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​This paper was my attempt to mix an analysis of this unit's topic and an analysis of war films. I used a lot that we learned from The Things They Carried and also some of my own research and conjecture. In putting the two ideas together, I came to the conclusion found at the end of the paper, but the process of writing the paper was the process of reaching the conclusion, not just explaining it. I found myself putting the ideas forth and then only connecting them at the end. I would like to do more research into the underlying psychology behind violent films, and in general how we react to role models (actors) doing something (violence). This could be imprinting, or it could be the tribal nature of humans, but I'd like to learn more about the psychology of violent films.

One of the hardest genres in film to get right is the war film. In an attempt to analyze film, one comes across this very tricky genre time and time again, and how hard it is to make a good war film. This may arise from the natural intricacies of telling a war story, and even the complicated nature of violence itself. I myself am interested in finding out how to make a good war film, and how this can apply to society’s greater, more general obsession with violence.

Storytelling is a constant battle to keep people engaged. A good storyteller will use all the tools in their tool belt to accomplish this goal: reveals, flashy visuals or details, twists, etc. Books, films, even songs use these same ideas and tools. In making a war film, the audience, we can assume, is already interested in the subject matter (and perversely so I might add). Years of western culture and civilization have trained them to love Hollywood shoot-em-up blockbusters and gory, violent video games. The fact that a war film can keep people entertained with its gore and violence is something addressed in two quotes from an interview with Tim O'Brien, the author of The Things They Carried, a prime example of a good war story. The two quotes (quotes two and three on this document) both suggest a different way of keeping the audience entertained: one way being a violent perverse attraction to violence and war and guns and bombs and death, the other being the immediate urgency that a war story and its consequential mortality brings to other morals, like love, relationships, and fairness.

Take, for example, the scene in Saving Private Ryan where the old veteran tears up at the grave, and then falls to his knees, bringing his family running. The shot shows an old veteran kneeling at a white cross tombstone, one of many that look the same in a graveyard of soldiers. The veteran kneels at the right of the frame, looking at the tombstone at the center of the frame. The tombstone splits the frame in half, separating the veteran from his family standing off in the distance. They are all dressed similarly, and so is the veteran, but their attention is (naturally) directed all over the place, some towards the veteran, some aimless, some amongst each other. The tombstone, while one of many just like it, is particular to this man, and keeps him separated visually from his family, as if they could never experience the things he has experienced, and so they can never truly connect with him. As the veteran falls down, the family runs up to him. The urgency of this experience is amplified by the family's own urgency, but is already engaging because of our subconscious awareness of mortality in this war story. The rest of the film may be engaging for that reason too, and also because of our "pornographic" infatuation with violence and war, but this specific scene just goes to show how themes can be amplified and morals can be engaged with when faced with the blatant mortality of war.

Many war stories attempt to cover different perspectives. Quote number eight from the O’Brien interview explains more about this. The Things They Carried covers only the perspectives of the soldiers, and while all of the different stories may extend the perspectives, they're still a perspective heard from another perspective; a story within a story. The book only covers one perspective. When the soldiers confront the corpse of a Viet Cong soldier, they are in fact confronting another perspective. The story does not extend past what the soldiers (in fact what O'Brien) saw of this new perspective. A good war story should, therefore, not extend to unknown perspectives, but just analyze them from the known perspective. It is like looking into another house from your own house. You cannot see what your window does not reveal.

The question to answer is this: what can violent films tell us about our obsession with violence? The answer itself is simple, although arriving to this conclusion might be a little more complicated. The reaction to and popularity of violent films are the most measurable insight into violence that those films can give us. Of the top ten all time highest grossing films (according to this list on the-numbers.com), eight of them featured violence. Of the infinite number of topics and plots to be covered in a film, violence is not featured in so many of them, and yet the most popular films usually feature violence, if not center around it completely. It should be an evident insight into the human psyche to see that our most popular films are those that glorify, romanticize, and practically endorse violence. If we see our favorite actor beating the crap out of some dude, aren’t we going to do the same? It’s the simple psychology of following a role model, and if the movies you see everyday promote violence, how can you not practice it?

We have a “pornographic” interest in violence, which extends to an obsession. While war films are feats of storytelling, and enhance the story being told, they definitely end up promoting violence. War films are an insight into our obsession with violence, because violence enhances morals, and makes our mortality come to the surface, making everything else more real. We love seeing more violent films because we’re obsessed with violence and the way it affects storytelling. This ends up endorsing violence, and making it both more accepted as well as more practiced by society. Violent films show us that our obsession with violence stems from its effect on storytelling, and that this promotes violence in our society.

Works Cited

"All Time Highest Grossing Movies Worldwide." The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. <http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/records/All-Time-Worldwide-Box-Office>.

Interview with Tim O’Brien

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction. New York: Broadway, 1998. Print.

Intro:

In english, we have been studying violence and militarism. I found this unit to be inspiring. The essay below is about how violence changes life around us and creates an endless cycle. Unlike the past advanced essays, this one is very factual. I feel like this essay should demonstrates a skill for analysis and critical thinking.

Essay:

Violence has a long standing history in society. Violence is ingrained in human nature in many ways. An understanding of violence now plays a key role in many of our social interactions. Some people have even evolved to be more aggressive because as as a society we reward aggression.
One known genetic activity that predisposes people to physical aggression is a low activity form of monoamine oxidase. Monoamine oxidase is an enzyme that deconstructs key neurotransmitters. According to Brown university this is much more common in countries with a history of war. Even though Darwinism isn’t easily applicable to the modern man because of the complexities of human attractions, The fact that this gene can still be found suggest that there is some benefit to aggression in the modern day. And there is. For whatever reason people find aggression to be dominating and it’s often confused for assertive. Although a society such as ours could never condone outright violence between it’s members, a functional type of aggression is encouraged. We see this on Wall Street, where aggression, greed , and a type of barbarism are thought of as the essential qualities of a good stock broker. We see this type of aggression in radical groups, where it’s often confused for passion.
Behavioral evidence of how are sour social interactions have been altered by violence can be seen in the way we treat the natural  phenomenon fight or flight.Most people are familiar with the fight or flight instinct. It’s what compels you to either flee from danger or address it head on. We often reward and cherish the instinct to fight while we shame those who follow the flight instinct. This illustrated in the book “The Things We Carry” by  TIm O’Brien. In the book he states that the primary motivation for fighting in the Vietnam War for many soldiers was, they would be embarrassed not to. They feared being called cowards by their contemporaries. This is profound because of what it says violence in America. Circumstances aside, many of the characters believe pacifism is weakness and something to be ashamed of. This severe and negative connotation seem inherently wrong. Pacifism is objectively beneficial. All major religions agree that pacifism is a virtue. This fear of non-violence is abnormal, but strong in our society. During World War I, a man named Evan Thomas refused to fight because he thought it was immoral. He was court martialed and prosecuted. During his prosecution, a debate about cowardice verse pacifism arose. The prosecutor is quoted as saying “The very foundation of every civilized government from the first beginning of history down to the present time has been based absolutely upon force of arms… Gentlemen, if we don’t punish these cowards who appear in this land like the sore spots on our bodies to the fullest limit of the law, this government cannot survive.”

The image above shows two little boys playing. One is pinned to the wall by the other. The one pinned to the wall has a fake gun pressed to his brow. Both boys are smiling vigorously, but the one on the wall appears to be on the edge of laughter. The image as a whole is a disturbing look at how violence changes social normalities. American culture is saturated in violence. Violence is so present that even children have an intimate relationship with the concept. They grow numb to the sight of gore. Acts of violence become casual or even humorous. The negative effects of childhood exposure to violence are well documented.  Children who are exposed to this violence learn at an early age that some forms of violence are an acceptable way to solve problems.
Intervention with behaviors that model this mentality in their children  fail to suffocate these ideas in the long term. Data from the Department of Justice states that those who are exposed to violence at a young age have an increased risk of falling into criminal activity. Specifically violent crime, which demonstrates a lack of awareness of acceptable social interactions. These people have permanently altered views on social norms which stand to protect us against such violences as rape, petty murder, and assault.
In conclusion, Violence alters social normalities, which in turn allows for  more violence. This creates a positive feedback loop that has the potential to alter human societies in such a way that it affects us on even the most obscure and unexpected ways. We’ve seen it affect us on both a genetic and philosophical level.

Work cited:

Sontag, Susan. "Regarding The Torture Of Others." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 May 2004. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/magazine/regarding-the-torture-of-others.html?_r=1

"African Americans in the Vietnam War." African Americans in the Vietnam War. Illinois University, 20 Dec. 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/stevens/africanamer.htm

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction. New York: Broadway, 1998. Print.

Rose McDermott. "Some People Just Like to Fight." Political Violence a Glance. N.p., 03 Feb. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

http://politicalviolenceataglance.org/2014/02/03/some-people-just-like-to-fight/

Thomas, Louisa. "Give Pacifism a Chance." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Aug. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/opinion/sunday/what-is-pacifism-good-for.html?_r=0

"Facts about Children and Violence." Facts about Children and Violence. The Department of Justice, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

https://www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/facts-about-children-and-violence

Truth is a fact or something stated that is accepted as true. A story is an account of past events in someone’s life. The truth can’t always be true and a story can’t always be true. Technology can help us support stories and the truth but even technology doesn’t show hundred percent of the story. What is the actually difference between the truth and the story?

For example from witness.org, "What WITNESS does is create, support, and sustain a global network of people who use video as their tool, as their weapon. This network reminds us that we are not a single voice; we are not alone." Another example is “WITNESS identifies ways for citizens to capture and preserve footage to improve its chances of it being used in the courtroom. Through tools, training, and advocacy efforts, we aim to help activists capture and use video as evidentiary material.” Another example was “The WITNESS Media Lab is dedicated to addressing the challenges of sourcing, verifying, and contextualizing eyewitness video to advance its use as a powerful tool for human rights documentation and advocacy. Visit the Lab for curated footage, analysis, cases studies, and resources.” The last example is “WITNESS responds to crisis situations around the globe by providing on the ground trainings, coordinating with local citizens and organizations, and making online resources available in multiple languages. Our aim is to help human rights defenders film more safely and effectively in dangerous and unpredictable environments.”

Technology can sometimes be usefully by showing video evidence of what happened during an incident. Other times technology isn’t as useful. It wouldn't be useful in a situation where it only shows one or a single part of video footage of an incident. Video footage doesn’t always tell the full story or the truth. That’s why technology including cameras outside in the streets or in stores shows some evidence but don’t at the same time.

Here is a young African American male. This young African American male is about 17 years old. He is taking a picture and looking directly into the camera. He has a white hoodie on top of his head. His name is Trayvon Martin. As Trayvon looks into this picture his eyes look like he has fear and innocence in them. Martin facial expression makes him seem like he is a little bit angry or upset about something.

Technology was a big key in the Trayvon Martin case. Trayvon Martin was walking back from the store going back to his location when George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman, claims Trayvon had his hoodie on and was high. He called 9/11 and said something about African American being high walking around in the rain and he thought Trayvon was up to something. The cops told him not to follow Trayvon but he followed Trayvon anyways and then claimed they began arguing and then started fighting. After, he claimed Trayvon tried to grab his gun and then he pulled out his gun and shot Trayvon Martin in the chest.

CNN website gave us the whole story and everything with details including phone calls, maps, and more. CNN stated “The same analysis also didn't reach conclusions as to whether Zimmerman used a racial epithet to describe Martin on his own 911 call, as some have alleged. Martin's family have said they believe Zimmerman, a white Hispanic, profiled the African-American teen.” Another example is Zimmerman's voice, meanwhile, comes through on a 911 call he made around that time, telling a dispatcher about "a real suspicious guy." "This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining, and he's just walking around." Another example is “The dispatcher asked Zimmerman, who'd called 911 at least four times previously for other incidents, if he was following the person. He replies, We don't need you to do that," the dispatcher responded. But Zimmerman followed him anyway.” Last quote is “Federal civil rights charges are difficult to press, let alone get convictions for. In its press release about the decision, the lack of charges against Zimmerman are said to be a result of being unable to meet the standard of proving that the "defendant knew his acts were unlawful, and committed those acts in open defiance of the law. DOJ officials said they would have had to have proven that Zimmerman approached Martin in a threatening manner before the fatal shooting because of Martin's race.”

Technology helped us know where Trayvon was coming from and all the extra details. He don’t know if George Zimmerman shot him because he was a young African American male with a hoodie on. Even the police calls when George Zimmerman called the cops of him talking to them that part even helped the case out by the cell phones. We don’t know if this was the full story or if it was even the full truth. George Zimmerman got charged for murder that he committed. Then later on they released him because they didn’t have a whole lot of evidence to charge him with murder. People till this day still talk about this case because this wasn’t right and they let a guilty man let go.

Technology was also a big key in the Kevin Garner case. Kevin Garner was 43 African American male. Kevin Garner was a front of a store. A fight broke out with two other males. New York City Police put him in a chokehold and slamming his head to the pavement. He keep telling them he couldn’t breathe but they didn’t listen at all. He continued to choke him. They claim he was selling untaxed cigarette which is illegal. There is still a question if he was selling cigarettes or not? The police say yes and some of the witness say no. People say the police are saying yes because they would have a reason to arrest him and by killing him that they don’t get in trouble.. After all this talk the police officers were never charged. Technology played a role in this case, it didn’t give us the outcome that we wanted but in our heads we know the truth.

Simple Justice gave us the whole story with updates and a full video of what happen with police and Garner asking them multiple times to stop. Simple Justice stated “New York City police officers killed a man Thursday after he had broken up a fight between two other men, insisting on placing him in a chokehold and slamming his head to the pavement, piling on top of him as he gasped for air and as he continually told the cops he couldn’t breathe.” Another example from the website is “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Eric Garner, 43, repeatedly screamed after at least five NYPD officers took him down in front of a Tompkinsville beauty supply store when he resisted being handcuffed.” The website also stated “The entire incident was caught on video from a witness who kept telling the cops that the man had not committed a crime.” Another example is “Within moments Garner, a married father of six children with two grandchildren, ceased struggling and appeared to become unconscious as police called paramedics to the scene. An angry crowd gathered, some recording with smartphones.” They stated “He referred to police rules that forbid chokeholds and define them as including “any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air.”

Technology helped us by giving us a clear view. It had recorded full video from witness smartphones of police going over to Kevin Garner getting choked up and getting over abused by officers. The smartphone video also helped us by giving us a story about what happen. It also had the part when Garner pleading to the cops that he couldn’t breathe at all. Did the officer do this because his skin color?

What is the difference between “story” and “truth”? Race, technology, story and truth all comes together as one big topic. By using technology like cell phones videos, store camera videos, police officer body camera videos, cop car dash cameras videos, we can actually see what is happening than someone saying their side of the story and some of the truth and not the full truth. With the world advancing we can catch the little stuff now and now days everyone records everything and anything. We can catch abuse from officer or any abuse or anything now days just because of the improvement of technology. We can catch on video racist acts happening to any skin color by another person. We can use the video to help us in court or anything to watch what happen but sometimes we don’t get the full video of what actually happen and the full thing. We can capture moments of the video but we probably wouldn’t get the full video.

Work cited used:

• "NYPD Kills Eric Garner on Video (Update)." Simple Justice. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

• "Human Rights Campaigns & Projects from WITNESS." WITNESS. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

• CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

In this unit, we were going over how violence is incorporated in today's society. From all of our discussions, I decided to write about if we, as human beings, could live in a utopia, which is an absence of violence. My goal was to look towards the future and empower individuals. I use the stories of people who have been involved in wars in order to show how these violent situations can destroy the innocence of people and it starts with ourselves to have a utopia.

The world is a tree. It stands with strong roots built throughout the evolution of humans. In addition to building roots, human beings are the bark and stem of this tree. We have made societies that help make a strong system in order to exist in a world together. At the top half of this tree, the leaves are made up of the individual people of the world. The world is one big tree, but from the very beginning, this tree was always destined to have an ugly side. The side that is always shown is the side where it looks like every single person is able to receive the necessities and every person connected to the tree faces no type of traumatizing events.

This idea of the world being a tree is is presented in the above picture. The picture is made of  hands. It is a representation of the world and the countries that make up the world. There are seven bigger hands in the back of the smaller hands. This could be a representation of the 7 continents of the world. The entire picture is of hands, making it show humans make up everything given to us in this world. Throughout the history of the world, humans have found a way to adapt to certain situations and environments and this has helped us evolve overtime. The picture shows that everyone is born with an acceptance of every person no matter who they are and where they are from and this allows us to build a strong rooted tree, or just a strong society.

The idea of a world in which everyone happy and nobody experiences pain is something that would be ideal, but could we, as human beings, live in a society rooted in nonviolence? The real question is could human beings live in a utopia? The simple answer is no. The evolution of human beings has had tremendous bloodshed and with that bloodshed, people have held ideas that keep them from accepting others. This is just the unfortunate truth as to why humans couldn’t live in a utopia. But how does violence make a society unable to be in harmony?

In many instances through history, when a problem between two countries, groups, or people occurs, violence is the first solution often looked upon. As defined by Google, violence is behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. When applied to conflicts between countries, these acts of violence lead to war. War is somethings that has heavily influenced the reason why humans beings wouldn’t be able to live in a utopia. For instance, Michael Abbatello joined the Marines and after coming home, he describes how his whole mindset changed. “Something is changed. You know, you feel down to your spirit. You know that you’re different now. You know, we don’t really have a consciousness of our own spirit until it’s wounded, and then it needs help” (PBS 2010). Micheal Abbatello is a real life example of of how war can destroy a person. When someone is placed into a very raw situation, such as war, the mindset of a perfect world is destroyed. As a result, as the idea of a peaceful world is destroyed and the world becomes a dog eat dog place.

In addition to Micheal Abbatello, many other people who are in war, whether they are civilians or soldiers, end up having their minds, morals, and outlook changed to a more negative perspective. Veterans came to our school and one of them named John Graham stated that “ war is easy to start, but hard to finish”. This is something that is true because no human being is born with an understanding on misery. Humans are born in an innocent state and this mindset is ruined because nothing in war is innocent.

Even though human beings could not live in the utopia anytime soon, there is still hope for the distant generations to live in a utopia. Right now, the world has a lot of violence penetrating the everyday lives and minds of innocent people. From the Syrian refugee crisis to the police brutality in the United States, violence in today's society is so prevalent that the current generation on the verge of living more into a dystopian society. However, the answer of how can this change lies within each individual. As Scilla Elworthy states, “It’s my response, my attitude towards oppression that I have control over… And what I need to do is to develop self-knowledge” (Fighting with Nonviolence, April 2012). This self knowledge is the realization that violent acts like war happen when humans let emotion overtake their thoughts and actions. In a situation,  Elworthy states, “That means I need to know how I tick, when I collapse, where my formidable points are, where my weaker points are. When do I give in? What will I stand up for?”. By being in control of our emotions, humans are in control of the world.

So the world tree that is in a wiltering state is able to stand upright once more again if people are aware of the power their emotions have in this world. “The only thing you can do is get up, make a cup of tea, and sit with that fear…...and anger is like gasoline and if you throw it around and someone lights a match, you have an inferno”. Controlling emotions is a major key in order for the world tree to go back into its original state: a utopia.

Works Cited:

• Elworthy, Scilla. "Fighting with Nonviolence." TED. Apr. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

• Severson, Lucky. "Moral Wounds of War." PBS. PBS, 28 May 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

• Gregory, Sam. "Images of Horror: Whose Roles and What Responsibilities? - WITNESS Blog." WITNESS Blog. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

Title: Quién Soy Yo (Who I Am)

Julia Furman.

Soy yo.

Otra adolescente.

Tengo quince años.

La hija de ciudadanos Americanos.

Simplemente quiero ser aceptada.

Veo los edificios de la ciudad.

Huelo la cocina de mi mamá.

Saboreo mi limonada casera.

Oigo el ladrino de los perros.

Toco el pelo de mi perro.

Soy de los Estados Unidos.

Vivo con la águila.

Vengo desde sangre abolicionista.

Buscando el mejor futoro para el mundo.

Somos productos de los Estados Unidos.

Somos ciudadanos Americanos.

No somos europeos.

Europa vive en nosotros,

Pero allí no tenemos hogar.

Tenemos hogar en los Estados Unidos.

Somos Americanos

y somos completos.

Nuestra verdad.

I chose to write about this topic because no one else was writing about it and it was a good idea at the time. I didn't have many options, and this was the one I could do the most with. I had a lot of sources, but I didn't quote any of them so I had to go back and find at last one to quote in my paper for some solid factual evidence. I didn't have much of a process, I just wrote the paper and was done with it.

There is a picture of people protesting the Vietnam War in the streets. There is a crowd of people on a street holding a sign above their heads that says:”Our real enemy is U.S Corporations and the rest is hidden behind other protesters. You can tell they’re angry, but stand tall. All the people in front have their arms linked, a sign of unity and strength. This image represents what Ii’ll be talking about in my advanced essay. This represents the people at home, angry and outraged at their friends, and family being sent off to fight in a war that isn’t necessarily theirs. In this essay we'll will be exploring the question of what america is trying to protect if it isn’t the people they send to fight for them. There are many answers to this question already, believing that war is the equivalent of a squabble between two children over something relatively insignificant. Unfortunately, in this situation, there is no parent to separate the two, so what could’ve been solved with a few words has now escalated into a full on fight between the two parties. This is war, if America isn’t putting the lives of its people before all else, there is no point to war.

The first aspect of war that shall be explored about is the aftereffects of it, specifically how veterans of war are celebrated once they return home. In particular, I want to talk about the Vietnam veterans. In one the bloodiest, longest, and most brutal wars of the century, the Vietnam veterans had probably gone through some of the toughest ordeals as soldiers, many of them only just out of high school. Because of this, many of them had looked to drugs and alcohol for comfort during the war to keep them sane.The U.S government knew this, and what did they do? They started outlawing all of the drugs that the soldiers had depended so heavily on left and right. IN an article in the New York Times, author Tim Hsia says this

Being so addicted that they couldn’t stop. The older veterans, having more experience, were able to mostly re adjust to living in the States, but most of the younger ones couldn’t cope with the complete change and ended up resorting to crime to get by. The U.S noticed this, and that they were also exhibiting symptoms but was extremely reluctant to give aid to the 700,000 veterans that were in need of it. Even after agreeing to help them, treatment was stalled which only further progressed the veterans’ anxiety and trouble with adjusting to society."

Simply stating what I said before, this passage really highlighted the extent of America's lackluster response to the soldier's return, and the aid they required to blend in with the American society yet again. I feel that instead of taking reponsibility for what they were completely and totally responsible for, America shied away from its problems. In this way, their reluctance to treat the veterans and the lukewarm welcoming back to the states showed me the capacity for which america could really show indifference to the well being of their people

The second aspect of war that was a significant reminder of America’s treatment of citizens was the countries who weren’t even officially considered U.S citizens yet claimed to be U.S territories. For starters, how many people knew that Guam was a U.S territory? Probably not that many. Do you know what percentage of their people were drafted into the army in the War on the Philippines and the Spanish american war? 12.5%. That's an insanely high percentage. To put it on a scale, for every 8 people living in Guam, 1 of them was sent off to war. That meant every person living there knew someone who was either at war or was already a veteran of war. However, for being one of the most devoted people to the American cause, they received the smallest amount of money for treatment after the war. In a way, it’s like the U.S completely forgot that they were at the war at all. Even worse, Guam was given a representative in the U.S senate, yet they can’t vote. They are also affected by the laws passed in America, so it would only make sense for them to be able to vote for who will lead them. Even though america’s slogan is the home of the brave, land of the free, we shouldn't feel as confident sporting that knowing that thousands of miles away, there’s a country that is a U.S territory, yet treated like aliens. Is this the extent of America’s ability to serve and protect its people? Is this really the country we live in?

In conclusion, i’d have to say that we protect some, but not all of our citizens. America has many deep dark secrets that have yet to be uncovered, but hopefully they’ll begin to get better as time passes. The biggest concern right now is taking care of our citizens overseas like Puerto Rico, and Guam. After we tackle those issues, the hard part will be over, and the experience gained from those situations being solved will further evolve America as a country that can capably take care of its citizens.

Violence and nonviolence is not the same today as it was in the past. The image above shows an example of the mindset people have today. This image shows a man in a black body suit holding another mans head to look away from the homeless man lying on the ground. The homeless man is leaning against a piece of cardboard that is leaning against a building made of marble bricks, that is clearly not his own. The man in the black bodysuit is a physical version of our fears. The homeless man represents the reality that we need to face.

Fear has always played a big part in History. History is not just a subject in school, but a topic in life. If you were to ask somebody about what they first learned in History you are guaranteed to get an answer including Martin Luther King Jr. He is known as the king of nonviolence, and he has made many changes with this method. “Perhaps a more tragic recognition of reality took place when it became clear to me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home.” This is from his Beyond Vietnam speech in New York, NY on April 4, 1967. This specific quote was interesting to me because he was basically saying the true reality of what was happening was not revealed to him until the situation got worse. But as people learned in early History classes, the time in which MLK was alive the level of nonviolent protests was popular and favorable for the future which is now our present time.

Speeches and sharing ideas are some of the great ways nonviolence was supported during MLK marches and meetings. Today we still hear stories about history but ideas and thoughts are more vaguely and strongly made aware to others as individuals today. The way we talk and the specifics of what we talk about are said angrily. Our views on situations that happened in the past can be expressed strongly enough to change the tone of a story and make the person listening understand in a negative way resulting in the butterfly effect of whisper down the lane. Some might say stories can never contain the full truth. Others might say truth is build off of stories, vice versa. In a way “truth” and “story” can be the same and different at the same time.

The same way stories can be ingrained in our society militarism is also ingrained in our society in almost every way possible. By contrasting how most people deal with war today and in the past it is easy to see that people are way more aggressive and violent today. We would rather take action to make a faster change than to sit around and wait for a “maybe” kind of answer. Militarism is ingrained in our society as a way to show pride in our country. It is also seen as a way of protecting what is yours, as well as hurting what is not. Depending on the type of individual you are you will fall into at least one of these three categories. When I watch older movies that include parents watching their children be sent off to war, they go to “serve” their country. Today the reason would be to fight for what is right, not to serve the country. Some go into the field to have the power and authority to kill just because. We try to use nonviolence as a form of protesting today but some thoughts do not start with this.

Nonviolence was a very large and powerful way of protesting in the past. Our people today brush the thought of nonviolence out of their minds with no reflex to the cold chill it brings to some. “A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies.” I believe this is what happened to change the way we protest for change. I believe that we questioned the fairness and justice and did not like what we seen. This resulted in a hidden revolution. The revolution included switching from nonviolent tactics to violent ones. Because people today question everything to make sure they are being treated equally there is no doubt in my mind to know that we will never again be a society rooted in nonviolence.

How does war and violence change people? The real question to ask should be “How does it not change people ?” War has been a part of my everyday life even when I did not know it. My country was at war, my family, and even myself. I realized how my attitude has changed over time as well. I would react calmly to situations as a young child but now, if I know something doesn't feel right, I will stand up for others and myself. War and violence has not changed people in this generation because we are so accustomed to it being in our lives. It all depends on the time frame you include or talk about.

Bibliography

"Beyond Vietnam**." Beyond Vietnam**. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_beyond_vietnam/>.

Lukas Supovitz-Aznar

Advanced Essay #4

When I first started this unit about war I was immediately intrigued about the concept of why we are so involved in war. My first thoughts were that their has to be a method to our madness, but the more I learned the more I felt mislead. While writing this essay I wanted to lead the reader to a more knowledgable reason on how recruitment goes down. I tried my best to keep my opinion out of this topic, and just write with factual content. I think I did that, but still provided interesting content that would make the reader want to keep reading more. In synopsis I am happy I picked this topic because I was enlightened myself.

Hundreds of men stand in front of our flag, pledging their allegiance to this country. This photo is a powerful, yet common photo of a bunch of young men showing their dedication to the country; the same country that betrays them in many ways. In the background is the American Flag, and it shows that they will all fight for the cause. Sometimes the cause is not identified but these men are still willing to risk their lives. This has been a trend, where men who are mislead by their country still are loyal and extremely proud to represent the country. Throughout history, war has been an important topic for all countries.

Since the beginning of the United states, we have always been very involved in all different kinds of war. Recently war has come under attack, specifically by the United States recruitment system.  Army recruitment happens all around the country, and these recruiters come to thousands of high schools to get kids who are not yet ready to sign up for war. An important topic to note is that most recruitment goes on in towns of poverty, or where not much goes on. Kids are often lured into a lifestyle that they are not yet ready to live, and the recruiters know this but it is necessary for them to do to keep the strongest military in the world. According to the New York Times article “Army recruiters say they feel pressure to bend the rules” it states “He has been bending or breaking enlistment rules for months, he said, hiding police records and medical histories of potential recruits. His commanders have encouraged such deception, he said, because they know there is no other way to meet the Army's stiff recruitment quotas.”  This shows that recruitment is often unfair and this idea of a quota to sign people up is wrong. Although some recruits are not interested in serving for the country, others are. “By the Army's own count, there were 320 substantiated cases of what it calls recruitment improprieties in 2004, up from 199 in 1999, the last year it missed its active-duty recruitment goal, and 213 in 2002, the year before the war in Iraq started. The offenses varied from threats and coercion to false promises that applicants would not be sent to Iraq. Many incidents involved more than one recruiter, and the number of those investigated rose to 1,118 last year, or nearly one in five of all recruiters, up from 913 in 2002, or one in eight.” To be sent to war in an unfamiliar country without actually having any motive to do so is unjust, and one out of eight is a pretty large portion. Yet still many kids grow up with the dream of joining the military, and that is something to be proud of. The real crime is the lies that the recruits are told, such as “College will be payed for”- New York Times. This is very unfortunate, and for many they end up resenting how they served in the military because they were lead to misconceptions through the recruitment process. For a promise like college being payed for to be broken is very tragic, so most suggest to get everything in writing before actually signing up for the military.

Violence is a behavior that involves physical force that intends to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. Depending on the person will depend on how bad a person handles a situation with violence. For example A guilty person or a person who has anger issues may handle a bad argument with violence and physically hurt someone so bad that they might kill them. So what about the innocent and/or the /good people, how do they respond to violence? Catherine Le Magueresse who is a researcher on the subject states,  “Everyone in feminist circles and in the justice system were not at ease with this case, because when you are a victim of physical abuse and you kill your abuser, you become like him in a way — you choose violence.” I believe she is trying to say that even if the other person was evil for what they did, a good person becomes evil like that person when you do something violent back to them.

Violence is always going to happen. It doesn’t make a person good or evil because good  and evil are the same words to describe people that  are nice and mean. Someone who is good is usually the nice person and whoever is evil is the mean person. But in the ted talk called The Psychology of evil stated that “the line between good vs evil is moveable” which is the truth because people all have different perspectives of what is good and what is evil. Their is many things a person can say that a person is good as well as evil. Someone may think someone is still good even if they did bad/evil things just like someone can say someone is evil for doing something bad but they do good things.

People often think violence solves everything. For example when a child may get into a fist fight in school. The fight might have started from one child  bullying or doing something wrong to an innocent child.  The innocent child would then  think he needs to hit the child who started it all to show he is tough. In his mind he believes he has to because if he doesn’t prove himself then the other children at school will think he is a wimp or weak. Even though the child who started it can be considered evil, the child who then raised their hand to the other child will be equally as evil because he physically hurt that child.

In Vietnam, followed by soldiers, the young children were walking away from their village   and the looks on their faces gave off they were crying, upset, and devastated by their homes  burned down in flames. Not many children can be seen, it’s possible that the village was either small or the children were shot and killed.The website, “War children”, talks about what children go through in any war. Children are usually innocent and do not have any part of what goes on in their village. They are not the ones causing the problems, so it makes me wonder why are they being killed or physically hurt and it makes me wonder why won’t they  do anything about it. This website states “Millions of children and young people worldwide are affected by armed conflict. They are confronted with physical harm, violence, danger, exploitation, fear and loss. Many children are forced to flee. Some witness the death of loved ones. Some are forced to pull the trigger themselves.”  In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech he talked about how terrible it was for vietnam to go through what they did in the war. America is suppose to be free and show the image of freedom but that all changed because the people who weren’t enemies before became their enemy and kill many of their people and destroyed their homes. Martin Luther King stated ” The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom, and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism.” I believe he said this because seeing what the people did to the Vietnamese people who were innocent, lose so many love ones, and material things in their life; he wants us to back at this. He hopes for us to see that soldiers for the U.S who are suppose to be good, helped the bad and did bad things to Vietnam and its people. As we look deeper into this, it was all violence created by bad people to good people. The Vietnam responded back by fighting in which they also killed many people, but that doesn’t make them evil because if they didn’t stand up for their village, everyone would haved died.

This Vietnam War picture shows  how innocent people were being attacked and killed in their own home. All people respond to violence differently regardless if they are innocent or not. One innocent person may get physically hurt by someone else and not do anything about it. The other innocent person may get physically hurt and do something back which would not be wrong for them to do because it is self defense. Although you could say they would be evil as well because they are still hurting someone back.

Their are too many perspectives to say what an innocent person is because you may think that person is innocent and the other person may think that person is not innocent. No one can really tell how an innocent handles violence unless you are basing it off your perspective.

Work cited:

1. Blaise, Lilia. "He Abused Her for Years. She Shot Him. France Asks: Is It Self-Defense?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Mar. 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/12/world/europe/murder-of-abusive-husband-casts-stark-light-on-domestic-violence-in-france.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1>.

2. "Beyond Vietnam**." Beyond Vietnam**. Stanford University, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_beyond_vietnam/>.

3. Holland, War Child. "EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN."Warchildholland.org. War Child Holland, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2015. <http://www.warchildholland.org/effects-war-children>.

My goal for this paper was to explore in depth my question which was, how does a world different from our norm compel us to commit violent acts? I was curious to explore other ways other than soldiers changing. This is one goal that I was able to accomplish. I was able to read an article on feminism which held the same ideas that I had developed after watching Zimbardo's TED talk. I think I was able to go through this piece with a lot of organization. I was able to fully understand how I could connect all of my research to my piece and from there I chose the strongest sources and quotes. I believe that through the peer-editing process I was able to get even more analysis out of my piece. I decided to end my piece with the story of the image because I had gotten really caught up in making a story with the image and it had helped me build my thesis for this paper.

As the war continues, two brothers take cover. They hide in their home, watching through the crack in the door. Hoping and waiting for the day when the war will end. They wait for the time they will be safe. The older brother positions himself in front of the younger brother, shielding him from any harm that may come. Their eyes tell a story. A story of loss, a loss of family and a loss of hope. They watch with saddened eyes as their home get torn apart by the soldiers and rebels. The younger brother is filled with more hope than his older brother. The younger brother is still innocent and does not understand what the war means or what is occurring. The older brother is weighed down by the reality of this war and has trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. As each second passes we can see them age. Each bullet fired adds a year to their age.   

On March 2003, United States soldiers in a prison in Abu Ghraib, Iraq began to torture and abuse the Iraqi detainees. Images were released in January of 2004 and an investigation was underway to determine who the abusers were. Some of these graphic images depicted a woman soldier holding a prison with a dog leash. What caused these seven soldiers to commit such violent acts cannot be explained. Susan Sontag writes “No: the horror of what is shown in the photographs cannot be separated from the horror that the photographs were taken -- with the perpetrators posing, gloating, over their helpless captives.”

Sontag brings up a key point, the horror not only was in the image but the fact that these soldiers took these photographs and posed for them. Humans can be thought of as sculptures made of clay. Everywhere we go and everything we do and see done changes our shape. Environment molds us into a different shape. Humans are very influential and easily misguided to do things they would not do in their “natural habitat.” Abu Ghraib was an environment that challenged these seven soldiers and challenged who they were and their morals. It only took one to change for the rest of them to succumb to the environments changes. We see many instances where people change their environment and often turn out happier and prosper in this new environment. So it’s shocking for us to hear and see an environment break a person. What’s most shocking however is the degree at which Abu Ghraib changed these soldiers.

Abu Ghraib is only one of many examples of environments changing us and our natural sense of right and wrong. Kim Turcot DiFruscia wrote a piece on feminism and spoke about the same issues that we see occur in war. However, the war she writes about is not a war fought with weapons like guns and explosives, this war is fought with words of hate and oppression of the opposite sex. DiFruscia writes “In many situations you cannot decipher which particular individual has this specific responsibility because it is the coming together of various forces that produces a particular action.” She states that “various forces” cause a “particular action” to occur. We cannot determine how an individual will react to a situation. We do not know what has occurred previous to this action therefore we cannot determine the outcome of their reaction. We cannot determine how they will be forever changed. Later on in her article she writes “Not by escaping, but by assimilating the violence and weaving your life in it.” One never gets rid of all the violence and pain they have endured. Instead they learn to live with this pain and they learn to mold it into something that is beneficial to them. How one takes this violence and how they mold it is completely dependent on the “coming together of various forces.” In some ways this relates to post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, something very common among soldiers coming back from war. We cannot always point out who suffers from PTSD but this is because there are varying degrees of this disorder. Some soldiers learn to weave this disorder into their life and others try to escape it.

Our surroundings affect us and who we become more than we tend to realize. People who grow up in and move to war zones change and become shaped by their environment. We hear many stories about soldiers doing things that are not what we would consider normal., such as the horrifying acts committed by the soldiers in charge of the prison in Abu Ghraib. We tend to ask ourselves how can this occur? We know these people and know their characters. They could never commit such acts. But a world so different from our norms can compel us to commit these violent and sometimes horrifying act. If a place can change you for the better, can’t it also change you for the worse?

The younger brother, Armin had fallen asleep, on the cold stone floor. None of their beds were left. Covers were a luxury they could not afford. He watched his younger brother as he slept, as he did every night. He listened to Armin’s soft snores which the older brother, Arya was glad for. He slept so peacefully, almost as if the world they lived in did not exist and as if Arya was the one trapped in a nightmare. Armin turned in his sleep and Arya felt a sinking feeling in his chest when he saw his brothers face. The smooth curve of his nose, the long, dark eyelashes, and the thick eyebrows. All replicas of his own facial features. The only difference between the two brothers was their hair. Armin had short straight hair that barely reached his eyebrows. Arya had thick curly hair that was growing long, almost covering his eyes. Arya was grateful for the home they had left. But he was also left to think about his brother’s innocence and how this war would affect him.  

Work Cited:

DiFruscia, Kim Turcot. Listening to Voices. An Interview with Veena Das(n.d.): n. pag. Web. 10 Mar.

2016. <http://www.alterites.ca/vol7no1/pdf/71_TurcotDiFruscia_Das_2010.pdf>.

Sontag, Susan. "Regarding The Torture Of Others." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22

May 2004. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/magazine/regarding-the-torture-of-others.html?_r=1>.

My goal for this paper is to analyze the way that guilt influences a soldier’s life. Throughout the process of the paper I have learned that the majority, if not all, soldiers suffer from this emotion whether they admit it or not. However, even if soldiers see their time serving this country as a privilege or not, they can all admit that war changes people and the way they think. A new perspective arises and it adds to the person that they are.

Above is a picture of the Vietnam Memorial Wall located in Washington, D.C. A middle aged white male has his hand placed on a wall that states the names of all the soldiers that died during the Vietnam War. The man is looking down toward the floor, his briefcase beside him. On the wall there is a reflection of about five soldiers standing up and one kneeling down, soldiers whose lives were lost staring back at the man. He is on his from work and he has his sleeves rolled up and his suit jacket sits beside him on top of his briefcase. A small American flag is planted into to ground and it hangs low. The man’s face is scrunched up as if he is starting to get emotional and is trying to prevent tears from running down his face. War is an unique concept of conflict that people who have not experienced it can only sympathize and not empathize.

An essay written by Kevin Sites states that ,“Combat is almost always the shortest and smallest part of any conflict, while collateral damage or civil destruction is war’s most enduring legacy.” The guilt that soldier feels will be carried with them forever.  Although they might have pride and have seen it as a privilege to serve their country, it does not take away from the fact that on that journey sacrifices are made not only with your internal being but with the people around you, the people you love the most.

A CBS NEWS article titled I can’t forgive myself states that ,“Like other officers who've spoken about moral injuries, he also feels responsible for deaths that resulted from orders he gave in other missions. The hardest part, Kudo says, is that "nobody talks about it.” This thought goes along with a book titled The Things They Carried  and how they avoided talking about death even though they faced it everyday. The characters in the book would desensitize the tragedies they had to deal with. Humor was often used to downplay the circumstances that they have endured. They used multiple methods in order to avert their thoughts from the adversities that have occurred.  Despite the various methods used, aren’t they all coping mechanisms?

Regardless of the coping mechanism that is used by an individual, if you do not talk about it then it will start haunting you inside. Our soldiers have “wounded souls,” in accordance with the CBS NEWS article mentioned above. Although these “souls” might be repaired they will never return to being the same as they were before. When they leave the war a part of themselves is lost and it can never be recovered. Many people, especially doctors and other medical advisors,  just lump soldiers into the PTSD category but in reality who wouldn’t suffer from that “illness”  if they were not in war, witnessing the deaths of both civilians and criminals everyday and having to be watching it all, if not actually partaking in those actions? No one is fully capable to dismiss those images from their head. These soldiers might not actually be sick, but they are just the product of the wicked environment they have been placed in. A system which undoubtedly causes these effects on them.

 Now what outlets are available in order for people to repair their wounded souls? In article titled Coping with Survivor Guilt & Grief it is reported that, “Guilt is a common reaction to loss and it can ultimately be part of the healing process. However, if it is not addressed, excessive guilt can lead to psychological health concerns, such as depression, apathy or generalized anxiety.” While guilt is usually the emotional reaction to a traumatic event, grief is the actual healing process. When lives are lost , the feeling of one’s humanity automatically decreases.  There needs to be more organizations that promote this healing process in a healthy way that gives drugs as a last resort instead of the first. It becomes difficult to empathize with someone if you never lived through the situation that they have faced. Nevertheless, that does not mean that we should stop trying. We need to understand that this guilt travels with them from war to home to carrying out their daily activities. Most of this guilt is due to the responsibility that soldiers feel for the lives lost both during the war and when they return home and lose contact with other soldiers they have served with. Still, we need to see these emotions as  Mike Felker, Veteran of the U.S. Navy does, he says, “Guilt is the driving force.” Guilt prompts us to continue to discover who we are and helps us stay in tune with our emotions. The acknowledgment of  guilt being present in our minds and hearts helps us grow through self-reflection.

Works Cited

"Coping with Survivor Guilt & Grief." Real Warriors. Defense Centers of Excellence. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://www.realwarriors.net/active/treatment/survivorguilt.php >.

“ ‘I Can't Forgive Myself'': U.S. Veterans Suffering Alone in Guilt over Wartime Events." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/i-cant-forgive-myself-us-veterans-suffering-alone-in-guilt-over-wartime-events/ >.

Kevin Sites. "How Do Soldiers Live with Their Feelings of Guilt? - Kevin Sites - Aeon Essays." Aeon. Aeon Essays, 09 Apr. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <https://aeon.co/essays/how-do-soldiers-live-with-their-feelings-of-guilt >.

Major Rebecca Lange. "Service Before Self: Reflections on Military and Civilian Service." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/major-rebecca-lange/service-before-self-refle_b_6135730.html >.

I was anticipating a topic like this for our class. I came up with the idea of "does discrimination cause violence" to being and I wanted to write an informative essay, in the form of an editorial. One goal I had was to sue current and past events that covered a wide spectrum of discrimination that led to acts of violence and cover what forms of discrimination were used and specifically how people were manipulated into violent acts. Knowing these events all changed the course of history, I knew that discrimination was the root for their downfalls.

Throughout the history of our world, there have been social outcasts. Social outcasts are groups like your nationality, race or gender where they’re believed to be beneath the other groups. Every society has always had some form of structural discrimination. The problem with discrimination is not just the rise in hate itself, but the brutality that follows. There are hundreds of societies and civilizations that could show how if you don’t fit the profile, expect harm to be done onto you. Discrimination leads to acts of violence under the circumstances of fear, hate, faith, and a structural system which has bent the minds of the oppressors to commit senseless acts of violence.

During the thirty-one year rule of Rafael Trujillo, the Dominican Republic became a very violent place where one man controlled the voices of millions. Trujillo was determined to make his country great, but in his image. His image was being “diminished” by his neighbors in Haiti. At this time, the border between the countries was bending. In order to take complete control of his nation he ordered the execution of all Haitians residing in the Dominican Republic. In order to prove your nationality, people were forced to pronounce the word “Parsley” in Spanish. The hate spun by Rafael Trujillo killed almost 20,000 people. The circumstances that led to this act of violence was a corrupt structured system that ensured this dictator could remain in power.

Worldwide, there is a group that has been discriminated against in the name of fear and faith. Since civilization had begun, being gay was condemned, often by those who believe that being gay is “immoral.” Worldwide the act of homosexuality has been scrutinized to the point where a person’s sexual orientation has led to attacks, imprisonment, killings and discrimination. In our own country, over 15% of registered hate crimes are for homosexuality. In our own city, the stance inherited from hate led to two gay men being attacked in 2015. Up until 1973, those were who were gay were labeled as mentally ill; which led to “curing and treatments” to remove your sexuality. Some treatments featured electrical shock and prayer. It is a shame that we live in a world where some find happiness and that happiness is labeled as an illness. In many nations, acts of homosexuality are crimes, which have led to gays remaining silent. In Uganda, acts of homosexuality leave you with long prison sentences, life in prison, you can even be charged with the death penalty. Concerning homosexuality, hate, fear, faith and the system have led to discrimination of gays which has led to generations of violence for equal rights.

The United States was founded with a disgraceful institution by the name of slavery. Slavery had a successor, segregation. Segregation was an institution that built a privilege for whites and discriminated persons of color. Equal rights were not present in this time if in the means of access to services or in the justice system. This form of discrimination was dismissed legally which led to violent acts that were often also dismissed. Lynching was a form of killing violently used by the public to often prove a point. Lynchings happened for rape, murder and even something as little as an insult. Lynching became an epidemic, used for petty rseason which left thousands dead, mostly blacks. Nearly 73% of people lynched before it was outlawed were black. This form of violence came under the circumstances of hate and a system that promoted this form of violence. When you don’t enforce the law it is exploited and it was done during the lynching era.

Discrimination exists today, there are countless modern examples but none hit as close to home as Donald Trump. Donald Trump is a famous businessman for his antics and has a reckless reputation. He carries that same rap on his campaign trail, where his unique stances on various demographic and political issues have raised an eyebrow. He has many many critics who oppose him. In Chicago, there were tens of thousands who successfully shut his rally down chanting “We Stumped Trump.” But his momentum grows despite the violence he has brought. There have been brawls, threats and a stalemate from his following and foes. Donald Trump has used fear to incite violence. How? He says he would attack his protesters, and threatening that Americans are endangered unless they believe in his cause. In a democracy, violence can’t be promoted by leadership.