How would you describe war today? Choose one aspect of war in our society, and then write a vivid and concrete description of that aspect. This description must come from your individual and unique perspective, and it must include both examples and explanations.
Here are some ideas to help you begin thinking, but I encourage you to choose an aspect of your own (not necessary related to these questions):
- How does the news media today portray war? How does this portrayal influence our society and our society's reactions to war? How does it influence your opinions about war?
- How does war today influence soldiers and/or their families and friends.
- How do TV shows and movies today portray war? How does this portrayal influence your perspective of war?
- How do politicians today shape your views of war?
Discuss your ideas in relation to your classmates' posts, but DO NOT repeat your classmates' ideas.
All responses are due by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 20th.
I personally would describe war today as something completely different then it used to be. In the past war would happen in much bigger and harmful matters then today, for example WW1 and WW2 were two major wars that took place and had serious destruction consequences. Thank God now a days there is still war, but not anything like that. War is something that will never leave the world because it involves fighting and everyone fights. When reading my literature circle book the war in that time also took things to an extreme, attacks on innocent cities during the daytime and death of innocent people around.The closest thing we have had to that would have to be the terroist attack on the twin towers. That event was a sad day for people all over the world, buildings were burned lives were taken and the memories of the people who witnessed it will never leave. War is violent and will follow with much years to follow.
ReplyDeleteMy personal thought towards war today is that war is destructive. Demolished buildings, burned trees, and dead people always follow as a result of war. That is how people in society view war. Our military technologies and stratigies are more powerful and stronger than ever, and even a small engagement in firearm can result in massive killing and destruction. Albert Einstein once said, "I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." This quote conveys that with the current military power, another war can destroy the whole world, and people will go back to when civilization did not exist.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion this war is not taken as serious as it really should be. My neighbor is a veteran from Iraq and he is a very nice guy but is tormented by what he saw. Veterans are not given as much praise as they deserve. We as normal citizens cannot really wrap our minds around the horrors that occur over seas. These men see it first hand, some only 18 years of age. They see death, starvation, and tyranny first hand. All of this can literally drive a person to insanity. In my opinion once a person sees those tragedies, they cannot really go back to the person they used to be before war. My neighbor has pictures and tells stories of what happens over there, and they arent like stories that you hear on the news. They are images that even told, can tap into a bad part of your brain.Veterans should be valued and given the upmost respect.
ReplyDeleteI believe that war today is a hard concept to understand. The fact that the people that God created to love and care for eachother, are fighting to the death, is strange to me. I think that having our men go over to other countries to fight can be tormenting for them, and heartbreaking for their families and friends. It is very sad to see that young men and women are fighting and giving up their lives for this war. Many people see war as good thing, in that it helps people and solves worldy issues. But in reality, it causes more death, sorrow, and devastation in the end and the conflicts are never fully resolved anyway. War just keeps going on and on for as long as any of us can remember. My opinion on war is not a positive one at all. I do not think war is necessary, isn't it possible to resolve problems in a different, more peaceful way?
ReplyDeleteI think that war is not properly portrayed in our society today. Our country is currently involved in a war, but I feel that allot of people do not really understand what exactly is going on in the war. I know that I wish I had a better understanding of what our troops are facing. I feel that the news only covers a few main events of the war, but they don’t keep citizens updated in the war. I’m sure some of the information is confidential. However I feel that it affects the citizen as well as the soldiers and we have a right to know this information. Not to mention the citizens should be educated in the war to vote for the right politicians that will help the situation.
ReplyDeleteAfter studying different documents for the previous wars, I feel that previous citizens were more educated in the field of war. The government used to hang posters that were educational about the war, because they talk about what the soldiers needed (like the shipping yard poster). Also the newspapers had plenty of headlines about the war. However in our newspapers today we occasionally get one headline about soldiers.
War is very close in my mind. North Korea is attacking South Korea where my family and friends live.This makes everybody go crazy and worry. When I was in korea during winter break, it was very serious and close to war. War turns innocent people to victims. I could feel this very intensly during winter break. War programs were the topic of everytning; the radio, television,internet, and newspapers. War was the topic of every social gathering. I am scared. I am frightened for my family.
ReplyDeleteI have a boyfriend in Korea He is in the United States army.It scares me. He was supposed to leave in February and now that there is a war brewing, he must stay in Korea.Sometimes it is all that I can think of. Sometimes, I wish that I had notreturned to Korea. Being far away, I did not realize how serious it was. Now I am just plain scared. My family is there and I am here.
I believe people in our society are trying to neglect war and put it aside. This is a wrong action because war should be treated as one of the number one "hot topics" in America. Throughout history, wars have come and go and as each war ends it is being faded into nothing. I believe electronics and celebrity drama are on a higher level then the war which is an insult to veterans, elders, and ecspecially soldiers.
ReplyDeleteI believe war strike a huge impact on families living in the United States. Many soliders leave behind their wives or husbands, childen, and families which all treat each day as their last with the soldier. Also, it gives soldiers a sense of fear knowing they may not be living to support their loved ones behind. I can not imagine what the soldiers feel like and if i ask them what they think of war many different opinions will appear. Eventhough war may be a downfall, it is a building blocked which unites our country as one and hopefully will come out with a successful feat.
War seems like nothing – like it’s just a normal state of being or normal thing that happens. Thanks to television, movies, the media, internet, and video games. I personally think that video games are among the best portrayers of war itself. It may not necessarily portray it in the correct way, but there have been war-related video games since video games were invented. The more and more advanced our technology has become over the years, the more vivid and gruesome the video games have become. Video games have been slowly numbing people of all ages to the affects of war and even inspiring some to actually go to war or at least enlist. Then if or when those people finally get into battle, they find out real quick that it’s not anything like the video games (you can’t come back to life at your last checkpoint if you were shot). The pain is real, the emotions are real, the mental, physical, and emotion scarring is real. The video games don’t allow one to feel those things nor does it even mention those things. War has become a fun game that, if won, is glorious. They make seem okay to shoot and kill people or blow them apart with explosives or torture them or whatever the case may be. This is wrong because war is obviously never a good, fun, or glorious thing no matter what one’s point of view is especially since people these days are so quick to judge others but that’s another point in itself.
ReplyDeleteMy view of War is that it is very life changing. Especially if you are/were involved with it at some point of your life. For instince my Grandfather was born into WWII in Poland. from Poland his family and he were sent to Refugee Camps in Russia because his uncles chose to serve in the War so they would get better treatment however things quickly changed. they were ordered to move to Siberia where they were sent to die. Luckily enough my grandfathers mother found him and took him and his sister onto a Plane to Africa where there were more Refugee Camps. My grandfathers mother died after that day due to what he believes was Pneumonia, her finally words were "I have found my children, now I may go in peace." toward the end of the war my grandfather went to England where he had met my Grandmother and took a ship to Canada where they settled before moving to the US. That kind of expirence is rather traumtizing on a young teenager and he has to deal with that for the rest of his life. I had heard of his experience only a year ago, I was stunned to hear this remarkable story.
ReplyDeleteThe Modern-day warfare much the same however we have the media to show us the horrors of war and of its destruction. The Benefit of having the media is to give us a daily update of what is happening on the other side of the war. this can give us more time to react to this situation that may prove threatening to our country.
In my opinion, war is misrepresented in the media, in movies especially. Whenever you watch a war movie, you are expecting to see a lot of gore, and for the most that is exactly what you get. A few movies like that that pop into my head are Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan. Both of these movies are gore filled and, to be honest, somewhat disturbing at times. It is very rare to come across a war movie that is not of this gruesome nature, but I suppose that is how war truly is. Personally, due to these movies related to war, my perspective of war is a gruesome horrible one with absolutely no positive aspects. From what I have learned, I now know what I thought is partially wrong but also partially correct. Some aspects of war are truly horrible, but there are also some aspects that do create positive outcomes. I just wish that more movies would be made that portray the positive aspects of war.
ReplyDeleteIn today’s society war is one of the most common things on television and in movies. These television shows and movie sometimes portray war to be something it is not. They portray war to be this great heroic thing where it is exciting and most people don’t get hurt. There is always a handful of guys who seem like they cannot be harmed or killed. This is not true at all, we all know that war is very dangerous and is not a game. Unfortunately television and movies make war out to be a game and them under play the seriousness of the war. This influences my perspective of war because I have seen all the war movies and shows but have not experienced real war ergo I do not know what real war is like first hand. I believe Hollywood’s image of war is very misleading and doesn't depict the real image of war in today’s society
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, as time has progressed, war has as well. War has raged among the human race for centuries. In the past war was fought for great causes and purposes. Nowadays it almost seems as though the only reason we fight is "because I want that" or, they are a threat. I wish we could settle things peacefully but it seems that that is out of the question. War has progressed throughout the years. Not only have fighting styles been developed, like guerrilla warfare from the Revolutionary War, but weapons and means of fighting have also changed and be 'advanced.' Weapons today are deadlier, more accurate, and more devastating than those of previous years. We have missile launchers that can intercept a high speed jet, machine guns capable of firing at 1 million rounds per minute, tanks and all terrain vehicles that allow us to strike anywhere on the map. And of course, the be all end all that can wipe out an entire city with the press of a button, the nuclear warhead/atom bomb. These new and 'better' weapons make war a game for political bodies. It's like giving toys to a spoiled child. If we can't get rid of the world's excessive amount of destructive weapons, we will never be able to end the ruin that is war.
ReplyDeleteI would consider war in today’s society much worse than previous wars. My reason for this is because in today’s modern war there are much more ways to attack your enemy, basically people have grown more intelligent and the attacks have gotten worse. Another thing that makes war worse is that every time you turn on the news you see something about another soldier being killed or severely injured. This is a bad thing because that affects the homes of families even more than before because in previous war there were updates but not as many as today, with all the updates to more and more families over here on the U.S are worrying even more.
ReplyDeleteI know this because I have a very good friend whose brother is overseas defending his country and was injured by a bomb or (mine) that they couldn’t even detect. That proves that the attack of war has advanced. Also, after getting better he went back to combat about a month later and every time my friend and his family, even myself heard something on the news happening to a soldier you just think the worse.
I think war has changed a lot since the first wars were fought hundreds of years ago. All the new technology that the military has now compared to what it used to be is very different. A war can be fought thousands of miles away from the enemy with the push of a button that might send a huge bomb to unsuspecting victims. Back in the day a war was fought on a battle field with men shooting at eachother a few hundred feet away from eachother. I think if wars were still fought this way they would be a lot quicker because the people might see how terrible it really is. Also, the weapons used today are way more destructive than in the past. The advancement in weapontry can blow a city off the map in a matter of seconds.
ReplyDeleteAlong with war being more destructive, war is now a common thing. It seems like there are troops in just about every country. It talked about on the news all the time. Our government is always trying to decide whether to bring troops home or not. I just think that war is a serious thing and the government takes advantage of the troops and power he have in this country.
In today's society the media, specifically television and movies have shown war to be insignificant. The generation below us is growing up in a world where war is an afterthougt of society. It is just another thing to them. In the world of television there is no real danger,no real violence, and the people who are viewing these programs don't see these facts. War is portrayed as a heroic act, one that takes bravery, courage, and determination. Fortunatley there are a few people out there who know what waris truly like, the veterans. Ask anyone of them and they will tell you, war is a horrible thing. It tears people apart and we need to ge the message out that war is not the same on tv as in real life. War is dangeous.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinon, war today is very corrupt. It has not always been this way, I think it took many years to spiral into the mess it is today. Politicians are very quick to say that they are sending the troops into battle, even for a lost cause. I honestly think that they wouldnt choose to fight themselves if they were put in the situation. For example, the war in Iraq. The US really has no buisness going over there and invading. Honestly, the hostile threat has died down and its time to call it quits. At this point all it is doing is causing unnecesary tension.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion of war is that we take it for granted and we should appreciate all the veterans for their service and protection. Must people view it as nothing and no a big deal but they do not realize there are men and women sacraficing their lives for their country. We need war to protect us for the bad guys but we should think of it as nothing is really happening. My family has a couple of people in the war right now and it affects both parties of it. My family here in America are very worried and hope we will see them again. When my cousins over there are not allowed to tell people what they are doing but we all know they want to be home. Also we see some soldiers come back to America with nothing and some have problems after seeing what they did. Politicians all have mixed feeling about the war but I think they think we should get out soon because we are sacrafing lives for people who do not care if they die. And its not right to lose americans lives like that.
ReplyDeleteTo me personally, war is just part of our daily lives right now. In the media, war is one of the most recognized theme in television, video games, books, movies, etc. Young kids are being exposed to this gruesome experience that some have survived, but alot have not. Especially in video games, with the technology that is being developed today, young kids who play these shooter/war games are seeing exaggerated experience of real war. I agree with Steve K with what he said in his blog about if you die in a video game, you respawn at the last checkpoint, and so on. But in real life, you only have one life and once you die, thats it. I believe this is the wrong message that video game producers are showing young kids today because it seems "cool" to go in start shooting every terorists, die, then respawn. Unfortuantely, that is not the real case in real life. I think that producers should really think about what they put in their games about war because they could send young kids who play the game the wrong message about war, that it is cool.
ReplyDeleteI also think that war is a very tragic and life changing experience. My grandpop was in WWII, stationed in Alaska. He has told me all the experience and encounters he went through and he says that it is totally different from war today. Back then there was no nuclear warfare and advanced weapons. He tells me that some experience still haunt him to this day. I believe that war can change your life forever. Whether you are training in the Army to get discipline, or actually going overseas and fighitng in the Middle East, some experience will affect you forever. One last thought I have is that the media (the news) really provides in depth detail what is going on overseas today. But sometimes the news gets a little out of hand with some stories, regarding how soldiers are wounder or killed. I wish that they could keep it private in some situations, especially for the family.
In today’s society war has several different influences on the soldiers and their family members. Some families find that when their loved one is drafted or goes into the war they’re doing a heroic deed for their country and their fellow Americans. They think it’s a great honor to be able to say that their brother, sister, mother, father, and so forth are enrolled in the army. Some soldiers were influenced at a very young age that entering the war was their destiny, and they would stress that fact down to their families. War can also influence the soldiers in a bad way. If a soldier returns home due to injury he can suffer many issues, mentally and physically. Those issues can cause depression and more, I don’t think that’s a good influence. War today is extremely violent and much more different than war a long time ago. War affects the soldiers and their loved ones in positive and negative ways, but no matter the influence they always find a way to get through it.
ReplyDeleteI would describe war today as completely unnecessary, and childish. Parents all over the world constantly tell their children that violence is never the answer and that issues with their piers can be sorted out by a better means such as talking or finding a compromise. How do we expect the children of the world to be civil with one another when it is not even possible for some of the most important people in the world to be civil with one another?
ReplyDeleteMy mother works in Norristown Area School District and she has been talking about this big anti-bullying movement going around to all public schools. I think it’s great, kids need to know that it is not right to bully someone because of their size or wealth or social status. Now if we could only get them to show up at the white house. In many ways that is all the U.S. and some other countries are, just big bullies.
War has changed so much since World War I and World War II. Back then they had some firepower. They had alright guns and they had some bombs. Those bombs did kill large amounts of people but they are nowhere near as powerful as the weapons we have today. There was the atom bomb that we dropped on Hiroshima which pretty much wiped out the hole city. Now we have the technology to build bombs so much more powerful than the atom bombs from back then. We have optics that snipers can guide missiles onto targets. We have unmanned aerial vehicles roaming the air. WE can see other people but they cannot see us. There are snipers all over the countries. They know the best skills to not be seen. They have some of the best weaponry in world to take out high-value targets from close to two miles away. We have great soldiers but it all depends on their skills. The enemies we face are no different than the enemies we faced in previous wars. They do all these weird booby-traps. Those terrible booby-traps are killing our soldiers and we cannot stop them. We have technology to detect them but you can put an IED anywhere. Wars are so common now. We are getting into them too easily and they are going on for too long.
ReplyDeleteWar today has several similarites and differences with war from the past. Some of the similiarities are that it is always going to be dangerous to everyone who is around it. Even if they are not involved they can get hurt just as bad or worse then anyone else that is fighting in the war. A difference is that war today could end up more deadly then the past because of all the new technology that is being included into the the gun and bombs. Both today's war and the past changed many of peoples lives that were both included in it and not included in it. War today is still very serious and could keep continuing to get worse and worse
ReplyDeleteWar is normally portrayed as a bad thing. In our society today most people are worried about our country's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. People are concerned with getting their loved ones home. In this I see that war is not portrayed as a good thing to keep doing. War is also portrayed as a legendary place where heroes exist. I see this in video games, movies, and television shows that involve war. Normally in these things there is some sort of hero that leads his "good" side to victory over the "bad" side. War is very prevalent in video games today because the action in war is an exciting thing to have in a video game. While you play you can become the hero and defeat whatever evil you face, because in a video game you cannot be killed. Despite this I still believe that war in the media and the world around us is portrayed as a bad thing, and that there is a consensus that it should be avoided, because every people at some point has felt the scourge of war and they know that it is a devastating thing.
ReplyDeleteIn my eyes, I see war as a threat to our future. Im afraid what could happen if America tries to take on another war when we are barely out of our last one. If we find ourselves in a new war with North Korea, I can bet you the government will re-establish the draft and thats not good news for us.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that todays governments are just in a power struggle and thats why they go to war, to show that they are superior. Thats what I think they are doing in North Korea with the nuclear weapons. They dont need to use them to be a threat, they just need to give everyone else the idea that they are ready to use them. At this point, I think that the United Nations need to step in and solve everything or else more fighting will break out and more and more lives will be lost in the power struggle
well war today is incresingly different because of the use of technology now wa=e can observe anything going on in a country that were at war with a predator guided aircraft, which can safely look at things that range from 50 miles away from the target distance while the soldiers are away from the danger (airfroce technology). People see war as a bad thing but i think it is a very good thing because if we go and wage war in another country then that forces the people that were fighting to stay confined to the space that their given, rather then have them come over to us and have terroists killing and waging war on our soil. So war is a good thing because without it people of america would live in fear of israly terrorists coming to america or possibly plannin an attack
ReplyDeleteWar today is almost over looked by people because they don't want to think about what actually is happen in foreign countries. Movies and video games show war as a 'game' or something that isn't taken serious. The technological advances has made war even worse. Back in older wars the firearms were still deadly but the chances of being shot were almost nothing to being shot now. Bombs back then could take out buldings ad parts of a hillside or something of that caliber, but now they can take out entire countries in a push of a button. Soldiers that go and fight in war are fighting for their life every second they are over andtheir families stress over whether they are alive or dead every single day. War has tore families apart but it also has brought familiescloser because you really dont know what you have until its gone.
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