"Political Ideology"

So as i embark upon a new experience of blogging about politics, in which is something i have never talked about openly by the way. I admit i felt a little intimidated because it isn't really my cup of tea. I prefer hibiscus instead of chamomile, and politics is my chamomile.

When I took the survey on finding out my political ideology, my results were that I was a "liberal". Maybe I do agree on some levels but I prefer the term, Independent. They are just some things I don't agree with democrats. And plus, I hate labels anyways. I have my own outlandish ideas about this country’s government with many speculations. I chose to take this class to help me better examine government, to encourage me (or force me) to research on government issues, to know the definitions of democracy, autocracy, aristocracy, and plutocracy, to learn more about the “sacred documents”. Something that I do hope to get out of this class is to gain more knowledge and to hopefully grasp a better understanding of it. I believe that to be well educated about all the aspects of the subject will help me in the long run. In high school I refused to show any kind of interest in it at all nor did I ever show an interest in voting. Of course it seemed boring to me and a waste of time.

It wasn't until the end of the second semester of my junior year at Lanier High School when I started paying more attention in my AP US history class, learning about how women rights activist fought so hard for equality and many other great accomplishments in history. Then my teacher Mrs. Bisset showed me a book: "The Things They Carried" by Tim O’Brien. Probably one of the best books I have ever read.

It's a collection of stories by Tim O’Brien, about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. While it was based on some of O'Brien's own experiences, the title refers that the book is obviously fiction. One of the stories, "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" (one my favorites) was made into a film in 1998. Entitled "A Soldier’s Sweetheart". The author makes a distinction in "Story Truth" verses "Happening Truth". Though he creates stories that are false yet truthfully portrays the war. Instead of just going on and on about facts and actual events, by inventing stories he creates emotion. His own way of telling the stories of the thousand of soldiers that were silenced. Its mind blowing reading the stories, I immediately became fascinated with the Vietnam War. I began comprehending the damages of war, not only disfiguring soldier’s bodies but how it tarnishes and destroys them psychologically.

The story "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" is a prime example how war can change people in a scary way. How you can lose yourself, and become something else, something even terrifying. A very good read, I think everyone should go out and buy it.

And in cause of this war, I began thinking about the thousands of families whose fathers and sons did not come home, that in fact the cause of any war is based on fear. How LBJ feared that if one nation would fall to communism, so would another. Which brings forth the “domino theory”. Because of fear, the government can easily influence the American public into agreeing to war as a course of action. Fear and paranoia inhabits the people of America, it controls us. It's the way the media help put this nation in a black hole of fear. And as time passes, deeper and deeper the rabbit hole gets.