Ever since President Obama announced his plan to deploy tens of thousands of United States troops to Afghanistan, I’ve been wondering if this plan could have any hope of success. The honest truth: I don’t know because it’s way too early in the game to predict an accurate statement.

Obama hopes to bring democracy to Afghanistan, but is this really plausible? Do the Afghan people want democracy or the United States to leave their country alone? I think there is a mixture of both sentiments. However, I don’t think the U.S. truly understands the Afghan people; representatives may say its citizens want a Western world in the country, but are those lies or the true wants of the people?

For the past few decades, Afghanistan has undergone a tumultuous history, never truly belonging to itself. The Russians came to invade the country in 1979, bring their Marxist ideals and laws. America took a huge interest in Afghanistan because it didn’t truly trust Russian and Marxist ideals in the country. During Russian rule, millions of people died and thousands upon thousands of people fled to neighboring countries. Instability and terror was a daily worry for a country of innocent people.

Eventually, the Taliban, who took the Islamic religion to another dimension, replaced Russian rule. Civil rights and liberties were stripped from the people. Laughing, singing and dancing were considered illegal and punishments could include imprisonment and public beatings.

During Russian rule, intellectual and prominent leaders fled the country to escape Soviet inquisition. This led to a loss of thousands of people who could represent the people, leaving room for tribal lords in rural areas to rise up and make their voices heard.

Like the Russians, the Taliban was forced from government, placing Western influence in the region yet again. America has tried to place Western ideas on a country that has followed its own tradition for thousands of years. This seems like a near-to-impossible task to me.

There has to be some way to incorporate modernization, but still maintaining Afghan tradition and culture. Americans can’t wipe out the culture; I think that most of us don’t even understand anything about the tradition and values of countries in the Middle East. We might like to say we do, but we can’t even begin to understand the hardship and trauma millions of people have had to face.

Also, people wonder why a country rich with history, culture and tradition could be so war-torn and degraded still. I think it’s because the country has not had a chance to prove itself. It always has had a babysitter or unwanted presence. I think the people have not had a chance to speak without fear of reprimand.

I don’t think the problems the country faces will be fixed with Obama’s plan. It’s going to take decades, if not hundreds of years before there is mostly peace in the country. There is so much hatred and fear of foreigners and of fellow countrymen. Trust and respect needs to be the dominant force to unifying a government, not fear and ignorance.

Education can dilute ignorance, but the U.S. would benefit for the need of the history lesson. We need to understand a problem before we can even begin to have a solution. I honestly don’t feel like America has done its research in regard to Afghanistan. I understand of the current threats that are being posed, but we have to know what we are battling before we enter. Preparedness and steadiness, not action and impulsivity will reap better, long-term results.

Each Afghan generation has had different reigns of rulers, and each generation has different views how the country should be run and what would be most beneficial for the country. Until the country can think like one, I feel it’s going to be numerous generations before we see a truly successful and happy Afghanistan.

Catcher Catches Me

When the news announced that J.D. Salinger died of natural causes earlier last week, I began to contemplate his famous character, Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye. Holden is one of the most notorious teenage figures in literary history. His intellect is dark and brooding, yet thoughtful, and he is a quiet rebel. With these unpopular characteristics, Holden becomes the unlikely hero for millions of teenagers.

Typically, one would think Holden is not a character one should admire because he ends up in a mental institution, but what makes him fascinating is his honesty despite his mental instability. While Holden’s peers are upper-middle class snobs who play hypocritical games and lives in denial, Holden doesn’t. Holden is aware of the lying and hypocrisy in the world, but there is nothing he can do but witness it. However, this hypocrisy causes him to become so depressed he becomes a brooding, condescending man.

These qualities do not make for the typical hero of a literary work. Normally, protagonists are happy individuals who must overcome a particular obstacle and everything is resolved in the end. I like Holden’s character because he is not a waif-like person waiting for people to help him. He realizes what is wrong around him and doesn’t deny reality, though there is nothing he can do about it. Ultimately, Holden realizes people can’t change the “phoniness” of the world. Unlike people around him, Holden doesn’t be something he isn’t.

If you think about it, would Holden be a person you would want to be friends with in real life? I would say no. Though he has a leg up on most people when it comes to reality, he is pessimistic and sulks. Instead of accepting the way the world works, Holden whines and broods over the world’s and people’s shortcoming. I don’t think he yet realizes there is nothing he can do; he is both pessimistic and hopefully optimistic at the same time.

Still, despite Holden’s numerous shortcomings, I still feel he is a real character. He is imperfect and doesn’t have a happy ending, and this characteristic makes Holden real and tangible, a figure to which people can relate.

Please sir, may I have a structurally-sound school?

Working at construction publication, I see projects that are currently being planned by the state. There is hundreds of million-dollar future new construction and renovations people don’t know about.

But, what gets me is how the state can afford all these projects, especially when funds are cut from programs and there is a high rate of unemployment.

For instance, there is a multimillion dollar convention center being in Albany. This project seems too extravagant, when Albany already has sufficient hotels and conference spaces available. After all, the city is the crux of state legislation, so I am sure it has a proper number of places to house government makers and organizations.

I see capital improvements on school districts put on hold because there is not enough funding for much-need renovations and alterations. Asbestos is present in buildings and roofs are deteriorating. With the money for the convention center in Albany, you could improve half a dozen school districts.

I even look at my Alma matter. They are building a large sports complex center when current buildings on campus are in dire need of renovations, especially the dorms.

Towns and villages also can’t get funds to improve water and sewer districts. Neighborhoods smell, and people aren’t getting clean water.

Why can’t the state realize there are buildings and other projects that already exist that need a facelift? This will improve the life of New York residents and students, increasing the quality of life and learning. Instead, the state spends millions of dollars to impress non-residents.

It’s disappointing to see the state puts the new construction of a luxurious convention center over the improvements of educational facilities. The focus of the state government should be to work for the best interest of the residents, not what will make New York aesthetically pleasing.

Stuck Between Mud and Sun

Sometimes you are walking in a straight line, and then you suddenly come to a crossroads. Each one is 100 percent different from the other, and each has the potential to make changes in life.

One road looks smooth, and the sun shines on every part of the road, making the path easy to see. There is not a cloud in the azul sky. The path is clear, with no broken branches carelessly askew on the ground and gravel is kept and neat. It looks seemingly perfect and straightforward.

The second road looks rough and mean. Leaves are scattered on ground, and there is mud and muck. You have to jump over fallen trees and the sky is cloudy, with a forecast for rain and thunderstorms. You know your feet will get dirty if you choose this road.

As you are looking at these two roads, sometimes you wish you could go back so you wouldn't have to make a decision. The road you have traveled was familiar and known. There were no questions or uncertainty. But that road has already been walked, so you can't go backward, only forward.

There is hesitancy in the upcoming decision. At times, you want things to be clear and bright, like the smooth road, but sometimes that road has the potential to be gilded. You know that not everything on that road really is perfect. In fact, you know there is the chance for something bad at the end of the road, or good. This road is easy, but you know you are going the easy way because you are afraid of hardship and the unknown. You can deny pain here, and no one will know.

You know the second road is going to be tough by looking at it. There are no questions or hesitancy about the obstacles that will come as you walk forward. But, you question if you have the strength and faith to trudge forward, knowing you will fall on the way. The chief worry is whether you will be able to pick yourself back up after you fall over a branch or become stuck in the mud.

The decision is approaching quickly. You look to the smooth road, then at the rough road. No one else can make this decision, and frankly, you know you are an indecisive person.

As you look to the roads, you are thinking to yourself. You think the rough road is hard, but the pain is real. You know you will scrap your knees when you fall, but you also know that pain will subside eventually. The smooth road will cause no heartache, loss or pain. But you also think that life without suffering is not living. You know you will not grow or "roughen" up with this road, but you are scared of that time when you know you will be hurt.

So, do you choose pain and reality or fantasy and denial?

Choose wisely. You cannot go back.

Cloudy with a chance or rain ... or sun

A country song by George Strait goes like this:

Do you love me, do you wanna be my friend?
And if you do, well then don’t be afraid to take me by the hand
If you want to,
I think this is how love goes, check yes or no.

This is not how love goes today. It’s not as simple as the song goes, but more difficult. There always seems to be some gray area, never strictly black or white.

Yes and no are definite, quick responses. There are no games or confusion with these words because the meaning is clear. This clarity lessens anxiety and excessive over-thinking.

Some people fall effortlessly into relationships. Guy likes girl. Girl likes guy. They end up together, in love and happy. There are no commitment problems or uncertainty.

It can be possible for things to be this easy, but both sides need to be drama-free and open to change and trust. If these things are there, few problems can ensue.

Still, not everything is black or white. There is that hazy, gray area.

It feels like the gray area is a cloud, covering up a brilliant, blue sky. That sky is so bright and vibrant, full of hope and promise, but there is a cloud that lazily hovers beneath the opportunity.

That gray cloud also brings uncertainty: Is it going to rain, or is the going to dissipate and bring sun? There is never a true answer with grayness. There are only guesses and untested theories that can drive even the most sane and clear-headed person crazy.

To put it frankly, gray areas are horrible. Something always seems to keep a person on his or her toes, always wondering what will happen next. There is a horrible gut feeling that one day may bring good things, but the next may bring unhappiness.

It can be horrible not knowing or having stability day to day, but that is something of which must be dealt. It’s the reality we live in today, and there is no chance to avoid it.

But why do some follow grayness? It differs with each person, but usually they are scared or unsure of something.

Despite the gray and haziness, there is always hope in the darkest of days. Hope of something good out of a situation, though there is stress and ache on the journey. And sometimes, a rainbow can come from a dark, violent thunderstorm.

Before Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables has captured the hearts of millions of young girls across the world. There is something about the fiery redhead that inspires girls to never underestimate the power of imagination and appreciate the power of dreams.

However, readers only know a little bit of Anne’s life before Green Gables in the series. There are almost a dozen unaccounted years of the heroine’s life with which readers are not familiar. Thus, a prequel, Before Green Gables, provides a believable life’s beginning to Anne.

Budge Wilson, a native of Nova Scotia, close to the beloved Prince Edward Island where Anne’s adventures happened, wrote the prequel. It was refreshing to know a Canadian native, who lived and breathed the beauties that Lucy Maud Montgomery delightfully described in her writings, drafted the prequel.

Readers are finally introduced to Anne’s parents, Walter and Bertha Shirley. They are a loving and kind couple that feels they are the luckiest parents in the world when Anne is born. They can’t wait to watch their little girl grow up, but they are taken ill with an epidemic and die when Anne is only three months old.

From infancy, Anne is placed into the care of the Thomas family, where she works as an unpaid servant until she is nine. After the drunk Thomas husband dies, she is again placed as a servant to the Hammond family, who have three sets of twins, among other children. At these places, Anne is constantly minding babies, chopping food for dinner, hauling water, changing diapers and doing laundry.

Still, Anne manages to bring happiness into her hardworking world. She creates friends and uses her imagination to escape to faraway lands with fairies, queens and castles.

At first, people are unsure what to think of the skinny and freckled-face girl, but Anne eventually wins over the most hardened hearts in the novel. People are drawn to her imaginative personality and liveliness.

The only disappointing aspect about the novel was Anne’s lack of temper. In Montgomery’s Anne, we see her capable of great creativity and intelligence, but also prone to temper when her peers tease her, especially poking fun at her red hair. Wilson’s Anne has enormous originality, but there was a significant lack of the temper and impulsiveness that would cause conundrums for Anne.

Throughout the course of the novel, Wilson remained true to the spirit and style of writing that Montgomery exhumed. If a reader wondered what Anne’s beginnings were like, Wilson’s tales would be an accurate and worthy summary.

Post-graduations blues

Brockport didn’t prepare me how to live life after graduation. It gave me job skills, but not skills how to handle job interviews. Sometimes, I feel receiving interviews from jobs can be worse than relationship rejections.

A few days ago, I received a phone call from a managing editor wanting to schedule a phone interview. After she set up a time with me, I was excited. I anticipated the interview and was ready for anything.

I called at 11 a.m., and everything appeared to be going smoothly. Suddenly, the woman asks me if I just graduated from college in May. I said yes. After that answer, she became extremely isolated and conversation did not flow as easily. She then said they were looking for someone with more experience or at least a master’s degree.

I’m sorry, but that was rude. She had enough time to check my resume, and at the top, I clearly stated my graduation date. I’m sorry if she didn’t have enough time to look over a resume, but I am confident in my abilities and am a fast learner. You don’t need a master’s in writing or journalism. You need experience, and I have had four years.

I’m hoping future employers will take a chance on a college graduate.