Someone once said to me, “You’re lucky if you never have to live through war time.” I wasn’t sure how to take this because I was maybe eight years old at the time. The more I think about it, the more I’m not sure how true that is.

Let me explain. I hate war, hate the impact that it has on families all over the world, hate the effect it has on all countries involved and some that are not. But there are a few things I am thankful for during these trying times.

The summer before my sixth grade year, The Gulf War had just started. I was never a news watcher, but August 1990 I remember my parents calling me into the living room to sit and watch President Bush as he spoke about Saddam Hussein and Iraqi forces taking control of Kuwait and how something needed to be done immediately. I didn’t understand everything he was saying, but I was glued. This was my first real exposure to global issues. My curiosity about other countries and important events grew out of this first experience.

And now here we are again, for almost eight years, at war again. I don’t remember a time in which there were so many charity groups spreading word about their impact and urging others to join in. When I was young, war was talked about mostly out of the history books or by veterans of previous wars. Now, though, war comes up several times a day as a topic on television, news, radio, and even around the water cooler. And it is talked about as a serious subject of concern, not just something that is “going on overseas.”

I have also been impressed with the rise in protest rock songs, speaking out against war and (especially) President Bush. Pearl Jam, Kanye West, Audioslave, Green Day, Neil Young, and many more have dusted off tradition and written some really good protest songs that, to me, should be on the list of songs that have changed the world.

Do you hate me yet? I’m sorry if you do. As I said, I hate war, its destruction, but war changes people both for the worst and for the best. I am thankful for the best. This war has increased American’s ability to care about other and their awareness of the culture and needs of other countries.

For this, I am thankful. I hope you see my point.