Keyes August 15

1. Overall, I was struck by the recurring themes in several of the works. Of those recurring themes, the concept of humanity was the most intriguing to me because while I consider humanity to be inherently good, it was described as a weakness in times of war. In Coppola and Milius' Apocalypse Now, the narrator describes cruel acts of violence against civilians, but instead of being outraged, the narrator admires the enemy soldiers for cutting of children's' arms. The narrator's support was that the ability of the enemy soldiers to act without empathy or humanity was a favorable attribute in war because morality holds a soldier back.

2. Another recurring theme I found surprising and disturbing at first was the imagery of soldiers being happy, even joyous in battle. Hedges described war as a drug in War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, which has scientific support. Soldiers can develop a love and dependency on the adrenaline rush of combat, hence the soldiers “grinning insanely” when informed their risk of being wounded or killed “multiplied” in Loyd’s My War Gone By, I Miss it So. 

3. Overall, the authors in this packed described war as if it is an unchanging force of nature. The authors always depicted war driving soldiers and their families to grief, insanity, and death. The authors did not show war as the recipient of an action, war commanded people, never the other way around. What saddened me was the sentiment in Walzer's work: the fact that war itself does not change. The authors kept writing about war as if it is a constant, ignoring the cries of those it affects, which is a profound and worrying sentiment.