. Today, nearly a year later, housing is in short supply, only a handful of public schools have reopened, and many neighborhoods resemble ghost towns. The estimated cost of cleanup is $75 billion. If anything were to go wrong in New York City, there would be a dramatic course of action due to the wealth, power and influence of the city. This is substantiated by the quick and alert response to the attacks of Sept. 11th. The response of our leadership, help and awareness should not be influenced by the wealth and/or power of those affected. Does this mean this administration is focused more on the money than the people? The fact that the future of the United States is in the hands of a government that leaves its citizens to die after unprecedented devastation such as that of Hurricane Katrina, does not leave us with a significant amount of faith in our nation's leaders. It makes the future of our country look very bleak. We as high school students are not given the time of day when it comes to issues that affect us. There is a stereotype in today's society that says high school is high school and kids' words are just that–words. We want to argue this by saying that the stereotype is false. In the near future, we will be counted as legal adults, and then finally our statements will be counted for something. The question is whether or not it will be too late. In a time where the American media is one that does not fully encapsulate a true conception of what is happening, it is hard for us to form a legitimate opinion or even know the absolute truth of what is going on in today's world. This can even be said in our own country: the news coming out of the Hurricane Katrina incident is skewed. Renee LaGarde, a high school junior from New Orleans, came to visit our class and said, regarding President Bush's leadership: "I'm upset…. He said something about, how everything is looking great, he traveled to parts of the city that barely flooded, he didn't go to Lakeview, he didn't go to were I lived, he didn't go to Mid-city. He went to uptown New Orleans, which got like three inches. He said everything is looking great…. It's not. Maybe you should look around. He didn't." If voices like Renee's go unheard, Bush's lone voice will be heard, one that is misleading the American people and ignoring the truth. We are black, we are white, and we are Hispanic, and we want our voices heard.