Victory at Any Cost “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” ~Vince Lombardi
These influential words explain why humans choose to fight. Whether a board game, a sports competition, or something as serious as war, the drive to win fuels our existence. Since the beginning of human society men have competed to exert control over their neighbors, and this innate need for power will keep war from becoming outdated.
In 1865, war was viewed by President Abraham Lincoln as the will of God (Lincoln 2). He made this claim in a speech that addressed the worried and distraught citizens of the United States in an attempt to explain both the “moral and spiritual significance” of war (Voelker 1). Critics denounced his attribution of war to the work …show more content…
The reader can imagine his voice shaking as he admits that he “did not want to die” (O’Brien 42), and that he feared “leaving [his] country forever” (O’Brien 48). At the age of 21, O’Brien faces the reality of being forced to leave his country and possibly never return. The prospect of being torn away from his family haunts O’Brien and leads him to contemplate fleeing the country of his birth. This is certainly not an easy prospect for a young boy, and O’Brien’s recounting of his emotional outburst, written as a romantic tragedy channels his true feelings of fear and hatred to the reader. Other boys, along with O’Brien, were finding out that they would soon be forced to leave their home, their family and their futures to go to a foreign land where they might leave their lives on a battlefield. They knew that they would see both their comrades and enemies die before their eyes. They knew that death was a probable outcome, and if they were fortunate enough to come back, they would be changed and haunted by the experience. Yet these soldiers had no choice. They could not say “no” even if they were scared, or they didn’t want to fight, and they knew that life would be altered forever by what they …show more content…
Photojournalist Rick Loomis accompanied American soldiers as they fought in Fallujah and was forced to witness tragedy while reporting back to families that their loved ones had perished in the war. In his article “Imagine Dying”, Loomis takes the reader on a journey through a destructive battle and its aftermath. With a heavy heart, he recalls the moment when he had to tell a mother that her son would not be returning home. Loomis is overcome by sadness as he tells the reader that “[the soldier] was her only son” and “[the soldier’s mother] wanted any photo [Loomis] had… anything she could hold onto” (6). Loomis includes this devastating encounter to capture the hurt that countless families inevitably face. This mother’s hurt and sorrow is a recurring theme amongst family members who find out that their loved ones will not be coming
These influential words explain why humans choose to fight. Whether a board game, a sports competition, or something as serious as war, the drive to win fuels our existence. Since the beginning of human society men have competed to exert control over their neighbors, and this innate need for power will keep war from becoming outdated.
In 1865, war was viewed by President Abraham Lincoln as the will of God (Lincoln 2). He made this claim in a speech that addressed the worried and distraught citizens of the United States in an attempt to explain both the “moral and spiritual significance” of war (Voelker 1). Critics denounced his attribution of war to the work …show more content…
The reader can imagine his voice shaking as he admits that he “did not want to die” (O’Brien 42), and that he feared “leaving [his] country forever” (O’Brien 48). At the age of 21, O’Brien faces the reality of being forced to leave his country and possibly never return. The prospect of being torn away from his family haunts O’Brien and leads him to contemplate fleeing the country of his birth. This is certainly not an easy prospect for a young boy, and O’Brien’s recounting of his emotional outburst, written as a romantic tragedy channels his true feelings of fear and hatred to the reader. Other boys, along with O’Brien, were finding out that they would soon be forced to leave their home, their family and their futures to go to a foreign land where they might leave their lives on a battlefield. They knew that they would see both their comrades and enemies die before their eyes. They knew that death was a probable outcome, and if they were fortunate enough to come back, they would be changed and haunted by the experience. Yet these soldiers had no choice. They could not say “no” even if they were scared, or they didn’t want to fight, and they knew that life would be altered forever by what they …show more content…
Photojournalist Rick Loomis accompanied American soldiers as they fought in Fallujah and was forced to witness tragedy while reporting back to families that their loved ones had perished in the war. In his article “Imagine Dying”, Loomis takes the reader on a journey through a destructive battle and its aftermath. With a heavy heart, he recalls the moment when he had to tell a mother that her son would not be returning home. Loomis is overcome by sadness as he tells the reader that “[the soldier] was her only son” and “[the soldier’s mother] wanted any photo [Loomis] had… anything she could hold onto” (6). Loomis includes this devastating encounter to capture the hurt that countless families inevitably face. This mother’s hurt and sorrow is a recurring theme amongst family members who find out that their loved ones will not be coming