"Iran leader open to meeting Obama at a later date"

The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, and Barack Obama had to reschedule a meeting last Wednesday due to the Obama administration lacking a clear strategy for negotiations. Rouhani himself has stated that Iran itself actually is open to discussion of peace after 30 years of estrangement but certain conditions need to be set. Rouhani brought up the holocaust as an example, stating that while the event was horrific, it did not justify the displacement of Palestinians in Israel as a result of the Balfour Declaration.

 It has become clear at this point that there will never even be a chance at peace between America and many Middle Eastern countries until the conflict between Israel and Palestine is resolved. However, the question of how and if the conflict will be resolved is pertinent. The Israeli army's response towards terrorist attacks has always been a typical eye for an eye scenario. However, one could argue that the Palestinians are also difficult to sympathize with due to the nature of their terrorist attacks and the fact that the perpetrators of said attacks practically hide behind civilians in an effort to paint the Israeli military as one that deliberately targets civilians in their attacks. This places Iran and the United States in an awkward position when negotiating, as they both support the opposite side.

However, there is still hope for negotiations involving nuclear power, as President Rouhani has the support of Iran's supreme leader in declaring the possibility of scheduling such negotiations at the United Nations.

9/11

September 11, 2001 is a date that will forever invoke fear into the hearts of the American people. On this day, thousands of people died from four suicide bombings. However, more was lost to us after that date than those innocent people. After 9/11, America proceeded to pass the Patriot Act, which tramples on the Constitution. After this date, America would forever live in fear of another terrorist attack and this would allow the government to coerce the people into choosing security over liberty.

It is important to note that while 9/11 should not be taken lightly, American citizens should still not allow themselves to be fooled into giving up what was fought for in the American Revolution. Benjamin Franklin's famous quote is as follows, "Those who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Franklin knew that there will always become a certain point where after fear has escalated enough, a society will gladly give up all of its freedom. The government should not use the deaths of thousands as an excuse to treat every citizen like they are already criminals. It is both insulting to the victims of the families. However, as the years pass, 9/11 has also become something more akin to a media event, as opposed to a recollection of all of those who have died.

Every year, the footage of the World Trade Center falling has been broadcast over the news. One could argue that this footage is used to remind the American people why we are still at war with the Middle East. However, every year this footage invokes more fear than mourning. I believe society prefers to live in fear of a terrorist attack more than we prefer to pay our respects to our dead. I believe the media could take the recollection of 9/11 in a slightly different route considering the one who orchestrated the attacks has been dead for almost three years. However, one could also argue that that is the nature of society. Fear is a more powerful emotion than sadness and the media uses this to their advantage.