IT'S THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11

THE GLENRIDGE TIMES

IT’S THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11
by Lucia del Pilar
 
This month is the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11.  The world is dealing with terrorists, wars, and civil unrest. Terrorists claimed 32,658 lives in 2014, according to the Global Terrorism Index. Millions of Syrian refugees have been forced to emmigrate due to civil war. And hate crimes like those in Charleston, SC and Ferguson, MO continue to happen.

How World Peace Affects The Glenridge Community
Families attending Glenridge are from around the world, and in some cases it’s their country or family in danger. Hate crimes continue to be committed in small towns like ours. Ferguson is only 8.6 miles away from Clayton, and that’s not very far away.

I asked nine Glenridge fifth-graders and one teacher “What do you think about world peace?”  They responded:

“If we had world peace, we could solve problems better.” - Tatum Bethany

“World peace is something that we need or else more people will die.” - Jake Bush
 
“World peace is something that we really need because people could get sick and die without it.” - Reagan Fischer
 
“World peace needs to be respected because without it, the world would be crazy.” -Sophia Simanowitz
 
“I think that with world peace, the world would work and function better without confusion.” -Angela Chen
 
“Our world should not involve fighting!” -Julianne Hendricks
 
“Our world would be nicer and better.” -Ashleigh Horan
 
“The world needs to be more peaceful. If we are more peaceful, then everything will run more smoothly.” -Anna Stouffer
 
“I think that world peace is very important because without it everyone would always be in war with each other.” -Elsie Martin
 
“One reason we study history is so we don’t repeat our mistakes, yet, somehow we have not learned to live peacefully. There is so much bad in the world, so I try to live every day not adding to the bad, but treating everyone with kindness. Hopefully my actions will inspire others to strive for peace.” -Mrs. Scotino

Why There Is Unrest When People Want Peace
Jonathan Strickland explains in HowStuffWorks.com that many terrorists and killers have APD (Antisocial Personality Disorder).  They don't feel empathy and so, they seek out dangerous activities to gain feelings (such as murder).  In addition, terrorists are not very social, and they don't get along with other humans, says Lawrence T. White in PsychologyToday.com. Also, sometimes they are around violence a lot, so they are very likely to be violent.

Acheiving Peace
While everyone agreed that world peace was good, only one person talked about what they were actively doing to help achieve world peace. There are lots of models for what we want out there such as the one to the left, provided by The Institute For Economics And Peace.
What if everyone found their model? What if they realized that they agreed? What if they made a plan? What if they executed their plan? What if they didn’t give up? What if they perservered?

What if it changed the world?