#10

Project Idea 1 ( oral history and the military)

RON DEVLIN Of The,Morning Call. (2001, Nov 11). Students relive military history by telling their relatives' stories** parkland classes celebrate the holiday with "the veterans wall.'. Morning Call. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/393040671?accountid=27045

                In an oral history exercise Art smith asked his ninth grade class to interview relatives and friends that had served in the military, he also asked the students to bring pictures to put on a wall as a memorial. Smith found that most of the people in the stories were in their teens when they had been enlisted or drafted, he also found that these soldiers came from diverse backgrounds. Smith taught his class that all this veterans were a part of history by being the primary eyewitnesses to the real story.

                Military and history go along with each other because without history the military could not learn from the past. We need to know the past to make a better future and I think that Smith was trying to teach his students that oral history is the best because the people who were present are the “primary eyewitnesses to history” and they know what actually happen and when they pass it on, that person can learn from the past and not make the same mistake and teach others not to make the mistake.

Buckley, C. (2012, Sep 24). Valley veterans tell war stories for oral military history project. McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1069267596?accountid=27045     

            All military history begins with oral history, and the library of congress folk life center is doing just that to be able to preserve the oral history of the military told by the people who were actually there, the veterans themselves. This project is mostly made up of volunteers who go out and find stories orally, written, videotaped, or recorded. The veterans who participate in this project say that sharing their stories helps them heal from the pain of being in war. Some of the stories presented in the history channel came from the research done by the library of congress folk life center. When the veteran participates in this research they record him/her and when they are done the veteran will get a copy, so he can leave it for his posterity.

Project Idea 2 (Stories the military does not want told)

Olmsted, D. (2004). Telling Stories the Military Doesn't Want Told. Nieman Reports, 58(2), 45-48.

            The military has a history they don’t want people to know, and this article talks about that sad truth of what is being kept from the general public just so the military can have good public reputation. It is easy for reporters to talk to the grunts who say how happy they are being so far away from home, but it’s a very different story when the reported tries to talk to a soldier who is not as happy and feel like he is being kicked around especially when they really are. Reported Mark Benjamin heard of a soldier at fort Knox who was wounded, before he arrived with his photographer they moved the soldier from pitiful living and even worst medical care. When the reported found him the photographer was going to take a picture of the wounded soldier who was outside the medical barracks waiting in formation. The photographer was detained and taken to the garrison commander’s office. The military covered this story up by saying that they photographer had trespassed.

People that come from Ink

Gottschall hit a homerun with this chapter with me. One of the things that stood out to me the most was that Hitler liked plays from Wagner. This was a first for me when I found that out. Because I knew that Hitler was trying to become an art master and was kicked out of school for it and later down the road became the leader of Germany. One thing that Gottschall goes on is that he dehumanize Hitler. Anyone in their right mind would agree that Hitler was evil but before he did what he did nobody talks about it. I can understand that but sometimes talking about what they did is not a reason why they did what they did. With reading nonfiction I find it hard sometimes to believe what the person has put in their book because I could be reading another book from someone else and what if they both have different ancers then what. With me being in the military I was able to get for Christmas last year about 4-5 military books that former soldiers written about serving overseas. I found most of the things that they have put in those book to be as real as they could make it without having live rounds fly over your head.   With fiction I can get lost in that all day long.  With the Halo book series that help create the video games that changed a lot of ways video games are played. Even with our fiction movies have done that as well look at Avengers. It takes 4 different movie carters and has them all in a movie fighting to keep our world safe.  Gottschall makes a claim that we can be influenced by stories.  I know that there are times when I am reading a good fiction or nonfiction and it makes me what to go do what they are doing.  For my research project I am still looking but I am hoping to find one that I can use to show that in the history of time stories from former military battles or leaders have caused soldiers to do better.

2 Neverland

I looked up the definition of storytelling on Google and was suprized to see what it said. Google said “someone who tells a story.” Well thanks Google that’s a lot of help now is it. For me storytelling is where someone tells you about something that’s fake or real but has meaning. Any story can have meaning in it look at 3 little pigs. Now depending on what story you hear it from it was the pigs who were being mean to the wolf that was hungry. I was thinking about this and there is no way that story is a dying art. Look around us and you will see that its alive and growing. DSU just stated this history of Dixie by asking former students to talk about their experiences that right there is a story.  For me Neverland lives in me and will always will. Every night that I go to sleep I try and dream of some place different like from a movie that I see. The best one that comes to mind is Star Trek Into Darkness I think what would it be like to command a star ship and explore new life that would like to talk or kill me.  

3

Gottshcall’s statement of “ simulate the big dilemma of life and people who consume a lot of fiction should be more capable social operators then people who don’t.” I find this statement to fit in with the statement those who read more are better off than those who do not. I see this working out more for college age kids because the more they read about the lattice sci fi movie, game, and book. The more they read and play the more they are going to think how can I create the USS Enterprise off Star Trek.   The problem is that with younger brains that have not developed like 22 and under this fiction can be bad for their brains. I agree and disagree with this. I agree that yes sometimes kids should not be playing video games that have too much fighting in it. At that early age kids will see that its ok to steal a car and go on to take over a city. The part that I disagree with is that as the young mind develops why not let them play a little. For me I always had it in the back of my mind that this is just a game nothing real is going to come from this other than enjoyment from playing.  

#8

With this week’s reading assignment “The Moral of the Story” it hit  home for me.   Gottschall said "for a society to function properly, people have to believe in justice. They have to believe that there are rewards for doing right, and punishments for doing wrong”.  For me it made me think because with the entire crazy ness going on right now in DC with the budget. US soldiers are putting their lives on the line and some have fallen due to war and none of them are getting paid.  To me there should be some kind of punishment for the people who lead this country I am nor for or against the leaders of this country but I do think that they should get their heads on state.   With what I just said In history governments have not be very well off if they did not pay there soldiers and workers.  If I was going to do a research  project I would do one on what I have already talked about. How leaders in DC are fighting over a budget for the country were countless people are not getting paid and yet the leaders still are. Where is their morality and empathy. I know a few soldiers that are over in Afghanistan fighting for our freedom and they are not getting paid and yet our leaders are where is their morality and empathy.  I may be bias because I am in the military but with what Gottschall said and our reading assignment/ question it hit really made me think wow if only people did what they were required to do.