ESSAY
2009 HONORABLE MENTION

Promoting Peace and Global Harmony -
The Choice is Ours
Jordan Storey
17 years old, Washington

                Throughout the history of mankind, war has plagued the lives of men and women across the globe.  War is an infectious disease that allows some people to satisfy their personal greed through the exploitation of others.  We have learned to distance ourselves from these horrendous acts of greed in order to attempt to satisfy skewed and unbalanced moral codes.  Instead of confronting problems, we ignore them and choose instead the path of ignorance.  We bury our heads and avoid the corruption and fraud which are the cause of war.  Until we are able to open our eyes to this fraud, we will continue to allow the corrupt to manipulate our lives.

                Throughout our time we have seen atrocious events which have devastated the people of our world.  With this devastation we limit the potential greatness of mankind.  It is time that we unite against common evils.  Sickness, poverty, genocide are all blights on the well being of all mankind.  The time has come to put aside our differences and to realize that we share the burden of fixing our world’s problems.  As global climate change continues to intensify, it will soon be necessary to unite or suffer the dire consequences.  Without global participation, some issues cannot be resolved.  If we are not willing to collaborate with our fellow humans and set aside past conflicts, we will soon find ourselves part of a polluted world in which hunger and sickness will run rampant.

                I believe that peace is attainable.  With the heightened awareness of the corrupt actions of others, as well as our own shortcomings brought about by modern communications and media, we have a unique opportunity to hold those who bring war accountable.  By utilizing technology to help raise awareness about current affairs in our world, we are able to unify ourselves and build support to prevent war.  Already we have been able to utilize the media to raise awareness about many diseases and to build programs in order to seek cures and promote vaccinations.  Technological innovations in science have helped to create these vaccinations and cures and have allowed them to be produced and distributed effectively.  We can share these scientific advancements with all those in need in order to prove our good intentions and to promote global unity and peace.  As we continue to make more technological breakthroughs, we should implement them in a manner that will benefit all mankind and facilitate peace worldwide.              

As the United States moves into a new leadership, I feel that we have the opportunity to take charge of the way our country responds to crises worldwide.  We have the opportunity to choose to promote peace and global harmony.  If we are able to show the world that we are willing to make sacrifices for the good of mankind as a whole, I believe that 2009 will go down in history as the beginning of a new era of peace and global unity.