for the sake of a theory. Everyone knows that an opinion is useless if you couldnt voice that opinion so I would do so by doing things that would get the attention of the politicians in power and vote for the ones that were opposed to the war. Id also participate in peaceful protests to show my disapproval. A powerful excerpt from this book was Speaking of Courage and the notes that followed it. It illustrated Americas attitude of the war effort and tells a sad story of Veterans that came back to a society that could care less if you fought in the war or not. It also tells of some of the more long term effects the war had on some of the Veterans who returned. Norman Bowker had come home from one of the most intense places in the world, but when he returned it seemed like nobody wanted to listen. For him everything stood still. There was no more adrenaline rush or war zone. He wanted to come back and start where he had left off. The things that he experienced in the war didnt seem to let him do that. He just didnt have the same drive. He lived with his parents, drove his dads car, couldnt keep a steady job and all of these things added up to a feeling that fighting was nothing but a useless waste of time that would change him forever. He wanted to come back and be a hero. He wanted simply to tell his story. He aid that there was no place for him to go. He died tragically by hanging himself. Throughout this book OBrien speaks of the dark and twisted things that he witnessed in Vietnam but I think that the other half of this tragedy came when Veterans who put so much on the line, including their psyches, came back looking for a way back into society but failed to make the transition. The Vietnam War ended in 1973 but its long term effects for many of the veterans resulted in disaster. Since the war ended it is estimated that 20,000 veterans have committed suicide which could be added to a casualty list that included 58,...
