The Eyes of War
The eyes of those that have seen death, the eyes of those who have endured mass destruction, the eyes of those who have seen strong men cry. The thought of how different the world is looked at from those eyes compared to the eyes of a citizen, a family man, a worker. They are different. They will always be different; as long as that veteran has those memories they will always be different. The eyes of a citizen will never be able to fully comprehend what others eyes have seen and how it has changed them. Our media tries to make war look like something great, something to enjoy when really it isn’t great at all it isn’t enjoyable at all.
Now days in our public, the media has glorified war, glorified war in a way that seems to be fun, or seems to desensitize people’s thoughts of war. The media desensitizes us with video games, movies, and books. These forms of entertainment are the most impacting on our public, and most of these forms of entertainment have a large portion of war related content. The content in this entertainment has things like kill streaks and rewards for the amounts of kills you can achieve without dying yourself.(COD black ops) It causes the player of the game to strive and try to accomplish the most and best kills they can.
In most war related video games there is a main character, most main characters are proud to kill and they are good at it. They also are portrayed as strong, agile, and badass they are looked at as heroes. These "heroes" have been through something that has shaped them into who they are now. “An old buffer was pleased to describe us as young heroes” –All Quiet on the Western Front, a man called Paul a “hero” because of his actions in war. A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom –Bob Dylan.
There are no rewards while you’re in war you don’t get bonuses for killing another human being. The only thing that person gains from taking another life is the memory, the memory of the screams or the memory of the blood and pain and the thought that your still alive because of what you have done, you get nothing just get things taken away. There are no rewards to death, "feels that nothing more can be taken from him, because the thing that gave him strength, his comrades, has already been taken." –All Quiet on the Western Front. A man is affected by other people in life; a man is even more affected when he has to take that life from another person, the thought of that person’s life and what you have taken away from the world.
Soldiers seem to be offended or get uncomfortable when you ask them if they feel that they or their brothers in arms are heroes, it seems that they feel that being a hero in war promotes war and gives it a reason to fight on. Soldiers seem to have the sense that they don’t want to be recognized for what they have done they aren’t proud of the lives they have taken or the things they have seen. Some soldiers don’t even feel comfortable telling their kids, grandkids, brothers, or sisters what they have seen or done on the battlefield. “I am afraid they might then become gigantic and be no longer able to master them” –All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul is talking about how if he told the people about the war front them they would not be able to comprehend what he has seen and endured.
Games don’t tell the side of the enemy, they tell you how the enemy has done this and that and how they need to be taken down or punished for their actions. When the truth is that each side has their own story for their actions, both sides may have reasons that they feel justify the other. All soldiers are doing what they are told and doing what they believe is right they each have their own perspectives on different matters and they deserve to be respected for those opinions even if they seem to be abstract. The truth of war is things will happen, things that will change you, change your perspectives, change your mind, and change your life.
Now days in our public, the media has glorified war, glorified war in a way that seems to be fun, or seems to desensitize people’s thoughts of war. The media desensitizes us with video games, movies, and books. These forms of entertainment are the most impacting on our public, and most of these forms of entertainment have a large portion of war related content. The content in this entertainment has things like kill streaks and rewards for the amounts of kills you can achieve without dying yourself.(COD black ops) It causes the player of the game to strive and try to accomplish the most and best kills they can.
In most war related video games there is a main character, most main characters are proud to kill and they are good at it. They also are portrayed as strong, agile, and badass they are looked at as heroes. These "heroes" have been through something that has shaped them into who they are now. “An old buffer was pleased to describe us as young heroes” –All Quiet on the Western Front, a man called Paul a “hero” because of his actions in war. A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom –Bob Dylan.
There are no rewards while you’re in war you don’t get bonuses for killing another human being. The only thing that person gains from taking another life is the memory, the memory of the screams or the memory of the blood and pain and the thought that your still alive because of what you have done, you get nothing just get things taken away. There are no rewards to death, "feels that nothing more can be taken from him, because the thing that gave him strength, his comrades, has already been taken." –All Quiet on the Western Front. A man is affected by other people in life; a man is even more affected when he has to take that life from another person, the thought of that person’s life and what you have taken away from the world.
Soldiers seem to be offended or get uncomfortable when you ask them if they feel that they or their brothers in arms are heroes, it seems that they feel that being a hero in war promotes war and gives it a reason to fight on. Soldiers seem to have the sense that they don’t want to be recognized for what they have done they aren’t proud of the lives they have taken or the things they have seen. Some soldiers don’t even feel comfortable telling their kids, grandkids, brothers, or sisters what they have seen or done on the battlefield. “I am afraid they might then become gigantic and be no longer able to master them” –All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul is talking about how if he told the people about the war front them they would not be able to comprehend what he has seen and endured.
Games don’t tell the side of the enemy, they tell you how the enemy has done this and that and how they need to be taken down or punished for their actions. When the truth is that each side has their own story for their actions, both sides may have reasons that they feel justify the other. All soldiers are doing what they are told and doing what they believe is right they each have their own perspectives on different matters and they deserve to be respected for those opinions even if they seem to be abstract. The truth of war is things will happen, things that will change you, change your perspectives, change your mind, and change your life.