"I see a little man sitting and he's wondering if over his little plot he might be king; he finds his present world a little boring. There's no land that is so small that it cannot divide, so come, I'll draw the line and you just pick your side, ignoring anyone who gives a warning." I am, by Savatage


This is a topic which has, of course, been beaten to death and back to life. A topic which is all over the news, which has sparked everyone's interest, anger, and attention, but seems to have passed over the "action" button. If you're an American, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about: Kosovo.

I try to follow the news stories as little as possible, because they upset me greatly. I can't stand to see the blood-streaked faces of children staring out at me from the front page while I digest breakfast or sit down for a relaxing evening. I don't mean to say that I try to pretend there's nothing going on in the rest of the world, I just mean I'd rather not hear the horrors after they've been magnified, glorified, and reprinted in 256-tone color.

But this is an issue that is seemingly unavoidable. I don't agree with what NATO and Clinton are doing at all, but that doesn't stop them from doing it. People are screaming at each other left and right about what we should and should not do, and especially about what it is within our boundaries to do. Most sane people feel that dealing with the problems in Kosovo is out of our league, and that it is an attempt by President Clinton to get the spotlight off him. Regardless, Kosovo is a hot topic.

Now take it out of the national spotlight for a minute, and put this issue in the middle of my hometown, a small rural Massachusetts community that is the epitome of Nowhere. The kids at the high school wanted to try and do something for the homeless and wounded in Kosovo, so they put together an "Operation No-Sweat" to collect sweatshirts and sweat pants in good clean condition to send over to the Kosovoians. The kids just acted without really looking into it; they made posters and photocopied fliers and put them up around the school. Other kids saw them and wanted to help out, so they brought their clothes into a designated room and left them there. Now the kids have no idea what to do with it, because they don't know how to get it over to the Albanians.

My school also passed out yellow ribbons to those who wanted them, which you were supposed to wear like the red AIDS ribbon on your shirt to show your support for the walking wounded in Kosovo. It was a lovely gesture, but it did nothing. The ribbons weren't sold for a profit, they were handed out. Somehow I doubt that the Albanians who have been ripped from their houses and taken from their loved ones are saying "Oh, well, the Americans are wearing yellow ribbons for us, so that means everything is going to be A-OK!" Somehow I doubt that the Albanians even know that we are wearing our fucking yellow ribbons to show our support of "peace."

We never seem to take action. We just like to look pretty, like we're doing all that's within our abilities. We're really not, though. Instead we sit here and look blankly at one another with a "What now?" look on our faces. Why don't we ever really try to help? Why do we just pretend?

This is a typical Star column, and there are no answers, of course. I just wanted to raise your awareness to the issue, as it seems to be brought to my attention every day. Think about it... maybe you can make the difference.

-sulkingblackstar-