Our growing violence

In the past 50 years the USA has fought in more wars than we did in our first 150 years of founding. We went from being an isolationist country that barely had a standing army, to a nation that prides itself on a nation that spends twice as much money per soldier than any other country. We stick our nose into everything, our reasoning: Spread democracy. What I think is the real reason is that we are becoming more and more nervous around other countries. We think that we are always under constant threat of attack and therefore we want to attack the problem before it attacks us. We have become so cocky with our military that we believe that whoever we attack, we will win. And I honestly believe this is a good thing, with out a little swagger we would succumb to pressure and would not be a powerful nation.

The lost stories behind pictures

When people look at this picture they think of America and how we fought in WW2. The bravery our soldiers have and how we claimed this land as America's. What people don't remember is losing 7000 men and how we had over 19000 wounded. People don't remember that this battle stretched on for 25 days after this. To American's this signifies America's dominance over Japan and the closing of the war. People look at photos and immediately hundreds of thoughts come to mind. There is no back story, just a thought of what might have been. If someone who never knew anything about hisory looked at a picture of Hitler being greeted by people, or holding a baby, they would think he was an inspirational leader. What they don't know is that he led one of the biggest genocides of all time. Our minds think faster than we can process so when we are shown photos, wild back stories come to our mind. I know when I first saw this picture at Iwo Jima, I though it was a picture of America reclaiming the south in the civil war. Then I thought it was probably in Tennesse at the Smokies and in minutes I had wild back stories for every person in the photo. It was only later did I realize that this was taken an ocean away. That is why photo's are so interesting because people can think a thousand different stories happened from just one image.

Would I of really done it?

We look back on instances like slavery, womens rights, and the civil rights movement and we say, "Wow, I cant believe that people would ever discriminate like that." Then we tell ourselves that we would of done something about it if we were there....or would we? To live in times like the civil rights movement would of been crazy. But I don't really know if I would of done something. To participate in it would mean that I would be putting my future and my life in danger. I would have to accept the fact that I could be arrested and potentially put in the hospital for my actions. Everyone wants to think that they would have helped out in whatever way possible. But if you grew up learning that black people were less than you, would you of really tried to change something that went in your favor. I would like to believe that I would of.

Reconstructing the USA

Some people think that as soon as the civil war was over, the country was just fine, there was no fighting afterwards, and everyone was happy. What people dont realize is that there were many southerners who believed that the war was not over and the Lee had decieved them. They were very bitter because now, all of their workers were gone and they had to pay for labor now. With in months of the wars end there were already whispers of a second war. Almost 1/5 of the southern men were dead and the country was in mourining. What the government tried to do next overall did not word. By tripling taxes on already poor people they just further infuriated the people. Instead of putting out a fire, America just poured gasoline on it. Now 150 years later, there are still confederate flags being sold and only 50 years earlier african americans were given civil rights. I believe if America had not charged up the nose, then things would have been different. In my opinion if a stimulus package was given to each separate state, then things would of been much better. And if someone thinks there wouldn't of been enough money, we could of just borrowed from one of our foreign allies. This in my opinion, would of been much better than the taxation stratagey.

Dear Mr. Obama

Recently I have heard many people either raving or complaining about what Obama is doing. I feel if I could write to Obama and then get a response back, it would answer many cares and concerns about his presidency. If I were to write a letter it would go like this: Dear Mr. Obama,
I have been watching from the sidelines over the past months and I have decided that you are fit to be president. I was a McCain supporter through and through, but I think that having you as president will not be the worst thing. The reason I am writing to you though is to express a few words of advice to being a successful president. One of things you should do is to success are to building coalitions of allies before doing anything outside of our borders. Also, be careful before you close Guantanomo Bay because there are still a lot of people there who would wish extreme harm on to us. My final piece of advice is to work with congress on a bipartisan basis to establish an agenda that is the consensus of all and not only your party.
When the USA went into Afghanistan we had a very large coalition of countries backing us, many of them were sending troops to support our cause. This was one of the greatest things Bush did as a president. After starting the war in Afghanistan, his approval rating was above 80%. Almost all of America was behind him and better yet, most of the World was behind him. Then in 2003, Bush decided to invade Iraq with much less Coalition support and in turn, his approval ratings plummeted and his world view went straight down the toilet. Now with an approval rating of just over 30%, Bush is being called one of the worst presidents ever. Approval ratings aren’t the only thing that matters, but to have an approval from the rest of the world is very important. Our allies need to be able to trust us to let them know our plans and to have them give us their input.
My second piece of advice is the most important to our national security; this is to be careful about closing down Guantanomo Bay. The reason for opening this detainment clinic is to make sure terrorists do not have the chance to attack us. Though there have been many innocent people sent there, the lives saved by this prison out weigh any number of people sent there. Also there are still many dangerous people who are there such as the bombers of the USS Cole. These men would like nothing else than to cause mass death to the USA. This is why you must take caution before shutting this place down. For the past 7 years, it has been holding the scum of the world and now you are about to bring them back to the mainland? There needs to be a solid place for them to be held in order to do this so I pray that you do have a place in mind.
My final piece of advice is being said in order to keep our country united. You need to cross the party border and make a bipartisan cabinet. You can’t just be a lap dog for the Democratic Party. You need to think for yourself and pass a bill not because it is from Democrats, but because you like the bill and feel that it would better help the American cause. Also you need to meet with leaders from both parties in order to create an agenda for the years to come. By doing this you will create trust throughout all parties and in turn it will be a much more equal America. From Walt Lyon I feel that by writing this letter and getting a response, it would make me feel much more comfortable as a citizen. I know this does not have much relevance to what we are doing in class but I have been reading so much about what Obama has been doing and I just had to get out what I would say to Obama.

How far does free speech go?

Recently I was looking on CNN.com when i noticed a very peculiar article titled "Iran attacks Hollywood over movie 'insults' " This article was about how Iran has become increaseingly angry over movies that portray Iran as a terrible nation which runs on fear. In particular, Iran pointed out two films, "Not Without my Daughter" and recent blockbuster hit "300". I have personally never seen the first film, but from what I have heard it is about a woman who marries an Iranian man and after years of happy marriage they decide to travel to Iran to visit the husbands family. But while they are there, the woman is required to do all the Iranian laws like woman have to be covered at all time. It is then revealed that the husband planned the whole thing and as soon as they get there, he becomes increasingly violent. I will not ruin the ending but it portrays Iranians as sexists and mean. In 300 it shows the persian empire as a nation in fear that only does what their leader says because they think he is a God. The Iranians feel this is a false potrayal of Iranians and they feel it is insulting to them. I believe that it is free speech and that Hollywood has the right to portray people as they wish. There are so many other movies such as "W" or "Team America" that portray people in a way that they might feel is untrue. I believe that if Iran is going to portray Jewish people as pigs in public speeches. Then they should have to suffer themselves looking like evil people on screen.