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.

I really admired Jane Yoders opinions on what is necessary in life. Growing up in a household that made her believe boots were a luxury really contributed to her ideals. She said, "I have a real fear of being trapped into more than I need. I just turn away from it. Security to me is not what we have, but what we can do without. I don't want anything so badly that I can't wait for it. I think a second television set in our bedroom might be kind of nice. But i can dismiss it. We have one. How much can you watch?" I respect her way of thinking and agree with how we can wait for something if we really want it. Sometimes these ideas are forgotten, especially growing up in a predominantly successful area. Material objects such as shoes and jackets are not cherished while Jane wore a hideous Indian blanket coat only because it kept her warm and valued it so much. It is easy to forget that you just need one shirt not many when you are surrounded by many fortunate people who may have even more than you. The way Jane grew up made her form an opinion that stuck with her for the rest of her life. She survived with the minimum which made her appreciate each one of her belongings because she had so little. This made her used to not needing a lot. She describes, "We tell our boys: you have a black sweater, a white sweater, and a blue sweater. You can't wear ten sweaters at once, you can only wear one. What is this thing?...some of the people that I know have thirty blouses. Oh, my God, I have no desire to think where I'd hang them. For what? I can't even grasp it." Jane is right. No one needs a lot of belongings. The depression created this mentality among people who lived through it. Only the bare necessities are really necessary. I feel spoiled with all that I have and I know I do not appreciate it enough. It seems as though this generation has not truly suffered so we do not really understand how fortunate we are. I think the most important lesson to take away from Jane's story is to appreciate our belongings and value them. It is difficult to realize how privileged we are until we hear story's like Jane's that remind us of what others went and still go through.

Desperation Over the Great Depression

The feeling that was highlighted in both stories was the feeling of desperation. The Great Depression put the population into a new experience that was unusual. Struggle was a very usual thing at the end of the 1920s and throughout the 1930s. One story shared the perspective of a wealthy business man who dealt with the stock market crash and had several close connections with other business men who truly suffered. Friends in the business constantly asked for loans and grew more and more anxious. Arthur A. Robertson recalled, "I must have gotten calls from a dozen and a half friends who were desperate. In each case, there was no sense in loaning them the money that they would give the broker. Tomorrow they'd be worse off than yesterday. Suicides, left and right, made a terrific impression on me, of course. People I knew. It was heartbreaking." The Depression affected people emotionally and mentally. It seems surprising to me that these people ended their own lives by committing suicide rather than trying to live through the hard times and keep moving. It is difficult to imagine that times were so difficult and debts were so great that life was no longer worth living. I admire those who kept their families in mind and chose to live even if they would forever work because of their previous risks. But, the feeling of uncertainty did create a constant worry and led many to violence. Oscar Heline, a farmer during the depression, stated, "What I remember most of those times is that poverty creates desperation, and desperation creates violence." The common feeling of the country was that of desperation and frustration which ultimately led to violence in some cases. Everyone was put into a bad position and Oscar's story describes farmers experiences. Big business men on Wall Street were in the same bad situation as farmers. Foreclosures and bank takeovers were a constant issue for both. The country did learn several lessons from the depression and many mistakes that led to it will no longer be made. Robertson described a contribution to the crash, "Today, if you want to buy $100 worth of stock, you have to put up $80 and the broker will put up $20. In those days, you could put up $8 or $10. That was really responsible for the collapse. The slightest shake-up caused calamity because people didn't have the money required to cover the other $90 or so. There were not the controls you have today. They just sold you out: an unwilling seller to an unwilling buyer." The basic problem of the 1920s was the public buying things they did not have the money for. Many new restrictions and controls now protect the market. The depression reflected how people act in fear and uncertainty but also helped the country progress into one where such a great economic collapse can be prevented.