war – Into the West

To Not Blame Those Sent for Being Sent

Two score and four years ago, my uncle returned from the Vietnam War to being ‘cursed, ridiculed’ and possibly assaulted because we blamed the soldiers for our government’s execution of foreign policy. And I do mean ‘our’ government, since, for better or worse, our government is of, by and for the people. We did this. There is no one else we can blame.

In the intervening decades until his retirement in 1998, he returned from other wars to a very different homecoming. For that, I’m eternally grateful. By the time he returned from both Gulf Wars, I was no longer in the second grade where I was oblivious and sheltered from world events, but during a time when I had children of my own in grade school whom I wanted safe and sound.

For his service and sacrifice, he has my gratitude. As do all his contemporary veterans.

War is an unpleasant business. Some wars are necessary; some are not. Regardless, it is terrible to send our sons and daughters to kill or be killed. But, until we learn not to practice war anymore, I’m happy that America has learned not to blame those sent for being sent.

— Col. Ronald Andrea, USAF, Retired

In Honor of the Fallen on the Anniversary of D-Day

Please take a few minutes and watch this amazing documentary about war and peace.

[vimeo 128373915 w=640 h=360]

The Fallen of World War II from Neil Halloran on Vimeo.

You will find hope if you reach the end credits. I guarantee it.

How The Sinking Of The Lusitania Heralded An Entirely New Kind Of War

http://io9.com/how-the-sinking-of-the-lusitania-heralded-an-entirely-n-1702800197

A less gentlemanly kind of war. Interesting short history on this 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Big Read Book Discussion Wed 14 Jan 2015 6:30 pm

The second Big Read book discussion of The Things They Carried by O’Brien starts tomorrow evening, 6:30 p.m., at the Lansing Community Library, 730 1st Terrace, Suite 1, Lansing, Kansas.

Questions to think about:

In the list of all the things the soldiers carried, what item was most surprising?
Which item did you find most evocative of the war?
Which items stay with you?

Leading the discussion: Sister Rosemary Kolich, English Professor, St. Mary University.

A 1980 Saint Mary College grad, Sr. Kolich never dreamed as a student she would one day be teaching at her alma mater.

“I had excellent teachers as a student at Saint Mary. They truly engaged us. What was so transparent was their love of teaching and their commitment to us as both students and individuals. I hope I model the same for my students.”

∞∞∞

I plan on attending the discussion tomorrow evening and I hope to see you there.

Big Read Discussion #1 ~ Opening Remarks by Professor Prasch

I attended the first book discussion (a second one is scheduled in January) on the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien this past Wednesday night. Please see my previous post about the kick off of the Big Read earlier this month. As is my wont when I attend discussions like this, I record the proceedings so I can concentrate on the lecture and discussion fully. I used to scribble notes constantly, but besides giving me a cramp, it also prevented me from participating and enjoying the experience. I contacted both Terri and Professor Prasch to gain their permission to include the recording and my transcription of the first third of the evening.

A bit about the transcription process: Earlier in my life (say a couple of decades ago), I spent years as a legal secretary. Because I typed so fast, I inherited the most prolific attorneys in whatever office I happened to be employed at. I got to a point where I could literally type faster than most people could talk and I actually increased the speed of my transcription equipment to save time. Those days are long gone, but I still maintain a modicum of my once magical ability to race through a tape. This transcription is mostly verbatim, but I have taken the liberty to clean up some of the structure of the professor’s remarks. Professors and attorneys are very articulate when they speak, so please rest assured I only glossed over the occasional ‘um’ or ‘you know’ or ‘right? ‘ and other such phrases that all of us fall into when we are thinking and talking extemporaneously. For completeness sake, I will include the original audio files if you prefer to listen rather than peruse the transcribed content.

Continue reading “Big Read Discussion #1 ~ Opening Remarks by Professor Prasch”