soldiers by politicians, of idealists by cynics.”

Our nation has been fighting a battle of power. Power to have control over a cause that has not been fully explained. This cause is tearing nations apart and questions keep flashing in our heads. What is this cause? Why are we at war with a nation halfway around the world? Why isn’t other nations supporting us, the most powerful country in the world? Should I be scared? We are a nation of power and prestige, why should I be scared? However, a tragic and devastating event occurred on September 11, 2001. Our nation endured and lived through the deaths of thousands of people. Now, we the people of the United States are angry. Angry and scared that we are going to lose all of the power, prestige, freedom, and happiness that we created and live with. Slowly, the cycle of war begins. The focuses of our nation are stressed on the struggles and hardships that have been tolerated. The faults of our ‘enemy nations’ are now pointed out and we are destroying them.

Chris Hedges also explained how one’s state is thrown into a “trance”. A message is pushed how that the cause is just, the state is right, and everything that the state’s leaders are doing is good (Hedges 64). In the United State’s case, people are addicted to what they believe is a just cause. But in reality, “we feel guilty”. We are “knocked off balance” in our perfect world (Hedges 74). We don’t know what to expect and we become frightened of the reality of what is really happening. The killings make our nation angry and force them to stay glued to their televisions, wanting to see update after update. This is one of the most covered wars our nation has ever witnessed. People can see firsthand what is going on over in Iraq. However, we are only seeing what we want to see. This forces a different understanding of our culture and history. The past is “recreated to fit the myth” (Hedges 80). The myth in the case of the recent war with Iraq is the fact that we, the people of the United States of America, are doing a good deed in trying to recreate a government for Iraq.

Chris Hedges

Some topics in this essay:
Hedges Oregonian, United State’s, Brings Meaning, Saddam Hussein, Chris Hedges, Iraq Peace, George Bush, States’ September, Bless America”, , chris hedges, glued televisions, power prestige, deaths thousands, september 11th, people united,