Dear students, here are two questions we didn't have time to discuss "face to face" in class, but fortunately we have this "screen to screen" way to continue our communication and exchange of ideas. Let's see what you all think!
It is evident that through some of our blog's questions we are getting to know each other better.... thanks to issues we rarely talk about.
Everybody will be looking forward to reading the answers, I hope!
Deadline: two weeks.
Further discussion:
a- Are you what you carry? Does it reveal who you are? If you had to choose 10 precious belongings to save from yourburning house, what would they be?
b- Although the current situation in Iraq is different from the Vietnam conflict in many ways, the guerrilla warfare aspect is similar, i.e. the “enemy” is not clearly identifiable. What are the potential psychological implications that this scenario might have on the American soldiers in Iraq?
The first one! I can`t believe it! Well, these are my answers:
ResponderEliminara) I think all of us are what we carry. Our family, experiences, education, country, friends, etc. form part of what we are. Sometimes, it is very difficult to reveal who we are but I always try to be myself and to express what I feel and think. My classmates know sometimes I am bossy (yes! I know I am bossy and I say it!) but all of us have good and bad aspects and this happens because of what we carry, not because we want to be in a way or the other. Our material things are also important and my most precious possessions are my books, photographs and a box in which I have a lot of things from my childhood and adolescence.
b) I do not know what the American soldiers are experiencing in Iraq but I saw a movie where they said that they felt as if the enemy was not a human being. The soldiers were so mad and confused that they didn´t care if they kill an innocent boy or another soldier. Some of them are at home now and they regret what they have done. They cannot sleep, work or have a normal life since they are filled with remorse.
Yes Cande! You certainly are the first one!! Good for you. I agree with you: we are the result of the "intangible things we carry" or... do we carry them because we are the way we are????
ResponderEliminarHello everybody!!
ResponderEliminarI totally agree with Cande...we are what we carry, I AM WHAT I CARRY!! And of course the things I carry are not only tangible things but also intangible...my experiences, for example, my feelings, ideas and thoughts, they are all part of me.
If I had to take important possessions with me I would carry photographs: they are very important for me, they make me remember all those fantastic moments of my life with my family, friends, schoolmates (because photographs are taken only in good moments!)
This task made me remember something I once read from Martin Luther King jr which I think is vey nice and has to do with the things we leave behind when we die, the actual important things we do in our lives that deserve to be valued and remembered..."I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. I just want to leave a committed life behind."
I don't really know if it has to do with the task but I liked it and I wanted to include it je! see us on menday people!! have a nice and hot weekend! jeje
BELU
Hi! Well I go along with the girls...I agree that WE ARE WHAT WE CARRY, in fact, this “package” we carry is full of experiences, memories and different feelings and thoughts. All my belongings show my personality: among my material things are some items of clothing, my amulet, some books,my make up case, etc I believe that my intagible things are my values, my manners and some words I use everyday.
ResponderEliminarIf I had to choose among my precious belongings, they would surely be my family’s photographs. I cannot tell you all the things I would pick from my burning house, but they might be some items of clothes, souvenirs, and money if I can get some.
Concerning the Iraq war, I cannot say much. I just consider that the American soldiers might be a well-organised army, but I guess that they are not prepared to face war, in fact, WHO IS PHYCHOLOGICALLY PREPARED TO FACE WAR? ...for me: NOBODY!
Hello everybody!!!!! Well, I completely agree with the girls because I also think that we are what we carry. That is to say, through our lives we carry our education, feelings as well as experiences (bad and good ones). From my point of view, all these things reveal who you are since they are with you during your life.
ResponderEliminarIf I had to choose some precious belongings, they would be photos of my family, my boyfriend,my dog and my friends. I would also try to save some presents that I consider sentimentally valuable like rings, bracelets and necklaces.
Taking into consideration the war in Iraq, sincerely I can´t say too much. What I think about wars is that sometimes soldiers are confused and terrified. Morover, they do not know what to do in order to save their lives, so, they kill others without knowing if they are innocents or not.
See you!!!!!!!!!! Luci....
Hi everyone!
ResponderEliminarYes, I could say we are the things we carry, even though many times it seems those "things" (in short: the past) carry us, in fact. Looking well into it, could we really say there's a carrier and a carried? Or is it that the carrier is the carried?
Now, TEN precious belongings? I'm not sure if I even have so much as ten! :P I'd have to say: my computer, at least the hard drive, many books, um...the coffeemaker? I don't know what else!
And re: war's effect on soldiers: it's been already mentioned, it makes you ill, talk about Major Depression, Post-traumatic Disorder, etc. I agree with Celi: no-one is prepared for war. I tend to think we are biologically designed for love and the highest, most intelligent form of living, but we are living life far below that purpose.
See you all in class!
nacho
Instead of saying that we ARE what we carry, I would say that we are what we are, and then heaps of things are added to our backs, minds, hands, feet, and several parts of ourselves. I know that the contexts in which we move condiotion our actions, but I just don't think that we, humans, are simple pieces of clay which can be molded just like that. In fact, I believe that the reason why we are unhappy without knowing why or feel we should be doing something else, comes from the contradiction between what we are (our escense, if you want) and the things we were add up unwillingly throughout our lives, as for example war and one million other things we don't decide.
ResponderEliminar10 is a big number for precious belongings. Three is enough: a stuffed duck that my niece loves, my tambourine and something to write or draw with.
Concerning Iraq's war, I really don't know what the consequences for soldiers might be, but I guess it should be really hard to try to behave "normally" and say that you are proud to be there representing whatever you THINK you are representing. I think that's one of the most damaging effects of war, because you become sort of blind when in fact you know, though deeply, that you are not walking in the right direction.
g.
I agree with my mates for I firmly believe that we are what we carry. That means, in my opinion, that the personality a person has depends on his or her experiences, memories, kind of education, values, thoughts and so on. Concerning tangible things, I would say that they also depict who we are since they also form part of our daily life.
ResponderEliminarFirst of all, I would save my daughters and my husband, then I would choose some photographs, letters of friends, books and CDs.
To tell you the truth, I`m not fully acquainted with the fact of the war in Iraq. But what I can tell you is that war is a horrible and terrifying word that causes detrimental effects on soldiers. What really matters is to gain power at any cost
I agree with my mates for I firmly believe that we are what we carry. That means, in my opinion, that the personality a person has depends on his or her experiences, memories, kind of education, values, thoughts and so on. Concerning tangible things, I would say that they also depict who we are since they also form part of our daily life.
ResponderEliminarFirst of all, I would save my daughters and my husband, then I would choose some photographs, letters of friends, books and CDs.
To tell you the truth, I`m not fully acquainted with the fact of the war in Iraq. But what I can tell you is that war is a horrible and terrifying word that causes detrimental effects on soldiers. What really matters is to gain power at any cost
a)I wouldn't say I am what I carry, I think I agree with Gigi, when she says that we are what we are. The things everyone carries, have to do with every experience you had in your life, everyone you've met, all that you have achieved, all those things make a big part of what we are they make us complete, but it's not WHAT we are. It's really hard to think of 10 things I would carry with me, I don't think I would take anything in particular, my dogs (of course!)I would defenetly carry them, my mom, my dad and my brother, that's all I would carry if my house was burning, but if I had more time, I would probably carry some pictures, some clothes, and one thing I couldn't live without, I would carry music.
ResponderEliminarb)Although such thing as a war, leaves physological implications to anyone who takes place in one, there's people who is more affected by it than others. I don't know actually what it may cause, but I think people must feel very lonely. I think what must be very stressing, is that, we all know we are gonna die someday, and we can't help it, and we think we are gonna die when we ar old, but we actually never know, we might die tomorrow, but death is looked at with a bad connotation while it is somethig totally natural, anyways, thinking all the time that you can die in any moment, i think that must be very frustrating.
Belén, what a nice quotation from MLK!!!
ResponderEliminarPhotos are very important for me too. They are like a summmary of the important phases, people and events in my life. I also treasure them because they also remind me of how my kids grew up, of the fact that time goes by and I am still alive and enjoying life!!!!!!
Celina, of course you would save your make up box and some clothes!!! You always look so nice and well dressed.
ResponderEliminarI agree with you: nobody is prepared to face a war and it must be a devastating experience.
Lucila, like almost everybody else you would save photos of your family and friends. It's good that your boyfriend as well as your dog qualify too!! je je
ResponderEliminarWhat you say is true: we carry certain "belongings" all thru our lives. Even the bad ones are useful and determine who we are because they usually help us not to make the same mistakes or make us value certain things much more. A human being is certainly a miracle!
Nacho, your questions are similar to the ones I asked Cande in my comment to her. What's your personal view on it? This is a fascinating topic, isn't it?
ResponderEliminarOf course I can imagine you would save your computer! So, you like coffee too!! Your coffeemaker is a good choice then! What I love about the blog is how much more we got to know about each other thru our comments. For instance, that you like coffee!!
Gigi, do you know that song: "I am what I am..."? - If I had to represent you with a song, that's the one I would choose. I appreciate the way you speak you mind out, so sincerely and true to you! I also believe we are not a piece of clay that can be molded freely. Many of us try hard to "be the architecs of our own destiny".
ResponderEliminarSofaia!! Finally, you could post your comment... not once but twice!!! Yes! you would save your family first... you are a great mother who loves her children above all! I know how you feel.
ResponderEliminarIt's nice reading about your thoughts on the topic. Thanks for sharing them with us!
Liliana, I didn't know the song, so I looked it up in this huuuuge web of information. If it's the one by Gloria Gaynor, I loved it!! It has some really nice parts that are like me.
ResponderEliminarHey, it's a nice exercise, to identify people with songs. Thanks!!!
g.
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