Dear Martha,
I am so in love with you. I go to you in my dreams, both day and night. You save me from the horrors in this terrible land around me. I escape with you to a promise land, a beach where we can have fun talking and laugh till we cry.
These feelings I have now need to stop! I can no longer allow myself to dream. The cost of the dreams is far too great. Today, I was daydreaming about your beautiful smile and something horrific happened. One of my men, my soldiers, Ted, died because I was not concentrating on the important job at hand. Nam is a dangerous place and when you make a mistake like I did, or have a laps of concentration, men die. I am in charge. It is a responsibility that I can hardly bear.
This guilt is overwhelming me more than anyone could ever know. What could I ever possibly say to Ted’s family? Did his death serve some greater purpose? If only I could understand our mission. We go humping almost every day. Where the hell are we going? Why? At this point I have more questions than answers.
I will always keep you in my dreams when the moon comes out at night. I will survive and one day we will be together. I want to choose LOVE, not the hatred and evil that fills my heart in Nam. I only hope you will still recognize me when I return.
Jimmy
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Post #5
Nixon's Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam
The "Silent Majority" Speech
November 3, 1969
End of Speech
http://watergate.info/nixon/silent-majority-speech-1969.shtml
Found Poem
I have chosen a plan
for peace
I believe it will succeed
If it does succeed
what the critics say now
won't matter
If it does not
succeed
anything I say then won't matter
I know it may not be fashionable
to speak of patriotism
or national destiny these days
But I feel it is appropriate to do so on this occasion
Two hundred years ago
this Nation
was weak
and poor
But even then
America was the hope of millions in the world
Today we have become the strongest
and richest nation in the
world
And the wheel of destiny
has turned so that any hope
the world has for the survival of peace
and freedom
will be determined by whether the American
people have the moral stamina and the courage
to meet the challenge of free world leadership
Let historians not record that when America was the most powerful
nation
in the world we passed on the other side of the road
and allowed the last hopes for
peace and freedom
of millions of people to be
suffocated by the forces
of totalitarianism
And so tonight
to you
the great silent majority of my fellow Americans
I ask
for your support
I pledged in my campaign for the Presidency
to end the war in a way that we could
win the peace
I have initiated a plan of action
which will enable me to keep that pledge
The more support I can have from the American
people
the sooner that pledge can be redeemed
for the more divided we are at home
the less likey the enemy is to negotiate at Paris
Let us be united for peace
Let us also be united
against defeat
Because let us understand
North Vietnam cannot
defeat
or humiliate the United States
Only Americans can do that
Fifty years ago
in this room and at this very desk
President Woodrow Wilson
spoke words which caught
the imagination of a war-weary world
He said
"This is the war to end war."
His dream for peace
after World War I
was shattered on the hard realities
of great power politics
and Woodrow Wilson died
a broken man
Tonight
I do not tell you
that the war in Vietnam is the war
to end wars
But I do say this
I have initiated a plan
which Will end this war
in a way
that will bring us closer
to that great goal
to which Woodrow Wilson
and every American President in our history has been dedicated
the goal of a just and lasting
peace
As President
I hold the responsibility
for choosing the best path to that goal
and then leading the Nation along it
I pledge to you
tonight that I shall meet this responsibility
with all of the strength
and wisdom
I can command in accordance
with your hopes
mindful of your concerns
sustained by your prayers
Thank you and goodnight.
The "Silent Majority" Speech
November 3, 1969
End of Speech
http://watergate.info/nixon/silent-majority-speech-1969.shtml
Found Poem
I have chosen a plan
for peace
I believe it will succeed
If it does succeed
what the critics say now
won't matter
If it does not
succeed
anything I say then won't matter
I know it may not be fashionable
to speak of patriotism
or national destiny these days
But I feel it is appropriate to do so on this occasion
Two hundred years ago
this Nation
was weak
and poor
But even then
America was the hope of millions in the world
Today we have become the strongest
and richest nation in the
world
And the wheel of destiny
has turned so that any hope
the world has for the survival of peace
and freedom
will be determined by whether the American
people have the moral stamina and the courage
to meet the challenge of free world leadership
Let historians not record that when America was the most powerful
nation
in the world we passed on the other side of the road
and allowed the last hopes for
peace and freedom
of millions of people to be
suffocated by the forces
of totalitarianism
And so tonight
to you
the great silent majority of my fellow Americans
I ask
for your support
I pledged in my campaign for the Presidency
to end the war in a way that we could
win the peace
I have initiated a plan of action
which will enable me to keep that pledge
The more support I can have from the American
people
the sooner that pledge can be redeemed
for the more divided we are at home
the less likey the enemy is to negotiate at Paris
Let us be united for peace
Let us also be united
against defeat
Because let us understand
North Vietnam cannot
defeat
or humiliate the United States
Only Americans can do that
Fifty years ago
in this room and at this very desk
President Woodrow Wilson
spoke words which caught
the imagination of a war-weary world
He said
"This is the war to end war."
His dream for peace
after World War I
was shattered on the hard realities
of great power politics
and Woodrow Wilson died
a broken man
Tonight
I do not tell you
that the war in Vietnam is the war
to end wars
But I do say this
I have initiated a plan
which Will end this war
in a way
that will bring us closer
to that great goal
to which Woodrow Wilson
and every American President in our history has been dedicated
the goal of a just and lasting
peace
As President
I hold the responsibility
for choosing the best path to that goal
and then leading the Nation along it
I pledge to you
tonight that I shall meet this responsibility
with all of the strength
and wisdom
I can command in accordance
with your hopes
mindful of your concerns
sustained by your prayers
Thank you and goodnight.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Blog Post #4
In comparing the song “Lemon Tree” by Peter, Paul and Mary with “The Lemon Tree” by Fool’s Garden, I found many similarities. The theme itself, the lemon tree is the focal point for each song. The lemon symbolizes the bitterness that can be hidden in something of beauty, in this case a lemon from a lemon tree.
In Peter, Paul and Mary’s piece, the lemon tree is used by a father to teach his son a lesson. It was a lesson that perhaps the father had learned and was to be passed on to his son by sharing his experience and wisdom. Here were the words used: “When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me, Come here and learn a lesson from the lovely lemon tree.”
The music is calming and light and tells a story through much repetition. It has postmodern characteristics as it challenges us to reflect on a deeper meaning of life and love. Throughout the song the words: “Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet, But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.” It makes me think of the saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” There is always deeper meaning that what meets the eye.
“The Lemon Tree” by Fool’s Garden, uses the lemon tree also. The video shows a man in a room, pondering and wondering while waiting for a woman. The mood created by the music is sad and heavy. The reference to love is found here as it was in Peter, Paul and Mary’s song. He had found happiness in the days before but now he reflects on the isolation of his life and that he doesn’t want to be under a lemon tree. The words used were: “Isolation is not good for me, Isolation I don't want to sit on the lemon-tree.” It is post modernism because it is an individual’s interpretation of the meaning of life and love. He feels lonely and depressed and doesn’t want to be in that state, like the lemon filled with bitterness and despair.
The theme can also be found in “The Things They Carry”. There is much isolation and despair. Things are not always what they seem. Although the ideals behind war, fighting for freedom is good, the reality is that war itself is ugly. Men fight on principle and define evil as the enemy. This is how they can kill a man that they have nothing against personally. They endured many internal conflicts, always questioning their purpose while wrestling with guilt and fear, common with post-moderimsm.
Sources:
du'Monceaux, 2009
"Lemon Tree" Peter, Paul, and Mary
When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me,Come here and learn a lesson from the lovely lemon tree.Dont put your faith in love, my boy, my father said to me,I fear youll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree.Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.Beneath the lemon tree one day, my love and I did a lieA girl so sweet that when she smiled the sun rose in the sky.We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon treeThe music of her laughter hid my fathers words from me:Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.One day she left without a word. she took away the sun.And in the dark she left behind, I knew what she had done.Shed left me for another, its a common tale but true.A sadder man but wiser now I sing these words to you:Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat
"The Lemon Tree" Fool's Garden
I'm sitting here in the boring roomIt's just another rainy sunday afternoonI'm wasting my timeI got nothing to doI'm hanging aroundI'm waiting for youBut nothing ever happens and I wonderI'm driving around in my carI'm driving too fastI'm driving too farI'd like to change my point of viewI feel so lonelyI'm waiting for youBut nothing ever happens and I wonderI wonder howI wonder whyYesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue skyAnd all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-treeI'm turning my head up and downI'm turning turning turning turning turning aroundAnd all that I can see is just another lemon-treeI'm sitting hereI miss the powerI'd like to go out taking a showerBut there's a heavy cloud inside my headI feel so tiredPut myself into bedWell, nothing ever happens and I wonderIsolation is not good for meIsolation I don't want to sit on the lemon-treeI'm steppin' around in the desert of joyBaby anyhow I'll get another toyAnd everything will happen and you wonderI wonder howI wonder whyYesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue skyAnd all that I can see is just another lemon-treeI'm turning my head up and downI'm turning turning turning turning turning aroundAnd all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-treeAnd I wonder, wonderI wonder howI wonder whyYesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue skyAnd all that I can see, and all that I can see, and all that I can seeIs just a yellow lemon-tree
In Peter, Paul and Mary’s piece, the lemon tree is used by a father to teach his son a lesson. It was a lesson that perhaps the father had learned and was to be passed on to his son by sharing his experience and wisdom. Here were the words used: “When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me, Come here and learn a lesson from the lovely lemon tree.”
The music is calming and light and tells a story through much repetition. It has postmodern characteristics as it challenges us to reflect on a deeper meaning of life and love. Throughout the song the words: “Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet, But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.” It makes me think of the saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” There is always deeper meaning that what meets the eye.
“The Lemon Tree” by Fool’s Garden, uses the lemon tree also. The video shows a man in a room, pondering and wondering while waiting for a woman. The mood created by the music is sad and heavy. The reference to love is found here as it was in Peter, Paul and Mary’s song. He had found happiness in the days before but now he reflects on the isolation of his life and that he doesn’t want to be under a lemon tree. The words used were: “Isolation is not good for me, Isolation I don't want to sit on the lemon-tree.” It is post modernism because it is an individual’s interpretation of the meaning of life and love. He feels lonely and depressed and doesn’t want to be in that state, like the lemon filled with bitterness and despair.
The theme can also be found in “The Things They Carry”. There is much isolation and despair. Things are not always what they seem. Although the ideals behind war, fighting for freedom is good, the reality is that war itself is ugly. Men fight on principle and define evil as the enemy. This is how they can kill a man that they have nothing against personally. They endured many internal conflicts, always questioning their purpose while wrestling with guilt and fear, common with post-moderimsm.
Sources:
du'Monceaux, 2009
"Lemon Tree" Peter, Paul, and Mary
When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me,Come here and learn a lesson from the lovely lemon tree.Dont put your faith in love, my boy, my father said to me,I fear youll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree.Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.Beneath the lemon tree one day, my love and I did a lieA girl so sweet that when she smiled the sun rose in the sky.We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon treeThe music of her laughter hid my fathers words from me:Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.One day she left without a word. she took away the sun.And in the dark she left behind, I knew what she had done.Shed left me for another, its a common tale but true.A sadder man but wiser now I sing these words to you:Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweetBut the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat
"The Lemon Tree" Fool's Garden
I'm sitting here in the boring roomIt's just another rainy sunday afternoonI'm wasting my timeI got nothing to doI'm hanging aroundI'm waiting for youBut nothing ever happens and I wonderI'm driving around in my carI'm driving too fastI'm driving too farI'd like to change my point of viewI feel so lonelyI'm waiting for youBut nothing ever happens and I wonderI wonder howI wonder whyYesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue skyAnd all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-treeI'm turning my head up and downI'm turning turning turning turning turning aroundAnd all that I can see is just another lemon-treeI'm sitting hereI miss the powerI'd like to go out taking a showerBut there's a heavy cloud inside my headI feel so tiredPut myself into bedWell, nothing ever happens and I wonderIsolation is not good for meIsolation I don't want to sit on the lemon-treeI'm steppin' around in the desert of joyBaby anyhow I'll get another toyAnd everything will happen and you wonderI wonder howI wonder whyYesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue skyAnd all that I can see is just another lemon-treeI'm turning my head up and downI'm turning turning turning turning turning aroundAnd all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-treeAnd I wonder, wonderI wonder howI wonder whyYesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue skyAnd all that I can see, and all that I can see, and all that I can seeIs just a yellow lemon-tree
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Post #2
Video: Vietnam, Looking for Home
I, Gia, which means family, have just discovered an article about the Vietnam War. What I’ve read, I have never heard from my parents or in school. In just one generation older than I, you could find many who fought in the War. A war that was regrettable and destroyed many families. Hundreds of people were missing and many were political prisoners. I feel so betrayed to only have been taught one side of the story. My view of history is not accurate.
Our leaders are wrong to not teach both sides of the story. We need to learn both perspectives to learn and grow. The majority of our population is now under 30 years old and have never been taught about the civil war. We have a distorted view of our history. Should our government decide what we learn? The government remains cautious about what gets aired and is under constant watchfulness. We need more freedom to speak so we can continue to transform.
I dream of a future filled with hope and promise. We need to open ourselves up to the world so we can compete globally. We hosted 2.5 million tourists last year; we are a safe place to visit and want the world to see. And although the city is growing at a feverish pace, there is still much work to be done in the country. I know of a farmer who produced 2 tons of rice last year, earning only $130.
I’m sure there are many that survived the horrors of war, some that can probably still hear and feel the bombings in their nightmares. But, we are a hopeful people but have difficulty adopting to change. We need to embrace our past so we can move forward in today’s global environment.
I, Gia, which means family, have just discovered an article about the Vietnam War. What I’ve read, I have never heard from my parents or in school. In just one generation older than I, you could find many who fought in the War. A war that was regrettable and destroyed many families. Hundreds of people were missing and many were political prisoners. I feel so betrayed to only have been taught one side of the story. My view of history is not accurate.
Our leaders are wrong to not teach both sides of the story. We need to learn both perspectives to learn and grow. The majority of our population is now under 30 years old and have never been taught about the civil war. We have a distorted view of our history. Should our government decide what we learn? The government remains cautious about what gets aired and is under constant watchfulness. We need more freedom to speak so we can continue to transform.
I dream of a future filled with hope and promise. We need to open ourselves up to the world so we can compete globally. We hosted 2.5 million tourists last year; we are a safe place to visit and want the world to see. And although the city is growing at a feverish pace, there is still much work to be done in the country. I know of a farmer who produced 2 tons of rice last year, earning only $130.
I’m sure there are many that survived the horrors of war, some that can probably still hear and feel the bombings in their nightmares. But, we are a hopeful people but have difficulty adopting to change. We need to embrace our past so we can move forward in today’s global environment.
Post #1
President Kennedy’s News Conference from February 7, 1962
http://www.vietnamwar.net/JFK-2.htm
President Kennedy responded to the press regarding their question on American Involvement in South Vietnam. The question was: "Mr. President, there seems to be some doubt, at least on the local level and in the region where this is going on, as to the right of the American people and the rest of the world to know the extent of the battle in South Vietnam. Could you tell us, sir, what the situation is there? How deeply are we involved in what seems to be a growing war and what are the rights of the people to know what our forces are doing?"
The President’s response was factual and straight forward. He simply stated: “There is a war going on in South Vietnam.” He went on to share information on the number of casualties which numbered over 500 in the last week. An astonishing number of killings that happened by bombings and assassinations. It was brutal, fierce guerilla warfare. He stated that it was a war of increasing ferocity. The word ferocity is quite descriptive as it shows the extent of how turbulent the situation was that was leading to the high casualties.
While I try to grasp the number of casualties in a week, I put it into perspective with the number of students at our school. They lost soldiers that would total almost the entire junior class in one week. These young men were sons and brothers, and possibly husbands and fathers. The impact reached far beyond the battle field. The lives of many home and abroad were changed forever.
The President’s response addressed the need for the American people to know what was happening and our political position. He was careful to point out though that he could not compromise the mission and release any information that could be used by our enemies against us. The mission itself, freedom, is what we as American’s hold so dear. Freedom, the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraint. Do we live with the same passion for freedom that our forefathers did? I think not. We take for granted many of the freedoms that men and women have died for. It is a great article to reflect on our freedoms and how fortunate we are to be Americans.
http://www.vietnamwar.net/JFK-2.htm
President Kennedy responded to the press regarding their question on American Involvement in South Vietnam. The question was: "Mr. President, there seems to be some doubt, at least on the local level and in the region where this is going on, as to the right of the American people and the rest of the world to know the extent of the battle in South Vietnam. Could you tell us, sir, what the situation is there? How deeply are we involved in what seems to be a growing war and what are the rights of the people to know what our forces are doing?"
The President’s response was factual and straight forward. He simply stated: “There is a war going on in South Vietnam.” He went on to share information on the number of casualties which numbered over 500 in the last week. An astonishing number of killings that happened by bombings and assassinations. It was brutal, fierce guerilla warfare. He stated that it was a war of increasing ferocity. The word ferocity is quite descriptive as it shows the extent of how turbulent the situation was that was leading to the high casualties.
While I try to grasp the number of casualties in a week, I put it into perspective with the number of students at our school. They lost soldiers that would total almost the entire junior class in one week. These young men were sons and brothers, and possibly husbands and fathers. The impact reached far beyond the battle field. The lives of many home and abroad were changed forever.
The President’s response addressed the need for the American people to know what was happening and our political position. He was careful to point out though that he could not compromise the mission and release any information that could be used by our enemies against us. The mission itself, freedom, is what we as American’s hold so dear. Freedom, the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraint. Do we live with the same passion for freedom that our forefathers did? I think not. We take for granted many of the freedoms that men and women have died for. It is a great article to reflect on our freedoms and how fortunate we are to be Americans.
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