Do you prefer the Ocean or Mountains?

mbangelofdeath:

Spartans never die. They’re just missing in action.

Part 1

During my senior year of college, for my political science capstone, I wrote about the US relationship with the Korean Peninsula regarding the US’s foreign policy goals. Within my capstone, I researched and reflected on the past US relationships regarding nuclear programs with Russia, the Middle East, as well as North Korea. The crux of my research mainly focused on predicting the future of the US-North Korean relationship. In looking into the past, I noticed an up and down flow when I came to the relationship, sanctions, and cooperations regarding the two governments. Not only was I extremely proud of the research I did, but I was extremely proud of my theoretical predictions of what I projected relationships to be like for the next 20 years. Writing and working within the Obama presidency provided me with a lot of context on how far this relationship could go and how the world could work together to provide peace and security to the peninsula. I did not, however, predict President Trump’s foreign policy approach which I now realize was foolish of me. Yes, I hypothesized that the relationship would continue to be rocky and go up and down, but I did not account for this current state of affairs.

Life on the Korean Peninsula first interested me as a boy when I watched the TV show MASH. This fascination with the conflict continued when learning more about The Forgotten War in high school world history class when I learn about my grandfathers’ military escapades, and what it was like being alive during that timeframe. What really brought about the ultimate concern and passion for this topic was when I studied abroad in South Korea for a couple of weeks during my sophomore/junior year summer.

Reading the news today about the interpretation of North Korea’s UN delegate stating that President Trump’s words are “an act of war” truly terrify me. I don’t consider myself highly religious at this current point in my life; however, I pray that the relationship between the two governments drastically improves as soon as diplomatically possible. I worry that a war is closer than the American people think. I worry that the rumors about a strike against Hawaii are true. I worry about my family there, my friends’ families that are there, and all the people who would only have ‘15ish minutes’ to get to safety.

There are many things in this world that frighten me, but these words said by the leaders of nations frighten me the most. Even though I don’t currently study political science, I like to believe that there is something that can be done to protect all people of all the nations who are potentially at risk of ‘total annihilation’ in the coming days, weeks, or years.

- A Scared Shitless American (9/25/17)

Part 2

Today is Tuesday, January 2, 2018; an awful day for me personally and an aweful day for me as an American.

The reason today is an awful day for me personally is that today is the 13 year anniversary of my father passing away from alcohol. While this experience was awful, it truly has brought me closer to my mother and sister which I am eternally grateful for.

I am currently, as I write this, visiting my mother who lives in Hawaii for winter break from graduate school. And today, I was driving around the island with my girlfriend when the scariest thing ever happened to us.

We were driving through this small town and all we heard was the loudest emergency scieran being blasted through the community. Moments later, the music on the radio was cut and the emergency broadcast voice came on over the air.

Fortunately, we quickly learned that this was a test. A test to give a 1-minute warning to the people of Hawaii about the “impending threat to property or life”. One Minute. That’s it.

The emergency broadcast did not say this was due to the most current international political threats, but I believe that it is a direct result of that.

In a New Years speech to his people, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un announced that he has a button on this desk with the power to launch nuclear weapons to hit any part of the United States. He also stated that upon any real future threat he would be using it.

In response, over Twitter, President Trump stated that he has a bigger and more powerful button on his desk.

I am scared shitless. The idea that I would only have one minute. The idea that my mother would only have one minute. The idea that the world that we know is currently being thrown around in a pissing match over Twitter is scary. Hawaii was already a known target once which means it still is.

No one wants to die. What’s worse is that no one wants to die a death they can not control. And the one-minute impending threat of death is perhaps one of the worst ways to go.

I just ask that our leaders of the world find a peaceful and safe solution to the world’s problems. Even if they don’t get along, I just want them to learn to co-exist and not kill us all in the process.

- A Scared Shitless American (1/02/18)

Part 3.

Helpless. Completely helpless.
This is the message I just received this from my mom:

“It was a FALSE alarm!!! We are ok. An emergency alert went out about 8:10 in Hawaii saying a Ballistic Missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.”

The thought that the world is about the end. The thought that my family would be decimated. The thought that world war 3 is here. And through it all, I am helpless on the other side of the US.

Feeling helpless is probably one of the worst feelings in the world, especially when it comes to death. The fact that your entire fate is in the hands of somebody else is just the scariest story ever.
—
I just spoke to my mom on the phone and this is what she had to say:
“We just sat there and waited. There was nothing we could do. We checked all of the TV stations to see if there was anything there, but there wasn’t. So we just sat there and wondered and waited. We ended up calling our neighbor who’s husband works for the Navy and she said that ‘it wasn’t real. There’s no way it could be real’. After about 40 minutes, a notification went out about it being a false alarm. That’s when the media and the news picked it all up. It was scary and surreal, but we are okay”

As I sat in my car today crying while talking to my mom, I could only imagine what she is going through. What the people of Hawaii are going through. Especially knowing there is nothing anyone could do except sit, and wait, for what would be almost certain death.

I do not blame the current political administration for triggering this scare. However, I do condemn the circumstance that our administration has gotten us into. Being in the midst of the modern cold war is not a happy feeling. This is not peace because even a cold war is still a war. The thought of total annihilation is something that I can not fathom. I only hope that the world finds a peaceful solution to this conflict. But until then, I will stay true to my name.

- A Scared Shitless American (1/13/18)