War is Perplex

I used the word perplex because one can’t truly understand war as a whole in one sitting. During american studies, we’ve talked about war and how much of a rollercoaster the ideas of war can be. No one can understand war without ever experiencing it first hand. It is not something that one can guess how it feels because we’ve never had to fight for our own freedom. The painting reminds of the film Glory, although it is not the 54th regiment. It reminds me of the scene where the the soldiers march towards the wall to fight the other side and have to keep marching in order to be able to shoot. Although most are dying on the way there, they are fighting for the power. The painting is intriguing because when you first glance at it, it just seems like the men are winning going over but as soon as you keep on looking. One sees men dying and blowing up with the explosion in the back, as much as the men want to stop, they can’t stop or they risk their own life. It is a confusing thought to think that old men are the one’s declaring war but it is the young men that must go out and fight. Tim O’brien writes, “In any war story, but especially a true one,it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen.”(67). What this quote is trying to get across is that one can often mess up the truth and the made up when telling a true story. Some details can seem unbelievable but those details are often more true than anything else being told. The most unbelievable fact that i’ve learn in the war unit is how many casualties there is in wars. It’s me being naive but I never truly thought how many people go into/rafted into the war. Most people only look at war and have their own personal opinion as to if war is a good thing or not but one as a citizen should be more aware of  how war has made America the way it is today. War is also perplex by using the example of the western expansion, one had the thoughts the the west was just full of nothingness but was actually inhabited by native americans, mexicans, etc. Many wars had to go through by force because the US wanted the most power. It is not a simple yes and no question that can be answered but war is an interesting part of our history and how the military has come to be in our country.

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