Thoughts on Sandy Hook....

Hey guys, so I know it's been a bit of time since it happened, but I really wanted to throw up a blog post about my views concerning the shooting at Sandy Hook, gun control in general, and the state of our society.

Sandy Hook was beyond tragic, it was pitiful, a pitiful waste of human life, including the students, teachers, and the madman himself. What drove this young man to murder young children is beyond my understanding. I was shocked by the news, hearing from across an the ocean, I spoke about it in school, with my friends, and with people back home over Facebook. I wanted to feel a sense of unity from my country, an Earth moving cry saying: WE WILL RISE ABOVE THIS. But I didn't.....

The first things I saw on Facebook where statuses pointing fingers at guns, at the government, at video games, at movies, even at God. I am sure, caught up in the partisan wave, I commented on a few statuses, trying to point the blame in a direction (I honestly don't remember). But looking back I am disgusted, disgusted we let a madman with a weapon divide us, revealing Americans as a fractured people, when they should be united.....even my generation, the ones who despite what political, religious, or whatever views that we have, still manage to rise above it everyday, remained divided, pointing the finger at the other side. Most of all, I feel defeated, I feel defeated because the U.S to me was always different. We were the noble ones of the world, we fought to preserve our lives...but now we don't. We need to unite, before it's to late, before the next school shooting (several have occurred since), before the next big natural disaster, before the next terrorist attack (though, by all means, this was an act of homegrown terrorism). If we don't we fail. Simple as that.

So, in conclusion, Sandy Hook for me, was an exposition, showing how truly petty and fickle we have become, how our nobility was lost somewhere, and how we are just a step away from chaos. If the United States became truly united again, we could not only overcome this vile act of cruelty, but we could truly make the wrongs right again, regain our purpose as Americans, and lead the world by example once more.

Sean D

It's been awhile...

So here I am, I have posted since early October, so before I rant...a rundown:
I am now heavily addicted to sci-fi movies, shows, etc....when I have enough time to chill out
Gillian Craig is my exchange student best friend
My German class is awesome
Spent Christmas with my (real) older brother at an Army base in Bavaria
School is meh.
I am now reading Lord of the Rings in German
I have yet to go to H&M and not buy anything
I own four scarves
I have eaten one metric ton of Gummy bears
Met with fellow CIEE/Experimenters in Cologne (went to a prayer service inside the cathedral)
Christmas markets...Christmas markets everywhere
I have yet to seen the Hobbit
German exams suck

So that is pretty much everything from the past 3 and a half months.

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted. I apologize for leaving whoever reads these in the dark, only with random, nonsensical statues on facebook, along with some pictures. Taking an mental, spiritual, psychological assessment of myself and I am in awe of how much I changed in this time period. Although the more I progress into this exchange I am not sure if it is for better or worse. Being here in Germany has made me wonder so much more about the future, where I, humanity, and this planet are headed. I am of course hoping for what I am consider the best, but I feel maybe just a little bit pessimistic then I used.

Overall, I feel so much more different, my opinions, behavior, even how I understand my religious beliefs as a Christian-Catholic. There are times I wish I could go back to understanding the world as it was, before all this change started taking place. It just seemed like so much more of a bright, colorful place then, now with me thinking the way I have been, I would say it far enough to say this world is still bright and colorful, but constantly changing, constantly under threat from a sudden social change or technological discovery, or even industrialization of what is left of undisturbed, real Earth. I just wish the world, even with it's problems right it has, would stay just as it is, for eternity, but it won't, and it can't.

Now you have and idea of what goes through this exchange student't head on a daily basis!

I'll give a detailed rundown of the Mid Year Meet Up in my next post.