War as the World Waits and Watches,

WAR

As the world waits and watches, America steps one step closer to war each day. The issues with Iraq have become the most important news event each morning. Children worry that their moms and dads are going to have to go, while people at the end of high school and the beginning of college nervously eye the draft registration requirement they received in the mail on their 18th birthday. Whether or not one believes in the pending Iraq-American War the possibility of its occurrence has provided millions of Americans with lessons in history that surpass any textbook or any classroom lecture.

Each day the president's and his advisors publicly debate, argue, and discuss the idea of the possibility of war. Their views, as well as the views of the public are shared through television broadcasts, newspapers, and on the Internet. In addition, the United Nations are currently hearing arguments from all members who are lining up on the side or against the idea of America using force to disarm Iraq. Through it all, young Americans who are too young to remember Viet Nam but old enough to understand the seriousness of war, are currently being exposed to a process that may not happen again for generations, once it is over. The process of war can be explained in textbooks and lectures, and the general idea will be understood. But lectures and textbooks have a difficult time conveying the passion and anger that surround both sides of the war question. From the first steps until the final decision, American youth have a front row seat to the wonder of the democratic process. We have the opportunity to watch some of the greatest debate skills in history as the UN arguments unfold. We have the chance to observe the beauty and wonder of freedom as protestors march in the streets, and we have the chance to become outraged when an attorney is arrested in a mall for refusing to take off a t-shirt that says simply "Give Peace and Chance." The entire experience, while scary and tense, is providing lessons that many have gone their lives without the opportunity to participate in. Whether or not we agree with the final decision as it is made and carried out, we are learning a lesson about democracy, history, and American will from the front row, and that can only be a positive experience.