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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.

creativita, hermano, contento.

Veo ciudad edificio.

Oigo construcción.

Huelo la playa las vacaciones.

Saboreo yo no gusto el sabor eneo la manana.

Toco jubilo.

Como en las celebraciones.

Nosotros vamos a sitios diferente en vacaciones.

Mama y papa preocupase para mi.

Yo paso el rato con amigos y hermano.

Nosotros vamos a st. thomas para vacaciones.

Soy Yo

Los recuerdos desde mi infancia

Los llevo siempre conmigo

La hija de mis padres

Mi mascota de mi hermana mayor

Veo los colores de las pinturas

Saboreo dulces y pasteles

Oigo los sonidos de música y risotada

Huelo las velas y comidas

Toco el pelo de mi mascota  

Viajar, nunca voy a olvidarlo

Nado en los lagos de Wisconsin

Corro con los venados

Balio con los árboles de Ohio

Somos productos de Filadelfia

Vivo en Filadelfia

Hablamos inglés

La lengua de música y cultura

No somos Centro Americanos

No somos Costarricenses

Somos Americanos

Y somos orgullosos