Patriot's Penn Essay

Patriot’s Pen Essay

We've been through so much. So much that marks our place in history and reminds us of a place in time. So much that we reminisce about, whether it gives us bursts of joy or floods of sorrow. So much that leaves us with waves of pride or regret tugging at our hearts. There is so much that we have accomplished that leaves us with many feelings; confusion in our head, churning in our stomach, emptiness inside, but above all pride for our country.

            The Civil War. World War l. The Great Depression. World War ll. And most recently, 9/11.  All of which we should feel sorrow, pain, and grief when we think about them, but through these tough and tragic times, there was always a spark of hope. The flicker of faith that soars above us giving us the message we have been looking for; Believe. Believe in yourself. Believe in your neighbor. Believe in your country, because there is a way out of this disaster. And for those people that saw this spark and did believe- thank you- because we wouldn’t be here without you. These flashes of allegiance helped us overcome our fears and helped us accomplish all we did-helped establish the country we are today- one that can feel proud of our past.

            When the word “pride” comes to mind, my chest swells with confidence. When I think about our freedom here in America, I feel the same way- absolutely confident. We are so lucky to be able to choose our clothes, our jobs, our spouses. To be able to choose our religion and education. To have the privilege to vote. When we say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday- this is what we are honoring. Look at our flag- that is who we are, what we represent- freedom. Not only should we feel thankful, we should feel proud.

So, when you see the crimson-colored valor and hard work, the purity of the white innocence, and the patriotism of the blue justice, that waves in the wind, you can feel what you would like; tears pricking your eyes, a hard rock settling in your stomach, or a bright ball of joy warming your heart, but, rising above all, should be pride.

Release

           When we think of death, we think blood, guns and knives, end of the line, pain; but death is a lot more. At least, it should be. In our world, death is equal to mourning, a release of nothingness and no sorrow in another.

            In The Giver, “release” doesn’t come through blood, suffering, or weapons instead it comes through a needle. There is no death here, instead just stabbing someone with a syringe, hoping for the best. It is something known in our world as murder, killing someone who supposedly doesn’t deserve their life. There is no love, no feeling, the community does as they are told.

Now imagining the unimaginable, let’s reverse, move back to reality and brace ourselves for what is coming next. We are not that much different from the community in The Giver at all. We are all offended, can’t agree with what is being said. Think about it. Think hard…  euthanasia. Death penalties. Abortion. Ending life support. Murdering. You may be saying that this isn’t true and it’s not fair, etcetera, etcetera, when in all in all, we are worse. We have love here. We kill and murder and try and push through love. Love just comes back to haunt us though through sorrow, guilt, and pain.

There is only one question remaining. One question that I don’t have an answer to. One question here that we still visibly see through the fog and clouds of sorrow, pain, and love. Why?

Hook

            After sprinting outside, I abruptly halted to a stop. My jaw dropped wide in awe. Glancing around at the horrific scene that laid before me, I felt tears prick my eyes. Racing towards the incomprehensible with mixed emotions, I knelt on the ground and let the tears escape me. There, on the hard, cold, dirt of Denver are my parents, as frozen and rock hard as the ground they are lying on. You’re dreaming Amber, don’t believe it! I tell myself and look up at the dark, night sky.  Pressured by pain and shock I slowly peek over at my parents, scared of what I might find. But my fear is soon replaced with a sick feeling leaving me wishing I hadn’t chosen to look. The vision I’d never thought I’d see, that one that I never even thought about, it was so unrealistic, was here. My worst nightmare had just come true. My mom, dead on the ground, with a knife stabbed through her heart. My dad, with a rope tied tight around his neck. Blood surrounds them in a pool. I take another look around, trying to see who had done such a horrible thing, such an unforgivable thing when I saw a white sheet. Although my eyes were blurred by my tears, I could clearly make out the message, “Leave now or end up like they did…” complete with blood ink and was perfectly arranged between the people that were the center of my life.

A World Without Color

A world without color is like a year without rain. No ruby reds, no crimson oranges, no comforting yellows. No refreshing greens, no cleansing blues, no majestic purples. A lost way of expression. A lost place in time. And where we would be without colors, I wonder.  There are so many questions too. Why did the Elders abolish color? Was there pain associated with color? How? What problems were there that they had to get rid of color? What new problems were created?

            I force myself to believe that there is no pain with the gift of color, but the more I think about it, I question myself: is color a gift or a burden- why else would the Elders have to banish color? Color is a way of expression, a way of unique style, a way of seeing moods and feelings, but color can also be an unwanted thing in this world. Color, since it’s a way of showing uniqueness and differences, leads to problems such as judgment, jealousy, bullying, potentially war, and other forms of evil. I would miss color though, if it left our world. You wouldn’t see a sunny yellow dandelion blooming in the soft and green field- that vision would be replaced with a sea of grey, spiky, blades of grass, with a pesky white weed growing in the center of it. The view and interpretation is changed entirely. You wouldn’t see a deep blue ocean, gently rolling over the tan, grainy sand. Instead, you would witness never-ending black waters that crash on the shore and seem like they want to pull you in to the black hole. See? A completely new perception.  That’s why color is so important to have in life.

            Color is a mystery in life and, I guess, it always will be. We will never know everything, get answers to everything, or plainly, know. We will have questions, some that can be answered like here, but others that will be etched in our brains, the ones that just keep tugging and tugging at your head to know more. We maybe will never be able to find the key to this locked door, but while we are here questioning, we should appreciate color, it is something we can all relate to and something we should never let go and leave in the dust. Color has an importance here and we should let it know that, because, a world without color is a world of nothingness and a world of nothingness is, well, nothing.            Once we let it out of our grasp, it tumbles away from us and is gone; Gone forever.