Final Post

'Dante and Nesterenko' and 'Desperation over the Great Depression' are posts that I would like to be read. I enjoyed reading and writing about Dolores Dante and Eric Nesterenko most because they had the such enlightening stories and the two were easily connected through happiness. I feel like it is my best post because it fulfills each task successfully. Also, 'Desperation over the Great Depression' was one of my earlier posts and the readings were very interesting to me because I learned a lot about the personal and emotional effects from the Great Depression, something a textbook cannot teach. The writing also incorporates the tasks in it and answers the questions.

Lawrence and Brower

I chose to read Jacob Lawrence's story because I wanted to hear the opinions of an artist and how he interpreted the century. I still have not read an artist's story, so I wanted to learn something different. I also chose to read David Brower's conversation because I was curious to read how an environmentalist viewed the century. None of the other chapters seemed as appealing to me because I wanted to read how two different people were affected by the same events.

Lawrence offers good advice for the future by describing what really benefited him while growing up. Programs that were established during the Great Depression through the Roosevelt administration proved to be life changing for Jacob when he was young. Lawrence believes, "It's too bad we don't have more of that today-government support of the arts. In schools, the first programs cut are music, dance, the arts. If we don't realize how much these things contribute to the quality of life, we'll lose it. I see these youngsters on the street, never exposed to this experience-they've lost it, their chance at that life". He views programs such as art, music, and dance as vital to a child's development and important to upkeep in schools. An key lesson learned from the past century is the positive impact the arts have on children, which is something that should be continued in the future. Lawrence provides evidence to his opinion, "If it weren't for these federal programs, I probably would have been lost and drifting like so many young people were, without any sense of belonging. I dread to think what would have happened to me. Today I go out on the street and I look at these children, twelve, thirteen years old. Where will they be five years from now? Our society today doesn't recognize what potential may be in them". He would be lost without the programs and he worries that is what happening to todays society because everyone underestimates potential. Students need to be pushed and art helps keep kids out of trouble. Jacob warns society but also advises it to realize the importance of each individual and establish art programs in order to enlighten students.

David Brower also offers advice to future generations about the environment. He is worried about the environment and the impact people have on it. It is important to take action and help prevent any further damage. He explains that it is important to look ahead to the future and plan for it. Brower advises, "We have to have a sense of the future. The only thing that is real is Now. The Nows to come are going to be as real for the people living in the next year, the next century, the next millennium as the Now of this moment. The indigenous people were thinking seven generations ahead. They were too conservative. They didn't know the capability of the human species to damage their stamping ground the way we do. So we have to think further ahead. What is the earth going to be like in a thousand years from now? What do we do with the nuclear stuff?". The most important thing we can do it look ahead into the future and be prepared for it. We have to answer major questions and young people have the power to do it. We basically have to put everything together in regards to generations ahead of us. David's focus in to help the environment and this job is in the hands of the young.

Dante and Nesterenko

My initial reactions were pleasant when discovering that Dolores Dante actually enjoyed being a waitress. I liked how she told her story in an optimistic tone and the reader could tell the narrator genuinely liked her job. The part that I found most interesting was when she described why she wants to be a  waitress, "I have to be a waitress. How else can I learn about people? I can't go to everyone. So they have to come to me. Everyone wants to eat, everyone has hunger. And I serve them. If they've had a bad day, I nurse them, cajole them. Maybe with coffee I give them a little philosophy. They have cocktails, I give them political science". She is able to view the benefits of her career choice and I never considered how people would come to her. I like how she sees it as learning about people and connecting to them through serving them. I see a definite connection to the American Dream and how people come to this country to work hard and do something they love. Dolores is living out her dream. Even though she may not be a millionaire, she still has a career that she loves and would not trade. Even though others may look down upon her job she feels confident, "I don't feel lowly at all. I myself feel sure. I don't want to change the job. I love it". She is confident because she enjoys being a waitress and is not ashamed of it. I admire how she is satisfied with her career because many people ultimately don't enjoy what they do. Dante represents the ideal dream because she is happy with her life. The story raises questions of happiness and being content with ones career. Maybe salary does not really matter and it all depends on whether you enjoy your job.

Eric Nesterenko also shared the same passion for his career, playing professional ice hockey. From the beginning of his childhood, he recalls favorite moments on the ice and how much he loved it. This led him to then play for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Black Hawks. He describes the feeling, "It can't be just a job. It's not worth playing just for money. It's a way of life. When we were kids there was the release in playing, the sweetness in being able to move and control your body. This is what play is. Beating somebody is secondary. When I was a kid, to really move was my delight. I felt released because I could move around anybody. I was free". I liked reading how he explained the emotion behind skating and what he took from it. I can sort of relate it to the sports I play. I never considered the job of a professional athlete and how draining it is but also how much the players truly love the game. They dedicate so much of themselves to it. It's easy to pick up on his sense of happiness while telling the story, especially at the end. Eric explains, "I still like to skate. One day last year on a cold, clear, crisp afternoon, I saw this huge sheet of ice in the street. Goddamn, if I didn't drive out there and put on my skates. I took off my camel-hair coat. I was just in a sort of jacket, on my skates. And I flew. Nobody was there. I was free as a bird. I was really happy. That goes back to when I was a kid. I'll do that until I die, I hope. Oh, I was free!". This quote best represents the story because it highlights how important it is to do whatever you love since that is what makes you truly happy. This connects to how Dolores also loves what she does and is okay with doing it for the rest of her life. The main point of the American Dream is joy and pleasure from life, which Eric and Dolores have accomplished.

Kearney and Pharaoh

I really enjoyed reading Tom Kearney's story because of his tone and personality. He is just an average citizen that has opinions on controversial topics ranging from the atomic bomb to integration. I especially liked the story because of how blunt Kearney is. He is honest and simple in his opinions which was refreshing to read. From his experience as a Chicago police officer, he has seen it all and describes stories simply. "When people attempt to offer a bribe. I know I've been negligent in my duty because I should have arrested the person. At the same time. that's universal, everywhere. I turn it down. I told him, you know, 'No harm trying. But I just don't go that way.' [Laughs sadly.] It's a corrupt society". He handles bribery with experience and and his attitude is very calm. He understands society through dealing with it as an officer. He represents American views and is opinionated on everything. When asked if he had any colored friends, he gave a funny and honest response. "Oh yes. Yes. [Pause.] I say colored friends and I think colored friends...but I actually really don't know". Kearney tries to get along with everyone and does not have a negative opinion against African Americans. In fact, he relates himself to them saying how their objectives in life are really the same by imagining their side. I gained respect for Tom because he just wants best for everyone in the country and promotes the welfare of blacks. He explains the problems of the country through the way he sees them without much of a political view such as Americans fear of involvement and the young generation. Kearney perfectly illustrates a normal American man's view of the country.

Kid Pharaohs personality was completely different than Tom Kearneys. He has an aggressive, tough guy attitude that is the polar opposite from Kearneys. He acts invincible and almost too tough. When asked if he is scared if anything, Kid responds, "Absolutely nothing". He has such strong opinions about everything and a big ego about his way of life which translates into unique views. The most interesting though was his opinion on the Japanese, "The best people for communities are the Japanese. They're never above a whisper. Their homes are immaculate. Show me a Japanese on the street after ten o'clock. Show me one, I'll offer a universal challenge to all. Did you ever see one arrested? Did you ever see one under the influence of an intoxicated beverage? Did you ever see 'em pregnant, Japanese girls who are not married? Of course not, there's love in the home. Say for Negroes, they're animals". Pharaoh definitely articulates his ideas a lot more clearly than Kearney and shows respect for different races. He gives off a sense that he knows everything about everything and everyone. I guess he also sort of represents a different type of American, one with tons of strong opinions. He is set on his ideas and nothing can change them with is direct personality. I liked reading stories with two completely different personalities and seeing how opinions are expressed through them. Both represent some qualities of an average American.

Ota and Bayse

Peter Ota's story really affected me because it showed the emotional effects of the Japanese internment. It is easy to think you can imagine how difficult and frustrating it must have been, but there are just some aspects you do not realize to think of. For example, there must have been an enormous feeling of shame of the Japanese culture. Peters mother, felt especially this embarrassment. He remembers, "The shame and humiliation and just broke her down. She was into Japanese culture. She was a flower arranger and used to play the biwa, a Japanese stringed instrument. Shame in her culture is worse than death. Right after that day she got very ill and contracted tuberculosis". During the events and after, the Japanese felt an embarrassment for their culture. How were they supposed to embrace their culture when it was the reason they were imprisoned? Feelings of degradation was a result in being detained because of their race. It is inevitable that the internment of Japanese would cause a negative outlook on their culture. Not only did the United States abuse the rights of its citizens, but it also degraded their ethnicity. This also caused a large consequence after the war as well. It would be impossible to be able to adjust to society normally after being imprisoned. The change would not only be very difficult for Japanese Americans, but also for all citizens of the country. Taking pride in the Japanese culture would take time. Ota recalls, “We came back to Los Angeles at the end of the war, believing there was no other way but to be American. We were discouraged with our Japanese culture. My feeling at the time was, I had to prove myself. I don’t know why I had to prove myself. Here I am, an ex-GI, born and raised here. Why do I have to prove myself? We all had this feeling. We had to prove that we were Americans, okay?” Japanese were stuck believing they had to still prove their citizenship after the war. The worst result was that the Japanese culture was discouraged and those who were detained felt as though they had to deject their heritage to be accepted. Irreparable damage to was brought upon Japanese American citizens.

Betty Bayse also shares the story of how much soldiers had to suffer. There were many permanent damages that they had to live with for the rest of their lives. "Sitting at the bedside of this young flyer who went down over Leyte. He got his own fire bomb. Next to his bed is a picture of this handsome pilot beside in his P-38. He wants to be sure I see it: 'Hi, Red, look. This is me.' He was never gonna leave that bed until he got his face back. That handsome photograph he insisted be there, so that's the person you'll see. He was very hard to manage because he would scream when they changed his dressing. He was insistent that he was never gonna leave that room until they brought him back to where he was before". Soldiers were also very affected by their sometimes permanent wounds and this forever scarred their mentality. The one particular soldier Betty described just wanted his normal appearance back, to be viewed normally like the picture beside his bed. They just wanted their regular looks back and were so desperate to repair the damage the war had done. Everyone had to suffer some consequences and felt shame in their looks, the war caused both internal and external harm.

A Moral Test

The two readings really reflected how Americans were being tested mentally and emotionally throughout World War II. Morals were constantly being questioned and changed due to the tactics of war. The quote that had the biggest impact on me was one said by Peggy Terry, "If the Bible says, Thou shalt not kill, it doesn't say, Except in times of war. They'll send a man to the electric chair who in a temper killed somebody. But they pin medals on our men. The more people they kill, the more medals they pin on 'em". Peggy's logic brings up such a valid point about how right and wrong is challenged during war. Killing is considered a crime and yet it is valued and rewarded in the army. How are soldiers supposed to return home and lead normal lives? Their views are altered by fighting and they are forever impacted. If killing is wrong in the everyday life, why should it be viewed differently during war? Horrible images stuck in the minds of veterans and made it difficult to adjust back home. Peggy gives an example about her veteran husband, "One of the things that bothered him most was his memory of this town he was in. He saw something move by and building and he shot. It was a woman. He never got over that. It seems so obvious to say-wars brutalize people. It brutalized him". Americans were being tested on their mental strength which had an enormous consequence. The conditions were so terrible that soldiers were forced to adapt to the environment and change their mental attitude. E.B. Sledge, a marine who fought in WWII, admits, "When Lindbergh made a trip to the Philippines, he was horrified at the way American GIs talked about the Japanese. It was so savage. We were savages". Even an American marine can admit how low some soldiers fell. The war in the Pacific especially turned men into monsters because of the brutality the Japanese fought with. It must have been impossible to uphold your moral values when fighting against dirty tactics. Sledge recalls, "Our drill instructor at boot camp would tell us, 'You're not going to Europe, you're going to the Pacific. Don't hesitate to fight the Japs dirty. Most Americans, from the time they're kids, are taught not to hit below the belt. It's not sportsmanlike. Well, nobody has taught the Japanese that, and war ain't sport. Kick him in the balls before he kicks you in yours'". From the beginning, the U.S. expected the fight to be difficult against the Pacific because of their unconditional ways. Due to this type of strategy, Americans had to lower their principles to be able to actually win. No benefit came from warfare and it managed to change the lives of many soldiers. I do not believe America was able to uphold all of its important values. The country was simply blinded by the want of winning and ending the war.

The Good War

While reading about firsthand experiences of World War II, I was very surprised to learn how many soldiers were appreciative of it and how it truly benefited the country. I always thought fighting in a war was a regretful experience with seeing so many horrors and one of the things soldiers would want to change about their lives if they could go back. But, several veterans view it as a positive experience. Robert Rasmus believes, "World War Two has affected me in many ways ever since. In a short period of time I had the most tremendous experiences of all of life: of fear, of jubilance, of misery, of hope, of comradeship, and of endless excitement. I honestly fell grateful for having been a witness to an event as monumental as anything in history and, in a very small way, a participant". War brought upon all sorts of emotions and forever changed the lives of many. I can understand some of the positives like being able to travel and view the world but reading about piles of dead bodies or heads half blown off just does not justify it for me.

I love reading documents like, learning from people who actually lived through history instead of reading a textbook. For examples there are little things that cannot be learned in a textbook. An interesting part for me was when Rasmus recalled, "But you have to accept the fact that in a cross section of people- in civilian life, too -you've got cowards and quitters. Our radio man shot up his radio: he thought we were going to be captured. Panic. I became a bazooka man because our bazooka man threw his weapon away and I picked it up. He ran off". There are small occurrences that a textbook would never teach us. Its easy to forget that soldiers are normal men and not all are heroes, some actually did run away. Reading through a veterans perspective makes the biggest difference in the world. It is much easier to understand the impact of an event.