The New Yorker: The Talk of the Town

The first article, by Adam Gopnik, is on the subject of the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre; the second is an article by Susan Sontag on the September 11 Attacks. The two articles, although based upon different events, both critique the United States government for the way these attacks were handled. It is evident that neither Gopnik nor Sontag approved of the way the Bush Administration dealt with these crises. For the most part, I tend to agree with both articles. I have some reason to believe that both situations could have been seen to more efficiently.
After reading the first article, it's pretty obvious that more could have been done to prevent the Virginia Tech shooting from happening in the first place. The statistics speak for themselves -- the US gun policy isn't up to par compared to other countries, who after experiencing shootings, accordingly tightened their gun laws. There is no reason any private citizen should be able to own guns made strictly for killing people. It scares me that it's so easy for people to acquire these kinds of weapons. The article points out the direct (and obvious) correlation between gun laws and gun violence. (Strict laws = less violence, Weak laws = more violence.) Of course, even with refined laws, some (although considerably fewer) shootings are bound to happen. I don't know if there could ever be a full-proof solution to prevent gun violence. Speaking hypothetically, had the US had stronger gun laws around the time of the Virginia Tech incident, it might not have happened. Thirty-three lives could have been saved.
Sontag's article objects the government's approach after 9/11. She believes that the focus was mainly on calming and comforting US citizens as opposed to actually taking steps to resolve the situation. After such a traumatic event, I can see why government officials would want to calm the people of their country. Family members, friends, and heroes were lost. I understand why the leaders of our country would want to create feelings of reassurance, confidence, and patriotism after something so upsetting. On the other hand, I don't think it was right for President Bush to put us under the impression that everything was going to be okay, when it clearly wasn't. He didn't exactly have a good plan of action. However, neither does Sontag. Yes, she freely criticizes the lack of execution done by the executive branch, but she herself never quite proposes a strategy.
Now I'm no government official -- thank goodness for that -- but I think both situations could have been handled a little more effectively. Far too many lives have been lost.

An Introduction of Myself

Where to begin? For starters, my name is Jenna Knoche and I will be a junior at McFarland High School in the upcoming school year. I will be turning sixteen this coming Wednesday (6/23) and I'm in the midst of taking an online drivers ed. course, although I have no desire whatsoever to drive. My family consists of my dad, Rick, my mom, Yvonne, and my brother, Nick. I'm unemployed, although I babysit neighbors occasionally. I don't have much planned for this summer, other than relaxing and spending much-needed time with my friends. My only set plans are being a summer school volunteer at the primary school, going to my brother's little league baseball games, taking driver's ed, doing AP comp work, and practicing with the dance team. Oh yes, by the way, I'm on the dance team. It's a big commitment - our season lasts from June to February and then we try out again in the spring. Sometimes things get rough, but I would never give it up; I love dancing too much -- both organized and freestyle. This is partly stemmed from my love of music. I like all music - a few of my favorite artists are *NSYNC, Death Cab for Cutie, Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Hannah Montana (not Miley..there IS a difference), Lil Wayne, LFO, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Michael Buble, etc. As far as other entertainment goes, I don't watch much TV except the occasional Lizzie McGuire rerun, but I really like movies. A few notable favorites would be The Princess Diaries, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, The Wizard of Oz, Toy Story, UP, Model Behavior, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Cadet Kelly, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, and many more.
I signed up for AP Composition because I love writing! I hope to pursue a career in journalism one day. I wasn't given much of a chance in middle school and high school to write (specifically freewrite) so hopefully this will be the perfect opportunity for me!

~jenna:)