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Do we have the will?

Donna D. Simpson, Spartanburg
Published January 3, 2007





As I recently watched a DVD, "The Beauty Academy of Kabul," I was struck by a comment made by one of the students.

During an interview, a young woman recalled the horrors and deprivation that the Taliban brought upon them, especially the women. She then said, "How did this happen to us?" These determined women survived decades of war and the cruelties of the Taliban. Now all they want is a normal life and a career in hair design.

Without realizing it, what I believe she really meant was, "Why did we let this happen to us?" That is a question I hope we will not be asking ourselves as a nation and a people when we find ourselves at the mercy of illegal immigrants.

When our economy succumbs to the financial strain of supporting the flood of people taking advantage of our health care system, public schools and other social programs, will we say, "How did this happen to us?"

When English is no longer the language of commerce and general communication, will we say, "How did this happen to us?"

When crime rates exceed our law enforcement and prison system,

will we say, "How did this happen

to us?"

The question we should be asking now is, "How can we keep this from happening to us?" The old yet accurate cliché says, "Where there's a will, there's a way." The ultimate question is, "Do we have the will?"

I sincerely believe that the Afghan people, even the women, could have avoided their unfortunate plight if they had the will and courage to protect their country and their culture from the destruction that eventually occurred.

America can learn a lesson

from their unfortunate outcome

and hopefully never have to ask

ourselves, "How did this happen to us?"