Open Blog #3

On Friday, Mr. McDonald talked about his experiences in Vietnam. I knew he was a Vietnam veteran, but I never asked him about the war and what his experiences were. I believe that the best way to learn about the war and the conditions of the war is to learn it from a veteran and not a book. McDonald talked about how he joined the war, so he could have more of a choice on what he was going to do. I am reading The Things They Carried, and I was interested to hear what he carried that was sediment to him. He talked about how mail was super important and that was what he carried with him. I cannot even imagine how much mail was to each soldier because that was basically the only connect to home. He also brought up an interesting point about safety. He said that nobody ever felt safe or even relaxed in a way. Even if you were in a very protected area or during a holiday, you still were never truly safe. Another interesting point was how he was treated when he came back home. I found out that people were brutal to him. I do not understand why they would do that because most soldiers did not have a choice to go to war or not. Every soldier should get a lot of respect because they are risking their lives to protect the people at home.  

Studs Terkel #8

This Terkel reading stood out by showing the negative side of being an American. Mike Lefevre was a steelworker who hated his job. Lefevre enjoyed manual labor. He used the example of building a house to explain why he liked manual labor; he said that the build would see what they have created and take pride in the process of seeing the house develop. In his job in the steel industry, where the products are mass-produced, "you don't see where nothing goes" (319). As a result he did not get any satisfaction out of his job. This relates to the working class during WWII because the workers were as motivated as they've ever been in American history because everyone was proud of the fact how powerful America was and how productive each company was. Lefevre also showed how powerless he felt. The lack of freedom for factory workers who were forced to work such long hours made him feel like he had no control over his life. He had to work a job that made him miserable in order to support a family. Maybe lowering the hours would actually create a more effective working environment.

Roberto Acuna faced great struggles. He was a farmer whose father passed away which left his mother with him and his brothers to make a living through hard work, endless hours, and nothing to show for it. His mother had a difficult time at her other job at the restaurant and was disrespected. Acuna and his brothers had to work early before school, run to school in dirty clothes, and run home for more work. The lack of sleep, clean clothes, or time to do homework caused them to be a target of bullying from their white peers. Acuna struggled to be accepted most of all, and unlike Lefevre, did not complain about the amount of work or money, but the normal life that was taken away from him. He noticed, "Everything was so wrong" (342). He explained that there was water for irrigation but no running water in the farmers' homes; there was heating for livestock but not for workers' homes. Society wanted the best conditions for the crops and the products that were being produced but did not care about the farmers’ life and living conditions. While Acuna was willing to do hard work, he was not willing to be treated like he was not a person because of his race or job. He joined a union because he thought it would lead to people liking him and respecting him more, and they became worth much more than they had to show for in their quality of life. Both of these stories could be connected to the labor unions that fought for less hours and better conditions.

Studs Terkel #7

In Studs Terkel, we see that after World War II the United States was improving in many different ways, but the people’s outlook on things were different from person to person. Kid Pharaoh, who is a con artist, did not have faith in how the country was going. He did not believe what the government told him, and he believed that the government played tricks on him. Kid Pharaoh had a lot of interesting views on the country and religion. Due to the fact that he grew up during the Depression he believed the strongest people cheat their way to the top. He showed this in his view of religion. He talks about how Jesus was a big scam and he got a dozen people to believe in him and it continued on and on. He did not believe Jesus was the son of God but as a scam artist. He grew up in a terrible time, and that is why he felt like he can live in any type of world. He felt that he could adapt to any situation better than others because in any type of world he can scam his way to the top. Kid Pharaoh showed a very interesting perspective of the country. We see that Kid Pharaoh still views the world in an extremely negative way because of how he grew up in such a terrible time. Kid Pharaoh shows that his viewpoints had a tough time changing as America started to prosper. Kid Pharaoh will always think of the world in such a negative way because he saw America in it's darkest of times. His story connects to many others living in tough times. People that grew up during a time of war have a different and possibly a more negative outlook on life and America. People that lived during the positive times in America have a higher chance of having a more positive outlook on America. I have a positive outlook on T.V. because I have always grown up with it, while my parents do not like T.V. because they grew up not liking it.

Tom Kearney was a policeman. Tom provides many different viewpoints of how we should treat people and also describes what he saw as a policeman. One of the most interesting opinions he had was the about his view on the ever-changing opinions and progression in America of the African-Americans. Tom Kearney saw the changes to America and decided not to fight it. He saw that African-Americans were not going to be taken advantage of or give up anymore.  The Jim Crow laws were still around after World War II despite the fact that African-Americans joined the war effort and played a significant role in World War II. Tom Kearney also was a cop from a catholic school growing up, and showed a lot of respect to his elders. The African American change he saw as a necessary an inevitable change for America and wanted everyone in America to accept the fact that times are changing and Africa Americans are going to have to be respected. Tom Kearney was a lot more open to the change than Kid Pharaoh. Due to the fact that Kid Pharaoh had a tougher childhood than Kearney, he could not view America any different from the views he had as a child. One’s childhood has a great impact on how you see things, and how well you are able to cope with things. Pharaoh had a different childhood than Kearney and could be large reason why their opinions on life are so different. 

5/4 Open Response

  This week, May fourth, we learn a bit about the aftermath of World War II.  During the World War II unit, I always thought of the Soviets as friends with Americans.  At one time we were allies and fought together against Germany, but the Soviet Union were really brutal people. For example, Stalin's unbelievable stubbornness at the battle of Stalingrad showed his absurdity and brutality towards his own people. The Soviets did not allow people to move from their sector and instilled harsh communism on the inhabitants.  The stories of how they treated the Germans after the war in Berlin make the Soviets seem like a horrible group of people. It's ironic to me that Americans and Soviets fought together to defeat the Nazis, but really the Soviets were nasty people also. The Soviet Union did anything they could to spread communism and teach how great it was. The government promised they would supply food and shelter and would ensure a great life.  What they didn't realize is that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was a horrible place to be, with the inability to leave for decades.

Studs Terkel #6

Peter Ota was an American-Japanese citizen who lived on the west coast in California during WWII. Being a Japanese American was very difficult during this time. Many Americans were furious with the Japanese for attacking Pearl Harbor and this hatred spread into the government. The President ordered people of Japanese descent to be moved to camps, which were little more than prisons. Peter explained his background and described how difficult it was. His father was on a business trip when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, when he was returning home he was met by FBI agents and was taken to jail. Soon after his mother got Tuberculosis and was never moved to any camps because she was in such bad shape, she eventually died of it. A few months later he was taken to the first stop a racetrack with his sister and, when they were going to the actual camp they met up with their father. He described how there wasn’t much say in what they had to do; everyone obeyed their orders and did what they had to do.  He said that many American-Japanese believed in having no reaction and no fighting because they were raised to be respectful.  The Japanese families who were forced to move were torn apart and lost everything. “A man who had worked so hard for what he had and lost it overnight,” (206). They could only take what they could carry to the camps. They had to leave behind jobs, friends, and any family who could not move. This was one of the greatest breaches of personal rights in the history of the United States. Were the Japanese camps that best decision for the time? The events leading up to the Japanese being moved to the camps was similar to the events following September 11. The attack on 9/11 was similar to the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was unexpected and unprovoked. Americans reacted in a similar way as well. Many Americans began to hate Arabs as a result of 9/11, just as Americans hated the Japanese after Pearl Harbor. The difference was, after 9/11, the government had already used their knowledge from World War II that all people who looked Arabic where not going to commit terrorist attacks. It would have been illegal for the federal government to try to set up camps similar to those during World War II anyway; the Supreme Court ruled such acts unconstitutional after World War II.

Betty Bayse became a nurse after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Like all of America, she was inspired to do whatever possible to help the war effort. “Immediately, I was going to become a nurse,” (211). As an active duty nurse, she saw many wounded soldiers who had been hurt in the war. “I began to anesthetize myself,” (214). I think everyone knew that American soldiers would die in a war like World War II, but it must have been difficult to face the fact that young Americans would be killed and wounded. Dealing with wounded soldiers is still a problem today. The war changes people, and they have to live with the knowledge of what they saw for the rest of their lives. Many people fought in or did whatever they could to support the war effort during World War II because they hoped war would not happen again. There were only a few years of peace before the United States go involved in the Korean War. Then after that, there was the Vietnam War, and, this whole time, the cold war was at its height. It seems peace is not possible in this advanced society that we have today. It surprises me how often America has made rules and regulations to avoid war, but it always seems America is part of every war. How and why is this true? The United States seemed eager to start wars in the Middle East. I believe war will always exist. Conflicts caused by religion have been going on and are still going on to this day. Everywhere around the world have different opinions that will cause conflict that will lead to war. This is nothing to stop war even though countries can do all they can to limit it.