In a League of Its Own:
September 11

By Scott D. Mayer
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

When I was younger, Little League and soccer were the big sports for boys to play. I don't remember very much about the seasons' outcomes, my teammates, or even whether we were winning. The one person I do remember, however, is Coach Clark.

Coach was a pretty well-rounded guy, and a darn good lawyer if my memory serves me correctly. He seemed to be successful at everything he did. Until recently I never really thought about why he was such a successful person.

He once gave me some advice after a game that we had just lost. I took the loss to heart because my strike-out was the final out in the game that could have brought us into the playoffs. He brought me aside and said "Scott, listen... it's not winning or losing that counts, it's how the game is played. If you've done everything you were supposed to, and did it with all your heart and soul, then no matter what happens you will be successful."

I was much too young to truly be able to comprehend the power of that statement, however recently, it has taken on a totally new meaning in my life.

The attacks on our country on September 11 have had a plethora of different effects on people all across the world. For me, I first felt doubt, then anger, then frustration, and now I'm at the stage where I just don't know how I'm going to react the next time I hear about bombs in Afghanistan, or anthrax spores somewhere. President Bush and his different secretaries have held to the statement that "We WILL win this war against terrorism." Surprisingly inspirational, that is, until I look into it more.

Putting Coach Clark's statement into this situation, I find it hard to believe that people, let alone an entire country, can put all their heart and soul into winning a war -- a war that is surely to cause hundreds of deaths, and mass destruction. How exactly does someone win something like that and feel good about it?

Of course, we have to remember that our country isn't just going into Afghanistan, dropping bombs, then leaving. We are, from what I understand, providing food and supplies for the innocent civilians on the ground. I suppose this would be a step up morally, which in the long run probably will help us feel better about "winning" or "losing" this war on terrorism.

Personally, I think that what our country is doing overseas and here at home is the only true option open to us. Another option we have been given is that if the United States drastically changes its policy with Israel then the attacks will stop, but that isn't a true option because it wouldn't be playing the game, if you will, with all our heart and soul. The United States and Israel have bonded through recent history, and many of our interests are similar. To terminate that relationship would be to throw our arms up in the air and wave the white flag. We can't do that, because then we wouldn't be giving our country the opportunity to counteract this terrorism with our heart and soul.

I was watching a commentator on CNN just a few days back, and he said something which I found to be fascinating. He said, more or less, that we may or may not win this war on terrorism, but we will be successful. That statement, in essence, parallels what Coach Clark said several years back. As long as we do what we believe is the right thing to do, and do it with all our heart and all our soul, then we truly have succeeded, no matter what the outcome.