Hype and Hooplah was the first political essay that I ever wrote.

It was also the first piece that I had published, albeit by a small, Rhode Island high school student newspaper. When reading, please recall that this was written by the 17-year-old me. “Hype and Hooplah” was written and published in February 2003, one month prior to the coalition invasion of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Hype and Hoopla

In the days following the attacks upon America on September 11, there was one question that plagued the American intelligence committee: were the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of 3,025 people preventable?

Americans hate the unknown. As the immediate shock of the attacks settled in the months following 9/11, the American public wanted answers to their questions: How did the United States fail to see the foreboding signs of an attack? How was such a catastrophic event not prevented?

If there was one thing that Americans had learned directly after September 11th, it is that a day such as that would never reoccur; instead, Americans would ensure their safety and security, even if a preemptive strike against a rogue nation became necessary. Everything in our power would be done to ensure that another disaster like 9/11 will be prevented.

Flash forward to today. Sixteen full months have passed since the terror attacks upon our nation. The urgency to prevent another 9/11, a sense of “do anything at any cost,” the utter obsession with deterrence of terrorist attacks upon the civilian population, is near nonexistent.

The change in attitude of the American public from September 11, 2001, compared to February 1, 2003 is sickening.

Those who asked “why,” those who argued “how,” now carry signs reading “no more Bush war” and “butterflies not bombs.” The popularity of a President who raised America from the depths of Ground Zero like a phoenix from the ashes now battles with a 59% approval rating after having an 81% approval rating a week after 9/11. A war is lurking in the Middle East today. Some call it “phase two” of America’s War on Terrorism. Some call it our “war mongering” President’s “oil war.” Regardless, the second Persian Gulf War is inevitable.

Why is war with Iraq inevitable today?

This is the question that all the protestors, all the anti-Bushites, all the “war, what is it good for’s” are asking. This is one that they cannot answer, and they resent the fact. The answer: to prevent another 9/11, to prevent the feelings of angst, abhorrence, disgust, depression, despair, hopelessness and mourning which we all experienced on that day.

Those opposed to war are not anti-American. It is the intent of the hawks to prevent another catastrophe, to prevent another nuclear powered, anti-American North Korea, to prevent the utter destruction of each and every one of us. How can one express their concern over the prevention of 9/11, and protest the very prevention of another event such as 9/11? Hypocrisy.

So today, America, you can all see who around you are genuine. You can see who cares about the livelihood of innocence, the preservation of liberty, and the conservation of freedom.

Everyone thought they did on 9/11. However, everyone also agreed that they would follow our president into any country in the future in order to defend America. But then again, that was all just a bunch of hype and hoopla.