America Ignorance of War

This article by Czeslaw Milosz starts out with a very powerful rhetorical question "Are Americans really stupid?". And with this he doesn't mean stupid as in dumb he means ignorant to everything, living in a bubble which he describes as people mindlessly day in and day out going to work seeing houses as natural, things that are supposed to be there, feeling their work in a factory as meaningful and integral to the world, feeling that money made at work is the all powerful force in the world and not thinking anything of it at all. But America has never really experienced anything else, he goes to show how war metamorphises all these meaningless things that we as Americans live and worship as our entire existence. He explains how war transforms the way one looks at life, how one looks at what is around and what is thought of as the norm. He uses Poland during the Nazi invasion and occupation as the example, how seeing burned out, blown up homes, bodies on the street, people being round up (their fate being inescapable and terminal) forms people's realities, and expectations of reality. All these things being common place in this society makes this is their reality, while we in America know nothing of this, promoting our foreign policy of control and "influence" as we keep the fighting "over there". We are at war with countries yet we really know nothing and have experienced none of this first hand.

Alexie: What you Pawn I Will Redeem

This story is told by a Native American of the Spokane tribe, he begins in a tone of almost desperation. He begins with telling the reader of his current homeless situation, and how after failing at most things in life for example in school and in love, he had found something he was good at. But in the beginning it doesn't seem like he is truly happy, he talks about his Native American friends and about panhandling and getting drunk. Until all of the sudden he sees his grandmothers "regalia" in a pawn shop and his life is given an aim. He refers to it as a quest as he attempts to earn money to get his Grandmother's "regalia" back. But as he gets money from people who are sympathetic to his cause he quickly squanders it away with food and drink. He does not do this selfishly though and is very generous treating people to food and drink in bars and restaurants. And in the end he returns to the pawn shop with 5 dollars asking for the "regalia". The generous pawn shop owners sees his authenticity and gives the "regalia" to him free of charge. He runs out ecstatic and dances feeling his grandmother's presence with him as he dances in the street. The story begins with an almost depressed narrator who feeling like the world had done him in felt on the fringe of society. But as the story went on he turns into a very genuine man who despite being put down seemed to maintain his sense of humor, who is very generous and giving and in return in the end receives his grandmother's regalia and is truly able to celebrate his tradition and culture in the end.

Sedaris:The Girl Next Door

It really amazed me to finish this reading and hear Brandi refer to David Sedaris as a faggot after his attempts to be friendly and nurturing to her. And to read that she called his mother a bitch was even more disheartening. It was obvious that her mother had fed her these words because where else would a little 9 year old girl hear these terms and where to direct them. This can be considered what a bad mother can be, a mother should be thoughtful and careful what she says around her daughter who being young and impressionable will most likely repeat what she hears. Sedaris's mother although a more ideal mother figure still has petty arguments with her son and tries to undermine what he is doing, but it is obviously doing out of love. And that is what i think to be the most important criteria. What makes a mother who she is is the love that she has for her children, she cares about them, thinks of them first is not lost in her life and not caught up on who and what has done her wrong. Both these mothers obviously love their children but they do not think of only them they keep their grudges and think ill of others, both trying to persuade Sedaris and the little girl that they were no good for each other and even evil.