Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Veterans day links for reading, reflection and comments

First, some fast facts and links.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/14/us/veterans-day-fast-facts/index.html

There are different ways to participate and acknowledge Veterans Day, to be sure, and I want to share two links that I feel are important.  The first one here is maybe more what we expect when we think of veterans as heros and this one focuses on bravery in batter and the incredible character of this soldier.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/07/opinion/tapper-clint-romesha/


Medal of Honor awardee Clink Romesha.


The next links are modern and a little different.  This one deals with a vet who was changed by battle and the suffering he saw among ordinary people in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He decided to use his courage and the lessons he learned in the military to try to help fight a new war on poverty.

Think about it: don't we often see connections between crime and poverty, war and poverty, and terrorism and poverty?

These links help make that connection more clear and provide inspiring food for thought.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fad72FjwB3k&feature=share&list=PLrNNLYlUNFYfTMlZ5yVcbCdFh6Zuv_cAX

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/linking-extreme-poverty-and-global-terrorism/?_r=0



Jake Harriman as soldier, top, and as organizer and activist, below.

More links




From the ESPN video Going Home which focuses on surprise visits home from vets to their families.


1110.03 Students: Your response Homework
  1. Please read/watch at least three of these links, and be active in your reading.  
  2. Take some notes so you can compose a thoughtful response.
  3. In the Comments section of this post, compose a response to one or more  of the sources or stories.  What meant the most to you?  Why? 
  4. Include a direct quote or passage from one of the stories somewhere in your response.  

13 comments:

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  4. I really liked watching the ESPN video Going Home which showed many surprise visits home from veterans. This video gave me chills when I watched it. Seeing the little kids and family members so surprised and happy touched me. A couple of the visits touched me. One of the surprise visits that touched me was when the guy came home and hugged his pregnant wife and little children. Knowing he has missed so much throughout his wife's pregnancy is so sad. Also the children that hugged their parents and told them how much they missed them really touched me and brought tears to my eyes. I cant even imagine how hard it is for those families not having their loved ones with them but the surprise visits to me mean the most and are really inspiring to watch.

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  5. I really enjoyed watching the video in class. I could really relate because I have been to places where there are tin villages, and where kids don't know when their next meal will be. It's really heartbreaking to see it happen. This guy was really really encouraging to me.

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  6. In the past I have never really celebrated Veterans day more often Memorial Day. This year I actually got to read a pretty interesting article about a vet named Paul and what he experienced while he was in the US Navy. I also enjoyed the video we watched in class. To see how one experience Jake witnessed changed his whole outlook on life was amazing. Especially how he went back to school to better the world.

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  7. Veterans day is a special day to all Americans but especially to the veterans these are the best that America has to offer and i'm so proud to live in a country that is defended but such smart, brave and amazing individuals. When the man That we saw in class giving his speech said "the war on terror starts with fighting to stop extreme poverty" this really spoke to me because it makes a lot of sense. The part that stood out to me had to be the mans story he told about the farmers family in the war. i couldn't even imagine going through an experience like that and then coming back and doing something to make sure tragedies like that don't happen.

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  8. The short clip of Jake Harrison speaking i loved how that one story has impacted his life so much that he created this organization to help people who are in poverty. The one part of the movie that got me the most was when he said in the 237 years we have had war 1,300,000 people have died but every month 1,500,000 people have died of hunger. This makes you really think of what our country is going through.

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  9. I was never one to get into the holidays of Memorial or Veteran's Day. However, this year I was able to talk to my Nonna about it. My Nonno passed away before I died, but he fought in the Korean war and she told me some pretty incredible stories about him during the war. After watching the video in class and talking to Nonna I realized that the brave men and women who serve deserve the recognition and that the day is truly special because of all they do for the country. Even after they get done fighting and protecting they go on to do great things. They are truly amazing people.

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  10. I read some interesting facts about Veterans day and learned more about how to participate and acknowledge Veterans day. One statistic that really stood out to me was how there are 1.8 million veterans of WWII still living. I found this statistic uplifting but it also made me curious to know more about these veterans. I also was reminded of the unknown soldier ceremony that is held in Washington, D.C. I have attended this event twice before and I feel that it is definitely something every American should experience. I think Veterans day is something I will try to participate more in next year around, but I can still thank the veterans I know today for their services to our country.

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  11. I enjoyed watching “Got Your 6 Storytellers” in class. Jake talked about how in that moment he saw that man’s entire life taken from him, it was a life changing moment for himself. He mentioned in the video how the GPS coordinates of someone’s birthplace determines their lifestyle and choices. After finishing his tour he decided to make a change but he is determined to not make a small change but a big one.

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  12. I had enjoyed watching the video of Jake Harriman, it's nice to see someone following their goal and achieving it. Although it was sad and gave me goosebumps to hear the story of the man losing his family, it was that moment that gave Jake a reason to help millions of others and start something to try to fight extreme poverty.

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  13. I read the article titled "Linking Extreme Poverty and Global Terrorism" and it mentioned a lot of things I had never thought about before. First, it mentioned that the reason we have to fight terrorism is because people are so desperate to survive due to poverty. "You can never win a war against terror as long as there are conditions in the world that make people desperate — poverty, disease, ignorance." What they are trying to say is that we need to attack the root of the problem. Also, I didn't realize that the solutions to poverty people always jump through are so ineffective. For example, often mosquito nets are used for fishing nets and the schools that have been built, don't have teachers therefore making the schools ineffective.

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