This week’s article was going to be about the cycle that Wizards has put us through in the last three years: Urza’s Block giving us a combo environment, Masques Block giving us a creature environment, and Invasion Block giving us a control environment. And despite the tragedy that’s happened at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I was going to write it. Life goes on.
But when I signed online right before writing my article today, I read a digest of the Star City writers’ email group. The talk of the town was the attack, and people from all over, from Texas to Virginia to Portugal, were showing concern and anger towards the same event. This reinforced the sense of worldly coalition on this planet that I felt when listening to the British Prime Minister give his strong speech about England’s alliance with the United States to find the perpetrators.
The Magic community is a strong one. An American playing in a major tournament in Germany could pair up with a Frenchman and be understood in his utterance of”mize.” A Japanese player, having traveled to Italy to participate in a tournament, could just as easily react to his Italian opponent’s Saproling Burst as anyone speaking the same language. Our similarities overcome our differences and break through language and distance barriers. Our common cause brings us together.
And so it will be with the nations of the world and the United States of America. The economic implications of the destruction of the American hub of commerce have even yet to be discussed as far as I’ve heard on the news; talks of being in a state of war pervade the minds of all citizens. Personally, I’m more afraid for the state of America than I have ever been in my life. America is in a crisis, and the world knows it. I hope that the world will have the same valiant responses as those of my peers.
And through this tragedy, I believe that all Americans must be willing to support our leaders. Many of us have had little confidence in George W. Bush as a president, myself included… But now is not the time to squabble amongst ourselves. Just as the players of Magic must support and stand behind the DCI, so must we, as Americans, support our leaders. We must show unwavering confidence in our nation and in ourselves if we are to defeat not only the outer threat, but also the internal fear that eats away at us and the anger that swells within our hearts.
I send my thoughts and my prayers to all those directly affected by this incident, and I hope that all those indirectly affected (i.e., the residents of Planet Earth) can find a relatively peaceful solution to this crisis. I hope that, as a Magic community – and more importantly, as a community of people – all of these readers will do the same.
I hope that the brevity of this article will serve as proper analogy for the horrifyingly quick approach of disaster on the United States. I also hope that, just as the pain of anger and worry pervades Americans and members of the world, my message of hope and condolences will pervade those selfsame people.
Good luck to all in the upcoming weeks.
Daniel Crane
[email protected]
P.S. – Due to being unimaginably busy in the last couple weeks, I haven’t been able to write. Therefore, I am extending my contest another week. So if you’re looking to win a Phyrexian Arena, you can still enter. Like I said, life must go on.