In Conclusion

Throughout this semester readings, discussions and films, I have learned to criticize war and the motivations behind America's involvement in wars. My research paper this semester criticized the United States view of itself as the international hero. The United States refused to open it's border to Jewish refuges from Europe during WWII yet we claim to be their heroes. Again during the Vietnam War, we claimed to want to save the country from Communist evil but killed thousands of innocent civilians in the process. Death happens in war, its unavoidable, but to represent ourselves as something we are not is unacceptable. As war develops and becomes less about nation versus nation and instead nation versus ideology group, the war story will continue to change. The current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have the least amount of civilian deaths. Yet they still occur, in our attempts to save Arab women from Arab men. It is important to understand that the same criticism of Vietnam should be applied to our current wars. Do our reasons for war outweigh the sacrifice of life and purpose? Today, we have more information than ever to get a clear picture of what really goes on in our war zones. Now, we can really take a stand and have a voice in where we send our troops. Overall our class continues to teach me not only to challenge our past but our present.