Will there ever be an ending?

After finishing The Forever War by Dexter Filkins I was left with the question in terms of current situations what forever means. Dexter spends ruffly 7 years traveling around Iraq and interviewing as many people as he could. Some of his time was spent before September 11th and the majority was spent there after September 11th. But even before the US invaded Iraq there was a war still going on between the different cultures and their customs as well as invading countries. The land has seen many violent years that it may never be able to recover from due to the fact that there seems to be always a new situation that they feel warrant war. What Filkins warns Americans through this book is the fact that not all of the native people in Iraq are intending harm for Americans. Although he does not come out and say it directly he lets the reader discover on their own that in this situation like in most any war there are completely innocent civilians that are used and murdered. He does point out that our soldiers are in fact soliders train to kill and to use they are protecting our country but to these innocent civilians they may stand as a threat. One of the main facts that opened my eyes to the Iraq war was the fact that in any problem there are always multiple viewpoints and what we as Americans see protection from terrorist others may see the potential for death, murder, destruction, disrespect and above all a threat to their home and culture. There is nothing more frightening that the thought of losing everything you have spent your entire life working for and living through. The Forever War uncovers the truth about Iraq in a way that just tells the facts and allows the reader to discover the truth for themselves.

Serving in Florida by Barbara Ehrenreich

While reading this section Serving in Florida out of Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich I found that a lot of the the stories she had to tell of her experiences working as a waitress was very similar to my experiences. When she talks about how on a slow day even if there seems like there is nothing to do you better make it seem like your working and not just standing there. Many times working for The Greenery in Rockport, MA I was constantly talked to about looking busy by others who worked with me. Telling me in warning that if the manager or owner saw you just standing there they would give you another task that was crazy or not part of the job description like dusting the light fixtures. Also the managers and owners don't really care what the waitstaff thinks would make the restaurant better all they care about is if you do exactly what they tell you. Also one of the biggest rules was the employees does not get any discounts on food and they are only able to have drinks from the soda fountain. But the ringer to that was how town employees such as police and ambulance EMTS get a 15% discount. Really shows how much they are about their own employees. One of the biggest parts of the job in any restaurant or catering company is the gossip. Gossip fly's around the work place faster than anything else. Over all working for a restaurant was one of the worst work experiences i have ever had.

The Danger

While reading The Forever War it can easily be seen that Dexter Filkins faced many moments wondering if he was going to survive and spent days in such danger that many American civilians will never find themselves in. In the world we live in today the media plays one of the biggest roles in reporting the news to the citizens of the country. Unfortunately this media is often changed or distorted to either make others look better or to put fear into peoples lives. What Filkins is doing with the Forever War is showing a side of Iraq that many have not seen and many thought never existed. When people think of Iraq they this of September 11th and the brainwashed people of alkida and a land that is a much dead as the people who live there. What Filkins bring to light is the fact that these Iraqis are people too who want the same things in live that most Americans dream of. A place to call home, a job they can support their family with, and the enjoyment of life without destruction. Through Dexter's reporting the reader is able to see the truths of Iraq and to also see the danger journalist have to put themselves in every day in order to report the truth. While traveling around Iraq he found himself in many tight situations where he could have died if not for many friends who helped protect him from insurgents who thought he worked for the CIA and had a hand in destroying Iraq. As the book goes on the stories continue to get worse and worse but Dexter is able to write in a straight forward way without any bias to the story. Letting the reader judge his experiences souly based on facts.

Portfolio

http://newexperiences27.weebly.com

Above is the link to my mid semester portfolio with my first two assignments and blogs.

Two Sides to Every Story

As to any story there are always two sides and most of the time when thought about many people dont realize the importance in understanding both stories. In Chapter 11 Pearland in The Forever War the author spends some time with the American soldiers in their attack on Falluja traveling through the city street by street trying to take the city by force. One of the most important issues that he brings up in this chapter is that although these american soldiers are fighting for our country its important to remember that they are also trained killers who dont ask many questions and obey every command that is given to them. Reading these stories about men who have families and lives they are waiting to get back to, look death in the face more times than one can count. In a war there are two sides like any story and one hundred percent of the time the side you are on views the opponents as evil and crazy people who deserve to die. In this war with Iraq and Afghanistan not only do most Americans feel that the Iraqis should die but that the whole country is defective and should be taken out. What Americans don't realizes is that these people feel the same way about us because we are going into their country killing their families. This is not a a reason as to why they are anywhere justified in attacking American Soldiers but its also not a reason as to why we are attacking them. When examining a war on certain levels the meaning and reasons can be lost when brought down to the very level where action is taken. these men are given a command and they execute that command to the best of their ability no matter what. Like in many instances in life there are always two sides to every story.