Always Thirsty for Victory

The United States was under the presidency of George W. Bush during the start of the Iraq War. The big idea seen mainly in the media is triumph. That's what America sees itself as: Victory. If one strives to be victorious at war, there are little things that will contribute and/or hurt their goal. However, these little things will be viewed in different ways by many different people. For example, Republicans supported Bush's decision to invade because of the suspicion of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They would find it logical to invade; however, most democrats opposed because their wasn't enough concrete evidence. Plus, there was another war already going on. The focus on a larger issue would diminish if the invaision of Iraq followed through.

Another example would be the killing of Saddam Hussein. Having the evil dicator captured by the U.S was a victory but to what degree? Republicans saw it as a huge success. They felt like it was the victory that they had been waiting for. Liberals could find some satisfaction in this, but not to a republicans level. I consider myself to be a liberal but only to a degree. The U.S killed one dicator that our government didn't really like. There are many evil dictators that the U.S government doesn't like. By realizing that, one can't enjoy the small victory to a huge degree.

People see war in different ways. Some see it as a potential victory, and some see it as pure nonsense. Everyone has different opinions on why nations go to war. The little things ( which could be big things to you. I don't know. It's your opinion) that built up to or during the war have caused many mixed opinons. The big picture is always clear though. America has always been thirsty for Victory. Maybe we'll be able to quench that thirst soon. Maybe we won't.

How Tim O'Brien Educated Me.

The Things They Carried is a great book. It's so different compared to other literature on the Vietnam war. Growing up, I heard a lot of negative comments about the government during the Vietnam war. That seems to be the only thing I was educated on: The government's involvement. The Things They Carried really shot at emotion. Tim O'Brien, the author, didn't bother to write about the government's overwhelming power during the war. He wrote about the war in a different perspective. Not in the eyes of someone on U.S soil but through the eyes of a soldier in a war zone. This really brought out the emotion. He makes it clear that Vietnam had the power to change people. Not the government or anything like that, but just being in a war in Vietnam. In his writing one can easily tell that the war was gruesome. War is gruesome, but the violence in Vietnam was life changing. I always hear how America is and always has been patriotic down to the last battle throughout history, but this book totally disagrees with that. The killing in Vietnam was quick and unexpected at times which is different than a lot of the battles fought in the past. Soldiers had buddies in the jungle that would be shot dead at random times which had a lot of negative affects on them. In this book Tim O'Brien even writes about how vetrans are still dealing with the deaths in Vietnam today. I grew up learning about the government action in Vietnam. The question was always raised: Should the U.S have gone to war in Vietnam. That question is a serious question, but Tim O'brien doesn't really ask that. I asked myself after reading: Was the Vietnam war worth all of the human sacrifice? Vietnamese and American? This book clearly taught me that it was not worth it. It wasn't then, and It still isn't today.