reader beware

i´m writing from a computer at the university because i haven´t gone home yet, so these thoughts are fresh on my mind/heart.
i´ve been relatively moody/emotional today anyways. i think the crazy weather here is screwing with me.
so with those things in mind, know that this may be a charged post. i don´t apologize for a word, but just beware.

the last couple days have been interesting ones. it started with a good conversation with my brother, fresh from his trip to ethiopia, about what true poverty looks like; something we have only had small glimpses of in our lives. last night while volunteering, i had a conversation with a 14-year-old kid about how he wasn´t going to have a party/celebration for his upcoming 15th birthday because the people that would come would just start street-fights, just like the party he went to this weekend. he also talked about how he might start a technical program to become a mechanic next week, as he had dropped out of school to work (selling mp3 players on the street) to help his parents with money. i also saw another 14/15-year-old kid buy weed as he got out of his high school.
this morning, i had my political science class which was, in reality, more of a discussion group as all the students chimed in their opinion about the development of foreign policy in latin america, specifically as it relates to the united states and the USs influence in LA. i, however, sat quietly in the back, hearing for the first time of many of the wars/conflicts, policies, leaders about which the chilean students were so opinionated.
and i just finished watching a video about the disappearances and torture during chile´s dictatorship in the 70s and 80s and couldn´t help but think about the cia report i just read about how aggressively the US supported augusto pinochet, the dictator, politically and financially.

in all honestly, i´m not writing this to focus on misdeeds of certain countries or people. the fact that i am extremely frustrated with right now is the lack of AWARENESS that is so prevelant in the US. i know it´s not just the US, and i know it´s not everyone in the US, but when i think of the common ´american,´ (i use the term ironically as, in fact, central and south americans are also american) i think about people that may have the best intentions, but are simply not aware of what´s actually going on in the world. i include myself in this!

i wonder...
--how many foreign leaders can you name?
--how many conflicts has the US really been involved in in the last 20 years? 30? 40?
--have you ever heard of the dictatorship in chile or argentina that was supported by the US? the us goverment no longer denies it´s involvement, so it´s not a conspiracy theory. it was during the height of the cold war. if you´re interested, go here to read more.
--did you know that the US provides the most weapons of any country, and which countries does it send them to? i believe the top 10 were all in africa. i´m pretty sure ethiopia was near the top.
--have you ever heard of oscar romero? (loyolans, you don´t count.)

again, i honestly say that this is not in an attempt to bash the states. this is a challenge to myself as much as anyone else. i think that´s why it´s hitting me so hard right now. it´s just the fact that, for whatever reason, i feel like we are kept in the dark about what is going on in most of the world, most of the time. and we accept it. i wonder when we´ll start demanding to know what´s actually going on in the world and stop believing what we´re told.