We respect your opinion, provided that it was our opinion first.

We respect your opinion, provided that it was our opinion first.

March 9, 2008

Reflections from May 18th

A Sobering View of Our Superficial World
Dylan Key

Like most of the people on the Internet, I'm a very priviledged person. I have a family who loves and supports me, I have enough resources to attend college, I have a job, food at regular mealtimes, and a bed to sleep on. And, like many of you, I sometimes, nay, often, take these things for granted. Well, today I'd just like to try to bring life back into perspective. So if you're reading this, if you could just try to turn down your music and the TV, and take this moment to reflect on something that I think will touch all of you.

The past few months have been very difficult. The Virginia Tech Massacre, The War in Iraq, the uncertainty of the lives of our future generations with the threat of Global Warming. However, here sitting in my plush five bedroom townhouse with all the essential amenities of civilization, these dangers seem far off. It's hard for me to relate to them. But tomorrow is the anniversary of something that I know allowed us to take a breath outside of our over-protected bubble and actually FEEL, the dangers that 90 percent of the world have to cope with everyday.

I am of course talking about tomorrow's Preakness. Can you believe it's been only a year since that fateful day when Barbaro's bone's collapsed down the stretch. I know for you, and for me, it feels like Eons. Barbaro was a hero to all of us, for those few weeks between the Kentucky derby and the fateful Preakness, he lifted all of us to happiness, and in those treacherous months of treatment, he touched all of us. He died over the winter, and since then we've all been just going through the motions of our daily regiment, unable to concentrate, dwelling and wallowing in our despair at the dying and death of this noble steed.

Sometimes we would wake up in the morning, and in those few moments before our minds were fully concious, we'd think "Hey, todays looking alright" and then someone would ask us for the Elmers glue and we'd be reminded of Barbaro, and we would be brought down to our shattering grief.

Tomorrow will be an opportunity for all of us to lay our sorows and despair at the foot of Barbaro's dead corpse and have him free us from our torment. And I hope we all will finally be able to move on. Our realationship to Barbaro will cease being one of tragedy and tears, but one of respect and gratitude for Barbaro's heroic life. I have a challenge for all of us. The next time we're working on a craft and squeeze a little bit of Barbaro out of that bottle of Elmer's promise me you won't break down into tears, but instead, together with our entire broken nation, hail Barbaro, the noble steed.

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