"Peace is an accident; war is natural. Old men start it, young men fight it, everybody in the middle dies, and nobody tells the truth." -John J. Rambo

Unfortunately, I find myself with three essays and multiple tests this final week as well as your project due and will be unable to write an R.A. on "First Blood". I would, however, like to take the opportunity this blog presents me with to write out my thoughts on the film albeit with a slightly less formalized structure than would be mandatory for a satisfactory rhetorical analysis. It is also true that there are so many aspects of this film to discuss that I would hop around too much in a standard R.A. to present a good, consistent argument on any one topic. For that matter, I will now proceed to discuss the film in a slightly chronological manner.

Rambo is a man of little hope. Everything he had was in Vietnam - who he had been made into and his comrades (family) - and it was all left behind. He journeyed the nation for seven years trying to track down his former members of Baker Team only to find them all dead. The film begins as he tries to locate the one remaining member who may be alive, Delmar Barry. He approaches the house with a smile, full of the dream that he will finally reconnect with his dear friend. When Delmar's mother says that agent orange gave her son cancer and he died shortly after returning from Vietnam, Rambo breaks down. He discards the picture of his team and along with that picture passes all the hope Rambo once held for a better tomorrow and the dream of somehow reclaiming his past.

He proceeds to the local town of Hope. The town's very name suggests great situational irony considering all the trouble he will come to face there. After being arrested for vagrancy and wanting a meal in Hope, he is jailed. The police officers treat him quite poorly. One of them even resorts to beating Rambo with a nightstick and shooting him with a fire hose. These events remind him of previous tortures he experienced as a P.O.W. in Vietnam. When they try to shave Rambo, he has the final breakdown and viciously escapes from their custody. It is apparent that he is a man suffering from deep psychological disturbances. He has many of the symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder as we discussed in Achilles in Vietnam.

I also found it very interesting in that after escaping, Rambo quickly returned to the jail to reclaim his hunting knife. I feel like this knife is somehow representative/symbolic of Rambo himself, and his return to retrieve it suggests (for myself at least) that perhaps he could not make it on his own without it. After loosing all his friends, respect, and dignity, this knife is the one thing he has left from his former life and the only thing which keeps him going. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but that is my perspective. One should also note Rambo's compassion. Even after his own maltreatment at the hands of the H.P.D., he tells the townspeople to "Get out of the way!" as he recklessly drives on a motorcycle across sidewalks and through streets to escape pursuit.

In many ways Rambo is the typical Hollywood action hero. He is the strong, attractive protagonist of a film designed with all the special effects and marketing attributed to Hollywood blockbusters. It was even criticized by many who accused it of having "comic book style dialogue and macho...mindless escapism" (Kipp 1). The way in which it significantly differs, however, is in all that Rambo embodies and represents.

Rambo, in the context of the film, is the man responsible for generating awareness for the wrongs committed against all the veterans upon their return to "The World." As he falls to his knees reciting a dramatic monologue just before collapsing into Colonel Trautman's arms and wailing like a small child, he is simultaneously releasing all the latent thoughts and ideas of the ill deeds committed against the veterans for all the world to see. The primary police officer, Will Teasle, once asked Trautman, "Who are you people?"; Rambo answers this through his actions and dialogue throughout the film which reveals them (and all troubled veterans for that matter) to be men so bonded through tragedy and suffering that they are closer even than family.

I hope you liked some of these ideas. Sorry I could not express them in an R.A. Please provide me with a little feedback, and let me know what you thought of it.

The Man who Used to be the Next President of the United States:

He used that same joke in the actual presentation I saw a few years after the film. I will comment on what rhetorical choices I remember from that evening since I have not actually seen the movie.

1. logos - if we continue to damage the planet, then our children will be the ones to pay the price for our actions and try to live in an "unlivable" world.
--This makes me want to help the planet for the sake of my offspring.
2. ethos - a mature, respectable man delivers straight facts on the effects we are have on the environment and what steps we can take as a world to avoid them.
-- I found him extremely believable, and his facts seemed to back the claims.
3. pathos - why would we want our children to suffer for our actions?
-- I don't want them to, but it'll be hard to give up the "American" lifestyle just for their benefit.
4. humor - he keeps you interested in an extremely disturbing topic.
-- I payed attention.
5. affirmation - he provided expert opinions that agreed, backed-up, or even seemed to form many of his claims.
-- He was much more credible to me for having done this, although I am sure there are two sides to any issue.
6. visual juxtaposition - he shows the world as it was, is, and will become if we do not drastically change our actions.
-- I love the earth. I would hate to lose the glaciers. (just kidding, I do like them but realize the issue is much more serious than that)
7. beauty - he shows many beautiful images of the earth and even uses a computer display to show how it could be if there were no pollution.
-- I wish we lived in a world that really looked like that. The images from space make me want to be an astronaut.
8. decay - as the earth heats and pollution levels increase, erosion across the globe will increase, and we will lose many mountains and natural landmarks.
-- This is pretty bad as well when you think about the pyramids and other ancient wonders that have stood for eons.
9. appeals to our sensibility - we know the facts, now what will we do about it to ensure that our world becomes a better place?
-- I would like to help but really cannot until society or laws make it realistic for us all to.
10. audience questions - draws us into the experience.
-- I am sure this applies only to the experience of witnessing him in person, but I really enjoyed at the end when he opened the floor to us to ask any questions on our minds (I was just too far back to do so).

Review:
I'm worried my project will not be what you would like or expect. I am going for more of a tactile and visual experience than can be expressed through a verbal presentation. I will do my best to show it to the class but really think it will be more of an individual spending time looking through it. It will affect each viewer in a different manner and on a personal basis. I guess that from Al Gore I can learn how to visually structure my work so that it has the greatest emotional impact - whether I am going for awe or disgust. I can also focus more on pathos in some manner, still debating how to do that exactly...

Anyway, I wanted to comment on something we discussed a few weeks back in reference to Achilles in Vietnam. Most of the class seemed to agree that we cannot relate to veterans fully because we are not capable of understanding where they are coming from unless we have been there ourselves - experiencing the loss of comrades and brutality of war. I, however, feel that I have experienced much of that loss and brutality. That same evening, I stopped on a corner of Guadalupe to readjust my bag. A man with a mo hawk down the street, fortunately I guess, yelled, "You!" I looked up and he pointed at me, "You! When I get to you I'm going to f**king kill you!" I was scared, thought about standing firm for a second and then decided against it, ran about a block and darted into a woman's dressing shop. I thought I'd be safe in a public place and even hid behind some dresses a little bit. I quickly prayed he would not see me and as he walked past I heard him ask of those around, "Where is that f**king piece of S**t?!?" One stupid woman after he walked past, just behind him, even turned to her husband/boyfriend and said, "Is he talking about the soldier that just ran in there?" and pointed my way. Good thing the mo hawk man was dim-witted! I guess I do know though what it's like to be hated by your own countrymen and feel the dread terror of the fact that they could physically harm you.

I'm not as honorable as people might think, however. I am beginning to realize and be sickened by the fact that I am doing this more as a convenience and personal benefit than to serve my country (I will get to that in a second). I know the pain of loosing a beloved friend as well. The story I told you earlier, even though she did not physically die everything she stood for died to me that day and for me, that can be just as painful. In that sense, I can definitely relate to veterans loosing their fellow soldiers in battle. The only difference is that she is still living and I see her often. You see, she is at this university and I even applied to the major I am because we had this crazy idea that if we had majors within the same college, we would see each other more often. I want to believe that she really did used to care for me. She introduced me to the idea of the Air Force. Her dad is a marine captain and leads the ROTC program at my old school, which I never took part in. My point is, she is in AFROTC with me right now. I honestly didn't know for sure that she would be when I signed on. I don't know what my initial reasons for doing it were really, but I know that now that I see her again (even though we don't talk) the pain is lessened to a certain extent and I think about her less frequently. Please don't think less of me, I am just expounding upon a story "of the truths in my own life" that I told you earlier. My point with these few things is, (except for my digression) that I don't think that the trouble lies in that the general public is incapable of understanding. I think that most people honestly do not want to know the terrible truths available in life and some just don't care. It is also hard for the veterans to express something so terrible as the losses they've faced. It is for me at least. I feel like it's more something that has to be understood and quietly acknowledged than something that can really be expressed through open discourse.

That's all I've got Mr. P. I'm not a bad person, I just don't really know what I am doing. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, got to watch the movie if you had time, and enjoy it!!!

What's in a Name?

The most important aspect of Maya Lin's article about how she crafted the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial is the importance she believes a name conveys and the meanings that go along with it. Along with the visual representation of that name, will come all the memories and feelings associated with that individual in the mind of the person viewing it. She discusses the reasons and methodology behind her work and defends the apolitical nature of the monument because others try to find a hidden agenda within her design. She believes that the price of human life in war should be clearly remembered, and nowhere is that price more apparent than in viewing a massive memorial with all the names of the deceased and P.O.W.s on it. These names on a massive wall, however, appear no larger than half an inch. The sheer scale of the war and its effect on human life will doubtless have profound meaning on any individual that beholds it. In seeing the name of a loved one on the wall, they are forced into accepting that person's death and that is the first step in being able to overcome that loss.

Born in the U.S.A. presents such an opposite view of the American dream. The song masks itself under the guise of patriotism but contains a much darker meaning. The protagonist and narrator of the song was born in a poor town. He serves during Vietnam thinking that perhaps his patriotism will bring him a better lot in life. When he returns home from the war, grieving for the loss of his brother, he is unable to find a job in his own decrepit town. He casts his life onto the streets somewhere between the local factory and jail. This presents the life of an American as a tragedy where no one can really live up to the beliefs and ideals that we as a nation claim to represent.

Excuses...excuses:

Mr P.,
I just thought I would give you a little something that at the beginning of the semester you said you did not want. This goes against your wishes, however, I feel that in the case of walking into class nearly an hour late it is necessary. I considered not coming at all so as to not disturb anyone but felt like this was a really important day.

Anyway, I actually had to register for my spring semester classes this morning. That is just when my time slot fell. I also had PT this morning and had to wear my service dress in honor of this evening's P.O.W./M.I.A. ceremony. With all this going on, I feel slightly accomplished for making it to your class at all.

I apologize for the disruption however and will make every effort possible to not commit such an offense henceforth!

The Fog of War:

McNamara was portrayed as a caring, ethical,and deeply emotional man who loved his family, presidents, and nation. I find myself enjoying the material shown this week to be my favorites of the semester. I am glad I watched this film before the screening you will be having this evening because it provides background and insight into Johnson from a man who knew and cared for him personally, even if they often disagreed. Unlike the previous Hollywood films or other antiwar propaganda, this documentary portrays our leaders as men thrown into an unparalleled situation that had to make swift and decisive decisions or risk full scale war and destruction within our own nation.

McNamara contrasts radically with the man we saw struggling to answer Peter Davis' questions in Hearts and Minds. He presents himself as one knowledgeable in every aspect of not only the Vietnam Conflict but those of past wars as well. He reflects on the decisions he made. We see the poor man for what he really was, a good individual filled with guilt for participating in a war that killed so many but entrenched in sorrow for being so wrongly accused his entire life as the deepest proponent for the war. He also is seen to still deeply grieve over the death of Kennedy all these years later. This portrays him as a man of deep feeling and loyalty.

I enjoyed the structure of the film in that everything was, obviously, conveyed through flashback but the way it would transition from WWII into Vietnam and ultimately into a peace summit in 1995 allowed for a comparison and contrast between the various periods that would not have otherwise been possible. The rousing musical score is incessant and kept me on edge throughout the film. It was nerve racking music, but I believe the intent was for you to be anything but comfortable while viewing this film. In essence, it conveyed McNamara's own edginess on the topic, even though he was open to discussing it the difficulty in doing so was evident on his face throughout. I also enjoyed learning about the devastation we brought upon Japan during WWII. I never had any idea that we brought such chaos to such a little country. The fact that they did not surrender, even after so many dead, until after the atomic bombings demonstrates the absolute hatred the people or just their leaders must have shared for us. In all, I feel Japan is ignored far to often in WWII discussions and Germans are perceived by many young to have been the sole adversary. This was a welcome addition to my mind in a topic I was unfamiliar with.

We forget the mindset of these people. We have become desensitized as to the destruction a nuclear weapon may bring about. In that time, however, the world was in panic. They understood with the press of a button society could end for good. Most of America would have supported war in an instant if it could have prevented atomic holocaust.

Overall, I never knew McNamara had been so influential in our history. He trained the best men at Harvard for WWII, saved the Ford Motor Company, and was chiefly responsible for many of the military decisions carried out during Vietnam. What a remarkable and courageous individual!

Midterm Feedback

"I have made better grades on my R.A.s progressively, but I still wonder if my writing has actually improved. In some cases, I have just provided better arguements or evidence to back up my statements and this seemed to do the trick." And this isn't getting better as a writer? Puh-lease. The art of writing, like Vietnam, is complex, which is what makes it an art rather than a skill. It therefore has all sorts of moving parts; to think that writing is all about style or all about argument or all about grammar would only be capturing a partial truth. Getting better at focusing on the argument is an integral part of becoming a better writer--the style will follow the more you write and the more you get comfortable with your own voice.

With regard to your class participation, you are indeed King Severin and class would poorer if you weren't there. This is high praise. Your blogs are also to be praised because you respond to all sorts of varied impulses and texts, like the NYTimes video on the consequences of napalm generations later, and your engagement with Tim O'Brien using your own truths. You have adventure in your blood and a curious intellect that will only get sharper. I like everything I see, young man.

Final project: with regard to the childhood angle, maybe the memoir Falling Through the Earth might be of interest.

Another casualty of the Vietnam War, Danielle Trussoni has told her story in Falling Through the Earth with bravado, pride, sadness, and candor. Her father, Daniel, served as a tunnel rat, one of the incredibly brave men who went into the webs of tunnels and rooms searching for Vietnamese guerillas hiding out underground. The heat and stench, the courage combined with fear, the claustrophobic confinement, and the incessant tension are recounted with an immediacy that only one who has been there, or knows someone who has, could tell. In fact, Danielle Trussoni went to Vietnam and was guided through the tunnels, trying to follow, literally, in her father's footsteps.
The Trussoni family of Onalaska, Wisconsin, is famous for bar fights and not much else. Daniel is a thug like his brothers, all of whom pride themselves on being tough guys who might just be mobbed up, although there is no proof of that.

Trussoni Thanksgivings were like boxing matches. There was sure to be a rumble on the front lawn of my grandparents' house and a rematch at the tavern down the street... A little blood before dinner was what aperitifs were to other families.
In this atmosphere, Danielle, her sister Kelly, and her brother Matt are trying to raise themselves, or just stay out of the way. After getting a job and some sense of self, Mom takes on a boyfriend and asks Dad to leave. According to Danielle, Dad is pretty broken up about the departure, so she goes to live with him and is treated to a steady round of women callers. The other two children stay with their Mom. Most evenings, Daniel takes Danielle to Roscoe's, the neighborhood tavern, where she sits and watches him get drunk and tell his Vietnam stories. Over and over again. Every so often, he forgets her and she has to make her own way home.

Danielle is endlessly forgiving of this case-hardened vet who is relentlessly mean, paranoid and petty. He is a prototype of the guy who came home and didn't know why he was a survivor. Trussoni has captured the essence of being in bloody battle one day and home the next, and then trying to make sense of it all.

Alternating chapters tell of her father's time in Vietnam, her own journey there, and their messy lives--starting with the divorce and continuing until her adulthood. Family secrets are revealed; Danielle realizes that her mother was not the only person at fault in the breakup of the marriage and that her defense of her father was not always appropriate.

Request:

I am not sure if you got the email so just to be sure I thought I would mention it on here as well. Could you bring that form back tomorrow? I will bring an extra envelope just in case you do not have any at your apartment, but I am pretty sure it needs to be sealed in one and signed on top of the seal. Did I write my name and ut eid on top of the form? I cannot remember and if I did not we can just fold it over tommorrow and I will get that done. Thanks again for taking the time to do this for me!