Response to Panel Discussion (From Vietnam to Iraq: Parallel Conflicts?)
Since I was not scheduled to work and I had a free day I decided to attend the Community Book Connection’s panel discussion comparing and contrasting the Vietnam War to the war in Iraq. I invited my younger brother Dan, an eighteen year old non-student, to come along with me because I believed it would be of interest to him and he may learn something.
I had to pick Dan up from Randallstown and then drive back down to the Essex campus. It figures: I was running late and I forgot a notebook. I made a pit-stop at a 7-11, snagged a notebook, and was back on the beltway. I hate being late for anything, especially any type of lecture event. The idea of interrupting with a creaking door, amplified footsteps, and stumbling over seated students makes me cringe. But fortunately, slightly (*cough*) increased pressure on the gas pedal and favoring road conditions made it possible for us to arrive promptly.
Dan and I seized a pair of seats within one of the middle rows and we sat patiently through the introductions with our pens and paper at the ready. I glanced around the room and was somewhat shocked at the turnout. I didn’t expect to see as many people as I did. I wondered, “Are these people here because it is a requirement for a history course? Are they just in it for the free food following the event? Maybe this really is something important…” I was shaken from my ponderings as the first speaker began. Notes seemed like a good idea. Yes, it was time to take notes.
For the remainder of the panel discussion, I had several instances of utter confusion while Dan nodded his head in agreement after each point made. To state the obvious, I am not a history buff, by any means. I must admit: I barely made it through my high school courses on American and world history. During each of the speakers’ speeches, I struggled to comprehend the summaries of background information leading up to the wars. I wrote down as much as I could at lightning speed, but after looking back at my notes, they look more like the squiggly lines of an EKG. Good job, Erin… Note to self: Take a course in shorthand.
It wasn’t until the end of the discussion when things began to come into focus and things began to make semi-sense to me. This whole time, I had the impression that this whole war in Iraq was because the United States was trying to get back at the Iraqis for the tragedy that took place in New York on September 11, 2001. To my surprise, 9/11 had scarcely anything to do with the causation of the war. It is mainly about power and creating régimes that are friendlier with the United States.
To be completely honest, I am still incredibly confused. It was a lot of new information to process and register in an hour. When it comes to what is true about our current war situation and what are merely myths? The media is not going to tell our county the way things really are while President Bush is going to sugar-coat everything to make it seem like he is a hero and can do no wrong. I don’t believe anyone will be able to fully understand what is going on.
I am, however, glad that I attended. I now see how The Things They Carried has to do with today’s war. Dan thanked me for inviting him and said he thoroughly enjoyed the discussion. It figures that this is coming from a kid who took AP European History in high school. I wish I had half as much of an interest in history and politics as he.
I had to pick Dan up from Randallstown and then drive back down to the Essex campus. It figures: I was running late and I forgot a notebook. I made a pit-stop at a 7-11, snagged a notebook, and was back on the beltway. I hate being late for anything, especially any type of lecture event. The idea of interrupting with a creaking door, amplified footsteps, and stumbling over seated students makes me cringe. But fortunately, slightly (*cough*) increased pressure on the gas pedal and favoring road conditions made it possible for us to arrive promptly.
Dan and I seized a pair of seats within one of the middle rows and we sat patiently through the introductions with our pens and paper at the ready. I glanced around the room and was somewhat shocked at the turnout. I didn’t expect to see as many people as I did. I wondered, “Are these people here because it is a requirement for a history course? Are they just in it for the free food following the event? Maybe this really is something important…” I was shaken from my ponderings as the first speaker began. Notes seemed like a good idea. Yes, it was time to take notes.
For the remainder of the panel discussion, I had several instances of utter confusion while Dan nodded his head in agreement after each point made. To state the obvious, I am not a history buff, by any means. I must admit: I barely made it through my high school courses on American and world history. During each of the speakers’ speeches, I struggled to comprehend the summaries of background information leading up to the wars. I wrote down as much as I could at lightning speed, but after looking back at my notes, they look more like the squiggly lines of an EKG. Good job, Erin… Note to self: Take a course in shorthand.
It wasn’t until the end of the discussion when things began to come into focus and things began to make semi-sense to me. This whole time, I had the impression that this whole war in Iraq was because the United States was trying to get back at the Iraqis for the tragedy that took place in New York on September 11, 2001. To my surprise, 9/11 had scarcely anything to do with the causation of the war. It is mainly about power and creating régimes that are friendlier with the United States.
To be completely honest, I am still incredibly confused. It was a lot of new information to process and register in an hour. When it comes to what is true about our current war situation and what are merely myths? The media is not going to tell our county the way things really are while President Bush is going to sugar-coat everything to make it seem like he is a hero and can do no wrong. I don’t believe anyone will be able to fully understand what is going on.
I am, however, glad that I attended. I now see how The Things They Carried has to do with today’s war. Dan thanked me for inviting him and said he thoroughly enjoyed the discussion. It figures that this is coming from a kid who took AP European History in high school. I wish I had half as much of an interest in history and politics as he.
posted by Erin at
2:28 PM
1 Comments:
Hey Erin,
I realy like the way you make your whole trip a part of your discussion of the event. The details that you include about yourself probably tell us more about you than you could have if you tried. This is a very nice blog.
As far as the event goes, I'm glad you thought you learned something. To me that makes the event successful. I'm also REALLY glad you made the connection betweeen the book TTTC and what's going on today. That shows that you're using your critical thinking skills -- the whole goal of a college education is to develop those (I'm not being glib there, either. That really is the goal, I think).
So, let's talk about it in class. I think we can have an interesting discussion about the relatedness of all these things. Cool.
CK
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Carr Kizzier, at 1:29 PM
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