Platoon Quote/Movie Review

                This quote, “I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy; we fought ourselves.  The enemy was in us.  The war is over for me now, but it will always be there, the rest of my days.  As I’m sure Elias will be, fighting with Barnes for what Rhah called “possession of my soul.”  There are times since; I’ve felt like a child, born of those two fathers.” I believe really tied the ending of the movie together. It makes you think about how the people you meet can change and be a big part of your life. They can affect the way you think and analyze situations.

                I think that Elias was like the angel on your shoulder in this movie. He wanted to do the right thing, and influenced you to want to do the same. He stood up for what was right. He in a way looked out for or protected Chris and showed him the ropes, taught him what he needed to know to survive. He wanted the best for his squad and the men he fought with. He was a good man with only the best intentions, and he always stood his ground.

                Barnes, to me, was the devil on your shoulder; he did whatever it took to survive, even if that meant killing his own team members. He didn’t have a single care for anyone but himself. Barnes thought he was indestructible and no one could touch him. If you got in his way, he was going to make the rest of your time in the war a living hell. Honestly I don’t think he had a single care if one of his men died, just as long as it was them instead of him.

                I think Elias’s death was a little bit emotional. I got attached to him and liked his personality, how he stood up for the good in the world and tried his best to be nice to everyone. He wanted to contribute all he could to the war. He was shot in cold blood by his own “friend”. But, he didn’t die from that, if Chris would have gone back to check and see if he was dead, he might still be alive. What truly killed Elias, was being left behind. He was a great man and died a terrible death. He didn’t deserve to die, at least not like that.

                When Chris says this quote at the end of the movie how I interpret it is he learned from Elias to do what is right and stand up for yourself, and from Barnes that you’re on your own out here and you have to do what you can to ensure your own safety. Barnes got his karma when Chris killed him, and Elias will be remembered as a great fighter and man for serving his country.

                I really liked this movie I learned more about what it was like for those in the war. You are fighting a battle with yourself along with the Vietnamese and your fellow soldiers. You’re going to dislike people you are fighting alongside with and they aren’t always going to do the right thing. You have to stand up for what you believe in and what is good. We are always fighting a battle with in ourselves.

Has the Nation Lost Its Innocence

Did America lose their innocence the day JFK was assassinated? I feel our nation lost its innocence before the death of John F. Kennedy. There were multiple assassinations before Kennedy’s, and assassination attempts. Each murder of a high well-respected figure has impacted this country, and brought fear to people. For example Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination I believe greatly affected this nation. He was trying to make a difference, and was succeeding, then was killed. Same with Robert Kennedy, he was going to bring our troops home from war, then was shot and killed. Whenever someone tries to change this country for the better, it seems they are “cut off”.

The second after Kennedy was shot, fear and panic was placed within people. They began to question their safety and their faith in the government. How could they let this happen? Why wasn’t Kennedy more protected? Why was he shot? These are all important questions Americans began to ask. People knew Kennedy was doing so many great things for the United States; many began to question the country they were living in.

This country got put through so much turmoil because of Kennedy’s death. Within years after the assassination there were riots and protests and people wanting their family and friends to come home from war. If Kennedy would have lived, they would be home and safe with their families, but sadly they had to stay in Vietnam and America lost many valuable lives. The world started to view America as a terrible country, and one that treated minorities poorly and was “out-of-control”.

                9/11 did affect America similarly, but also very differently. It put fear in the people just as Kennedy’s assassination did. This event I believe scared the people more than JFK’s death, they feared for their own lives more than ever and didn’t know what to expect next. In 9/11 thousands of people were killed and many injured, whereas JFK was the only assassination, others mysteriously went missing or died unexpectedly. I don’t believe people blamed themselves for 9/11 or at least not like some blamed themselves for Kennedy’s death.

                In my opinion I believe the conspiracy that the government had absolutely everything to do with this and killed Kennedy because they didn’t agree with what he was doing, even though it was all for the good of America. Our government is corrupt and always has been they do what they think is best for them and their own benefit, I don’t think they care about American’s at all. They wanted Kennedy dead, and they did whatever they could to make that happen. They covered their own butts and killed anyone who got in their way or was going to rat them out. They destroyed and got rid of all the evidence they could. Kennedy’s brain just “disappeared” and many files of his death were burned. His autopsy was a complete joke, and utterly improperly performed. Lee Harvey Oswald was framed and how he said a “patsy” so they could get away with murder. They had this plan elaborately planned out didn’t think anyone would try and question them. They altered the reports of the people they questioned; they stole people’s pictures and films of that day. They set Oswald up from the start and created his profile to look like a killer. Oswald had no idea what was going on until the moment the shots were fired.

                The government killed his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, because he was accomplishing the same things as JFK. He was going to try and bring peace to this nation, and they didn’t like that. There are times where I have very little faith in our government and this is one of those times. They think they can get away with anything and no one can touch them. I believe in 2029 when those records are released to the public we might find out the truth of what happened on that day in 1963. There was more than one shooter that day and Oswald was not one of them. Those who shot him were strategically placed around the blocks; the one with the kill shot was placed in the grassy noel.

                You can think what you want to think about JFK and how he died, but I strongly believe this is what happened. One day we will all find out and someone will be wrong. For now JFK’s assignation is still somewhat of a mystery and will hopefully someday the truth will be reviled. Many guilty people were let go without a second thought that they had anything to do with what happened that day. I hope people question our government and if what everything they do is right, because it’s not. I look forward to the day when the truth comes out.

Trump and Nixon Similarities

1.          Race and law enforcement were issues
2.       They both had/have plans to end war
3.        They both said there is a silent majority of people tired of being pushed around and led by “stupid” people
4.        They both have a Roger Stone political strategies
5.        They believe there are problems with law and order

Asian Aushwitz

What happened to these people is absolutely awful and disturbing. I can’t imagine the pain those “prisoners” had to endure. They were tortured to death in unspeakable ways. Dr. Shiro Ishii deserved to be punished for his crimes against these people, he didn’t deserve to live out his life as a free man and die in his home. Dr. Shiro and his troops were just set free and allowed to live out their lives as if they didn’t do anything wrong. They did countless, numerous, gruesome things to these people. They cut them open and removed organs or sewed them together while they were awake. They would cut off the prisoners’ limbs and sew them back on the opposite side. After all Dr. Shiro’s and his troops’ wrong doings they basically just got a slap on the wrist and were free to go.

I am ashamed of our government that they would keep this a secret and protect these people. They will do whatever it takes to have an upper hand in the world. They did what they felt they had to do to get all this information from these troops. It is so messed up the things our government thinks is “ok” to do. The people that were murdered and tortured to death deserve justice for what happened to them. Because Japan had done this “research” and gained this information they were off the hook, but Germany was punished for their crimes. Japan was just ruthless and didn’t care what they were doing to these people; they just saw them as experiments.

Thousands of people were killed by 731 for these “experiments”. Those involved in any part with those killings deserve to be punished and not be free. They did tortuous things to people and should not have just been free to go live out their lives.

World War 1 Blog

Austria has declared war on Serbia! We now must start to prepare for war ourselves. Over 23 million of the people that live in our great country are German American and Irish, some of us may start to feel involved in this situation personally. All we may want is peace, but countries could turn against us and involve us in this war. We need to prepare ourselves for war if we are put into a situation where we do not have much choice. Our allies could need help from us or choose to do what they believe is best for their national interest; this could come back and affect us. Archduke was assassinated be Gavrilo Princip. Gavrilo was part of a terrorist group called “Black Hand”. We must stand united and help our fellow countries out in this war. They me need us now more than ever. We can provide them with the supplies they need, and trade may have an impact on our part in the war. We should do all that we possibly can and help out in any way. One way or another we will get dragged into this war and we need to be ready for when that time comes. Our country should prepare itself for the worst possible outcome that could happen or how we will be affected by what’s happening. So stand up and let’s prepare America for war, this great country will strive and be successful. Are you with me, let’s be ready for war.

Muckraker Blog

I read an article about planned parenthood (abortion) and how people feel about it. Some people believe Planned Parenthood makes a profit from selling baby parts. A man of the name Robert L. Dear recently killed three people in a Colorado Planned Parenthood and injured nine. Ted Cruz believes all convicted murders, including abortionists, should be executed. This article discusses Dear's actions, the reasoning behind it, and what people are thinking about it. Many blame Dear's motive was he is very much against Planned Parenthood. Many blame Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and endless investigations into planned parenthood.

Link to the article: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/12/republicans_lie_about_planned_parenthood_incite_violence.html

Link to a picture: http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/12/151201_JURIS_Planned-Parenthood.jpg.CROP.promo-xlarge2.jpg

Veterans Blog

What are your thoughts on murder charges during a war?

I think that the way we handle determining if a servicemen did the right thing is not ok. Since the Rules of Engagement are always changing it is not fair to the servicemen. The send them into a firefight where they either live or die, and if you live you a questioned and treated as if you did something wrong even though you were sent in to do it. You must tell a military lawyer what you did on your firefight and if one thing breaks the Rules of Engagement you are found guilty. Our soldiers are terrified and always worried about doing something against the ROE with the constant changes added to them.

Do you think citizenship is a duty or a privilege?

In a way I feel citizenship is both a duty and a privilege. It is a privilege because you are granted with rights and freedoms only because there are people across seas fighting for it. But you do have to work for your citizenship as well. You also have a duty as a citizen; if you want our veterans to be treated with the respect they deserve you need to stand up and do something about it. It takes effort and dedication to make something like this happen, it might be difficult and uncomfortable for some people to do. As a citizen you should do your part and if you want something done, don’t wait for it to happen do it yourself.