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[Olesya Stryzhak]

Olesya Stryzhak
English 101
Prof O'Connell


If It Worth the Sacrifice

According to the New York Times/CDS News Poll, forty-eight percent of
Americans 18 to 29 years old said the United States did the right
thing in taking military action against Iraq, while forty five percent
said the United States should have stayed out. In her Blood rites,
Barbara Ehrenreich claims that war transforms young people to the
angry animals, such as the 'pray-to-predators', while many of those
young 'prays' support actions entering the war; almost the same
numbers appeared in other survey, where about fifty-two percent of
people under the age of 30 supported the war in Vietnam. Ehrenreich
examines philosophical and psychological aspects of the negative sides
that influence the young people that go to war, but she ignores the
needs of the country and its citizens. Who will protect and serve the
country and how? The strong and ambitious characters wont let the
country and its people down... But will the sacrifice of the young
lives and the tears of soldiers' mothers and wives worth it? As the
President Bush mentioned, in his address urges public to back his Iraq
policy, next: "Every picture is horrifying, and the suffering is real.
Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the
sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future
security of our country".

What is war and why this, such a tiny word stuck on everyone's tongs
for centuries? In his book, On War, Prussian military theoretician
Carl Von Clausewitz calls war the "continuation of political
intercourse, carried on with other means", the explanation sounds easy
enough, but for some of the people through out the world word 'War'
intersects with words, such as pain, lost, sleepless nights and
death.
While the 'young future' of the country makes everything possible to
protect and serve, the 'greatest brains of the government'
surprisingly quickly develop the phrases, that later will be quoted in
the leading newspapers, "F**k Saddam, we're taking him out." – claimed
President Bush to three U.S. Senators in March 2002, a full year
before the Iraq invasion. This is how it sounds, the thought process
of people, who seats in the huge bright, air-conditioned rooms,
wearing suites, that worth the middle-class-person's monthly paycheck,
and who has a power to sign documents that will send thousands of
hopeful and fearless young people to the battlefield, where 'blood
rites' is not the name of the book, but the whole rite of action.

For now, after the years past since the U.S. troops entered the Iraq,
the gallons of blood were poured on the alien land, not only the blood
of American citizens', but the blood of innocent Iraqi people,
politicians, who are still wearing enormous expensive suits, full of
regret saying that this war is a mistake, but not because no one has a
power to bring the lives of the young soldiers back, but because this
war coasts too much. President Obama on question regarding the lessons
of Iraq, gave the exhaustive answer: " Six years ago, I opposed this
war because I said that not only did we not know how much it was going
to cost, what our exit strategy might be, how it would affect our
relationships around the world, & whether our intelligence was sound,
but also because we hadn’t caught bin Laden", so, the mission is not
complete, and this is what they are going to tell to those, who will
come back. No war is pointless, but, as Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld said "Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make
mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things".
Looking thought the Congress Bills, many of those refer to such words
as 'protect, support and keep safe' regarding how U.S. citizens as
well as soldiers who fight for the freedom and safety of ones. With
it's power to declare the war 'the Congress will take every possible
step to ensure that they are protected from potential attacks and a
negative environment, they have the support they need to do their jobs
effectively and efficiently, and they are brought home safely as soon
as practicable'. May be it will also keep the young soldiers away from
the generalized 'pray-to-predator' transformation, and prevent our
brave ones from becoming animals.





References

Baker, Peter and Milbank, Dana, Wednesday, June 29, 2005. Washington
Post, Page A01 Washington Post.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2005/06/28/AR2005062801532.html;

Von Clausewitz, Carl. On War, Prussian, June 1989, Princeton
University Press;

Parry, Robert, April 8, 2003, Bush's Alderaan. www.informationclearinghouse.info
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2835.htm;

Obama, Barack, 2008, first presidential debate, Barack Obama vs. John
McCain, at the University of Mississippi
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008_Pres_1.htm;

Loughlin, Sean, Saturday, April 12, 2003, CNN Washington Bureau.
'Rumsfeld on looting in Iraq: 'Stuff happens'. CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/04/11/sprj.irq.pentagon/

Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18], H. CON. RES. 5. Introduced 1/7/2009.
Expressing that Congress has the sole and exclusive power to declare
war. US Senate.

[Olesya Stryzhak]

Olesya Stryzhak
English 101
Prof O'Connell

Short Story E.2


Join the army, meet interesting people, kill them

- Graffiti At Bromley


- Hey, do you remember the first time we saw the ocean? You went so
crazy, imagining that you're a bird. You are my bird. Your barefoot
looked like two German schnitzels, that freezing water had prudence to
touch. Later you've read me Brautigan's little 'brautiganas' and we
felt like two hippies in the middle of the nowhere, seating on the
edge of the Universe, drinking beer and listening to the seagulls. I
felt free, and you were so close.

I was touching your finger, and it was so cold, as usually...like you
have no idea what the hot tea and the worm blanket is.

We sat on the plaid couch right in the center of the New York City, as
we were two vegetables, that were thrown away from the kitchen.
Skyscrapers hugged us and taxi drivers wanted us. Your hand in my
hand, what else to dream about? Who could believe, two gigantic iron
beauties at which we loved to look from the ground, could blend the
lives. So simply.

-Is it the end of the world, or it's just an other stupid filming?
I wish.
"Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of
terror" appeared everywhere, on every TV, from everyone's mouth, in
everyone's hear... "airplanes flying into buildings"... I might was
born in the wrong place at the wrong time. "we're the brightest beacon
for freedom and opportunity in the world" did he said bacon? How
stupid am I. My freedom and understanding that you're so close to each
other, and realizing how easy everything may get ruined. I hate
myself, and I hate that dust on your curly hair. It can't be real, and
we're just some 'extras' playing in the future blockbuster, and you
will never live me, and those soldiers are fake, and please, let me
stick some flowers in those indecent weapons?
Protect and serve? You can't be serious! Those days, when brave
civilians went out to protect their land and wives and kids...it is in
the past. What about the intelligent people, who are smart enough to
graduate from the Universities and Law Schools, you know? Or they are
just reach enough?...Nevermind those stupid harsh browns, who seat in
their cabinets. Protect me from the gangs and other creatures, I'm not
interesting in Al Qaeda, I need you to be here, please, be my bird.

...And then he left...Mom, I can't be here. I'm not complete anymore.
I need a time capsule to bring me back to those days, when we're both
so silly, laying on the grass counting the stars. This story is
incomplete, our story, you know. How many people, Mom, how many people
became unhappy with the event, that later filmmakers will use as the
source to buy a new house in Malibu?
Do you know why they did it? Tell me at least who did it?... no, I
don't know either. All I know, that my energy disappeared, my source
of inspiration worn thin and my wings are cut off.
I went to see the ocean, and it was surprisingly worm... My feet
looked like normal person's feet, I felt like the 'normal' person and
it scared me most of all.


Spinning like a ghost
on the bottom of a
top,
I'm haunted by all
the space that I
will live without
you.

Richard Brautigan

[saydie p]

Sul a Park
English 101
Prof O'connell

In America we have great profound writers who bring forth
interesting theories or opinions about topics that currently changes
our lives today. For the novel “Blood Rites” by Barbara Ehrenreich she
depicts the many sacrifices characters and roles humanity has shown in
history. The world we live in is completely filled with unjustified
questions; the most difficult answer we as human want is the reaction
for violence and how to pursue it for future references. She states
that war is an emotional crisis that we humans have dealt with, but it
has resulted in mix feelings of grief and sadness. Like her there are
many high authority individuals who want to find a way to explore the
exits for war.
According to newspapers and magazines including other
entertainment resources we can understand that much oppositions are
made for the topic of War. When writing and speaking we have civil
rights to give out our own thoughts to viewers. Two important
individuals from the past who are known to have found ways to save
humanity in their societies are Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King
Jr. Both of these two honorable personalities brought forth an idea
for a violence free nation. In history textbooks firstly Ghandi stands
for civil justice, this factor is shown when he brought forth a way to
fix India’s struggle for independence through protests. Secondly
Martin Luther King portrayed that the only direction to unity is to
have civil equality among this nation we live in.
Even though past influential thoughts have been made for
nonviolence, the future has unlocked its self destiny by spilling the
bottle of war. This means that humans have ignored the truth about
nonviolence and instead keeps resulting to destruction among us all.
As a fellow American I believe that we as humans need to turn back our
footsteps reread and listen to what influential people such as Ghandi,
Barbara and Martin Luther King has told us instead of ignoring it all.
Like they have said the only way to have a great world to live in is
to correct the errors of choosing war as a answer and it’s better to
choose peace.