Throughout America's history many wars have taken place. Some of them have been on its own soil, while most have been on foreign land. Right now, as I write this paper, American troops are fighting in Afghanistan. They are doing what they are told and we are all very proud of them. Whether it is a civil war or a world war, the results are always the same. In the end there are always large amounts of death and destruction, followed by questions about whether or not it should have happened in the first place. .
Almost every piece that was covered in the "Peace and War" unit had its share of death and destruction. These pieces are in this section for the purpose of telling future generations how awful war is. We read about brutal deaths from breathing in deadly gas. We read about soldiers laying face down in mud, while they dream of being home with the women they love. We read stories about Ron Kovic and how excited he was to join the marines. He thought of it as another athletic challenge. By the end of the story he is a paraplegic with hate running through him. Yet we still have people who are thrilled to enlist in some sort of service. Yet we still go to war. We keep on teaching our children about the horrors of the past, however, things tend to keep repeating themselves. We go through something horrible such as the Vietnam War and now we find ourselves going to war again. Although for entirely different reasons, it is still war. Something as severe as the Vietnam War should be fixed in people's memories forever. Thousands of American troops died fighting for someone else's freedom. After a catastrophe such as this, is when the questions start to be asked. Our leaders made the right decisions, yet we lost so many lives and we did not even accomplish anything. It is these mistakes that we should learn from. .
However, sometimes war can not be avoided. When this is the case, we must look at the people in power.
