Christmas is da bomb!

This is a weird antipathic experience. As I sit here in my classroom after school stringing up the snowflakes and three-dimensional presents my students have made today to add pleasant Christmas ceiling decor the windows rattle as the US military drops bombs only a few kilometers from Tonaki. The frequent thud-thud-thud of missile-laden helicopters and scream of supersonic fighters flying overhead mingle with Joy to the World emanating from the speakers in my classroom. Conflicting emotions are evoked. I am filled with a desire for the goodwill of humanity while slamming the windows of my room in angst. The US currently has a number of military bases occupying roughly 20 percent of Okinawan soil, cordoned off with barbed wire from their hosting communities. Many Okinawans remain adamantly opposed to the US presence, having held bases here since the end of WWII. Their warplanes regularly practice air-to-land battle maneuvers on the tiny island just adjacent one I currently live on such that any such goings on can hardly go unnoticed here. The fishermen are given warning against navigating within a certain radius off its coast and must find other waters in which to ply their trade. Having spoken to various marines, it seems as though for many of them this is final preparatory training for Iraq. It would seem that for many living in this part of the world the words, "peace on earth" and "goodwill to men" are more than lyrics absentmindedly sung by the fire with eggnog in hand.