Little Inklings 2024

DIVIDED, NOT UNITED By: Noelle Dubose ’28 Laila wakes up every day and goes out into the same world, one where people are divided, not united. Every night she thinks about her beloved country and how it started as just a simple split into two that is now a symbol of people’s stubborn views and battles between what is right and wrong. When Laila takes a step outside, instead of being greeted by the sight of a lovely day, she cannot help but notice the stickers on cars, posters in yards, rallies, and protests that can be heard from miles away. It’s as if it is normal for this divide to be a part of everyone’s lives while also being fed into. Even in Laila’s own home, she simply just wants to watch a program on her TV, but instead of enjoying it, she is interrupted by harsh debates between two narrow-minded politicians who won’t listen to each other for hours. Or even when her dad just turns on the news while making dinner, the first story isn’t a heartwarming story about her community, but about her country as it keeps breaking. Laila thinks and thinks about all of this; laws are being passed each day, not for the good of the country, but against the sake of those who oppose. Her freedom and everyone’s lives are in the hands of a foolish battle against their own. She thinks, “How can we pick up other’s broken pieces when we are still broken? How can we truly assist with unity in other places when we are at war with each other?” They can not though. Everyone divides and divides while the media offers no filter. After one decision is made, everyone jumps straight to the next and goes into the same cycle; years of arguing back and forth and contemplating back and forth, it just keeps going and going until what’s even the point? The sight in goal has been redirected so much that now is the country truly lost? There are wars, climate change, and pollution; the beautiful world that humans are blessed with is being destroyed while everyone is blinded by the opposition with each other instead of becoming a united front. And as Laila thinks this, she looks out the window and sees her community. Politics have not seemed to visibly divide everyone, but they have. She thinks about her future, her family’s future, generations to come and wonders if they will ever see the light at the end of the tunnel. 30