I really enjoyed reading Riverbend's insight on the war. The fact that she is a young woman makes it even more interesting because I'm always used to men writing about wars. The first blog that caught my attention was "Another Day…" because it highlights America's perspective on people from Iraq. Riverbend expresses her anger that many people do not believe she's really from Iraq because she has access to the internet and she knows how to use a computer. It really opened my eyes to how America's judgement of people from Iraq is usually completely wrong. Riverbend is almost mocking their perceptions because she is living proof that people from Iraq are intelligent and can have their own thoughts, expressions and can use a computer. For a while when I was little I was trained to think that America was more intelligent than other countries, but as I grew up and met people from different countries I realized that we were more alike than we were different. The next blog that really caught my attention was "Tired.". Riverbend talks about a boy who was 10 or 11 years old who got killed during an American raid. She expresses her anger about how people never mention those kinds of things. She is frustrated that innocent children get killed, but no one has any answers or anything to say about. It really shifted my perspective and made me realize how true that was. I never hear about the innocent children that are killed in Iraq, it's almost like America knows it's wrong, but they don't want to admit it. Riverbend also elaborates on the raids and how American's think that people from Iraq are ungrateful because the raids are supposed to help the people of Iraq. But Riverbend brings up such a good point and that point is that the raids prove that they are no longer free and safe in their own homes since a raid can happen at any point in time. I cannot imagine how that must feel and the anxiety it must bring to the people, especially children. I'm really glad I read this blog and got a chance to see a different perspective on the war.
I think everyone in America was brought up to believe that we are the most advanced country and everyone here was smarter. But as you said, growing up you realize how untrue that is. Being young we're naive to what's going on around us and how other countries really are. Also the US media shields us from knowing the full spectrum of what is happening. We never hear about a raid or anything going wrong, such as the one that killed the young boy. Our government is trying to maintain that we are great and perfect when in reality we're flawed like everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI liked everything that you have said and I agree that is interesting that we are given a different perspective told by a female Iraqi woman, Her blog gives us insight about how it is like to live in Iraq. Riverbend expresses an array of emotions—ranging for sorrow to downright anger and voicing her opinion about politics and the war itself. I agree with what you stated about believing how America being more intelligent than other countries. When I was young, I always been led to believe that America is a the “Land of Opportunity” but I later learned that the media distorts everything and that countries, like Iraq, is technologically advanced and modern in their own way, influenced by their own culture.
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