The effect of a decision

The documentary The Fog of War was incredibly interesting to me. I had seen it before, but this time I really thought about what Robert McNamara was saying and the points he was trying to convey. I even found myself reflecting on the film at the dinner table with some of my family. I thought it was great to see and hear a man's point of view who was on the inside of it all, and wasn't just a witness to history. He created history. I came out of the class period with more knowledge than I did coming into it.

One of the lessons McNamara taught me is the importance of decisions. He emphasized the significance of thinking decisions through before acting on them. I make decisions for my own well being and my family, but he had to make decisions for himself along with the rest of the United States. Every time he decided on something, the nation would either be helped by the judgement or harmed by his mistake. He believes that there were times he did make the right call, and then there were times he didn't. Sometimes he would have to make quick decisions out of fear or efficiency, and in those seconds, he may have choose the wrong path. In deciding quickly, he wasn't always able to get the whole story. If he had the whole story, there might not have been bombs dropped or chemicals sprayed. A lot of people disagree with the choices McNamara made, and view them as severe mistakes. Though at the same time, some of his decisions had to be done. They may not have been the most moral or humane thing to do, but at the time there might not have been another option. In the novel, The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien states that, "A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done" (68). In war, the lines are gray, and the decisions don't follow the usual guideline. There doesn't seem to be any signs of morality when it comes to war. McNamara had to make the hard decision for the country. He did what he believed was best for the nation, and then would take the blame for it, If he hadn't made some of those hard decisions, we never would have been able to attain some of the amazing things we did.

The choices I make everyday may not be near as drastic or costly, but they have an effect on myself and the people around me. I need to value the thought process, and make sure I am being careful and considerate every time I agree to something. Through this documentary I now understand that one decision can change an entire nations lives, and that sometimes you need to something considered bad or even evil, in order to do something good or achieve something great.

The game of war

My younger cousins came over this past week, and decided to play war on my neighbors playset. They used sticks as swords and guns. They hid behind trees and created forts. They even split themselves up into different countries. It was one big game, that they ended up playing for the entire afternoon. They were muddy and tired once they came back inside, and decided they needed a break from war for dinner. War has become something that kids can take lightly and treat as something that is fun and enjoyable to play. Then as soon as they need a break, they can come home and relax. They can make their own rules for the situation.

Even stores are catching onto the war infatuation. There are so many war video games that are sold in stores now. There are tons of action figures and play mobiles of model tanks and guns. I was looking at Target, and I found shelves of war and battle Lego's. We have turned our view on war to be something it isn't. Young kids are getting the wrong idea about it, and thinking it is much better and easier than it really is.

War is so brutal and incredibly dangerous, but for some reason, children have come to look at war as though it is a game, and something to play with their best friends. It shows how strong and tough they are. It makes young children think that they can dodge any bullet that comes their way. Kids get a false idea of what war really is. They don't fully understand the dangers and horrible possibilities that come with it. Then when the draft comes along, they think they are signing up for a temporary game, but don't realize they are potentially signing over their lives. They become a part of something and may not be ready for what they are getting involved in.

War can repeat itself

Even though the Vietnam War was decades ago, its affect on the United States hasn't gone away. We still remember all the pain and struggle the war brought. The Vietnam War was very controversial, and is the only war we have ever lost as a nation thus far. There was so much drama and debate over the war, it caused riots and protests all over the nation. After so much trauma, you would think the United States would avoid finding itself amidst anything like it again, but as the saying goes, history always repeats itself. In this case, history seems to be repeating itself with the war we are experiencing today in Iraq. Many people believe we should have never gone overseas to fight. We have had troops there for some time now, and we have not found any weapons of mass destruction. The main reason we went to war was to find and destroy any weapons. Now that we realize there aren't any, the whole war is beginning to seem even more pointless for the already disproving citizens. The same went for Vietnam in that after so many young men lost their lives, and so much national energy was put in, we lost the war. We came out of it feeling very much unsuccessful.

I came across an article in the New York Times that compared the two wars. It was an article from 2007 that summarized Senator Ted Kennedy's speech at the National Press Club. Even though this article is a couple years old, the ideas still remain the same, and we still have soldiers in Iraq. One of the opening lines was what really caught my eye. Kennedy said that the Iraq War was "George Bush's Vietnam." After years in war, Bush made the decision to send addtional tens of thousands of soldiers to Iraq. Kennedy went on to argue that the majority were against the war, and even more were against sending more troops. Just the same, the majority of people today are still against sending more troops, and continuing a war. Kennedy then states that people should have greater voices in terms of this matter. The citizens should aid in the decisions concerning war and additional troops. During the Vietnam War, people were trying to find a say. In this speech, Kennedy tried to offer an outlet for citizen's voices.