A Fool's Paradise. Lucy Bennett

eat grass like animals. They even think everybody lives in shacks and we are all heathen so we do not celebrate Christmas.

      Some Americans think that everybody’s accent should be like theirs. They think they speak the best English when some of them don’t realize how ridiculous their pronunciations are. When the day comes that Americans realize that this country is only a little piece of the planet earth and that they are no better than the other person who comes from next door, the better it will be for them.

      In the book of Genesis, God confused the one language that was spoken by his creation and caused the people to speak several languages. This was done because there were those who thought they were more powerful than God. If America does not come down off its pump and pride, very soon the language and everything that goes with it will be confused by God.

      One thing that annoys me is when Americans, including those who call themselves Christians, keep saying, “Because they don’t look like us” or “They are different from us.” Besides the skin color, what is the difference between the black man and the white man? Aren’t we all created in God’s image with the same facial features, including two ears, a nose, a mouth, and two eyes? Don’t we all have two hands and two feet along with five senses? So can someone explain what does one means when one says, “They don’t look like us” except for the color of the skin?

      It is sad that even ministers of religion who preach that we are all made in the image of God can be using these stupid and ridiculous words. By the way, I would not, for one second, want to exchange my beautiful chocolate brown skin for a white skin and then spend my time trying to get a tan. If you believe your white skin tone is better than mine or your accent is better than mine, go ahead and sing your praise but be reminded that I will be singing my praises also.

      I wonder if people are programmed in the United States. Yes, I know there are a lot of people who are not, but I have had to deal with individuals who think just like they hear those in power talk. They lack the power to think intelligently for themselves. They believe America is so great that they need no help not even from their allies. It is said that no man is and island and no man stands alone, and this surely applies to America. Yes, America is great and has the greatest military power, but if America starts a war, it expects that its allies will come to its support. In spite of its dependency on other countries, America still thinks that it is so powerful. It can stand on its own.

      Chapter 3

      September 11, 2001. I was at home in California when 9/11 took place. The television was off, and I was not aware of what was happening until my daughter who was in the Navy called to inform me. I turned on the television and was dumbstruck when I saw one tower, which was on fire, tumbled to the ground. I watched and saw another plane flew into the other tower. I heard on the news that people were trapped in the buildings which were on fire. I could not believe this was happening in America. This was not one of those countries infested with terrorists, so who would want to do something like this? My first thought was to the families watching this wicked act unfolding. Those who had their loved ones in one of those planes, those who had family and friends in the building. I was going to work at 3 p.m., so I glued myself to the television watching in shock as the events unfolded. I heard hundreds were dead and wounded. I could not believe that something like this was happening, and I felt so afraid. I heard that another plane had crashed into the Pentagon and one in Pennsylvania. We heard acts of bravery in that plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Children lost parents, wives lost husbands, and husbands lost wives. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and other relatives and friends lost loved ones.

      Although I was watching the television, I still could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. I knew that innocent people had lost their lives and others were going to. I thought of kids who would lose their mother or father, and I asked the Lord why. How could anyone or any group be so wicked?

      We saw first responders running into the burning and collapsing building to save people inside and losing their lives. Those who survived in New York are to this day still suffering from the effects of contamination resulting in diseases that affected them. To date, the bodies of some who lost their lives have not been identified or found.

      At the time of writing, Luis Alvarez, a former NYPD cop, died from cancer as a result of the effect of 9/11. These first responders made the ultimate sacrifice to save lives, yet the government, the ones who should see to it that they get the best treatment and other assistance, “stand aside and look” while they bear their suffering alone. It took almost eighteen years for the government to take action, and I have to ask, “Is this the great America that the citizens of this country are so proud to boast about? Why should the people who sacrifice their lives to save lives have no one to look out for them when they need us? Why do we stand aside and look and allow these people to suffer alone or with their families? How often do we hear, ‘This is not supposed to happen in America’?”

      Yes, it is not supposed to happen in the great America, but it is happening and has been happening over the centuries, and yet people continue to use the same words over and over like America is different from every other place on planet earth.