1) Knowing what we know now about Majane's time in Austria, do you think that she made the right move by going to Europe? Do you think that her parents made the right move by staying in Iran? If you were in her parent's position, what would you do? Would you rather risk being bombed and have to live in a repressive regime, or abandon your entire livelihood and live in a society that marginalizes you?
2) Although Marjane comes from an entirely different culture than we do, what makes her relatable to us? Do you find her character likable? There is a lot of information left out of the main story, do you feel like there is any aspect of her European life that you wanted to know more about? Why do you think she, as an immigrant, is so discriminated against in Europe? Why do you think that she was driven to live a self-imposed homeless life for three months?
3) Has reading Persepolis changed your opinion of Iran at all? Has it changed your opinion about Europe? About Islam? Were there any details that you found interesting, and continued to research for yourself?
4) Both Persepolis and Maus are, on the surface, books about war, but on a deeper level they are really books about how ordinary people respond to war. Can you think of any major similarities or differences between Vladek and Marjane? Any similarities or differences in the storytelling?
5) If Canada were to invade the United States tomorrow, what would you do? Would you enlist, hide, or try to immigrate? Marjane's mother repeatedly makes the point that Persians have always known war, and she seems disillusioned by the whole ordeal. Do you think that this is how Americans have become these days? Is it easier for us to justify war because we don't have to deal with the everyday consequences of it like the Iranians did?
Persepolis
ReplyDeleteI feel that Marjane moving to Europe was the right thing for her to do. In Europe, Marjane was able to make somewhat of a life for herself. She was able to meet new people and feel freer then she ever did while in Iran. She experimented with her looks, her own personal interests and the way that she looked at the world. I feel that, if she had never left, she would have either been more oppressed or hurt in someway based on her own personal desire to revolt against the machine. Being alone in a new land was enticing for her, but it gave her little security. It showed in the end when she went back home to Iran after being left with nothing for months. I personally look at her situation as the most conflicting in the world. She loves her family and having to leave her dangerous country and live her own life while her parents risked their lives everyday must be terrifying. I don’t know if I could have given up my parents to be able to life a free life. Knowing I life a free life now, I don’t know what I would give to always keep it.
What makes Marjane relatable is her personality. We are given so much of her inner thoughts that she ultimately becomes the perfect example of a teenager. She looks for love, friendship, family, and freedom. We see how similar she is to us in every way. I find Marjane very likeable. She has a sort of sponge like personality because of the way she switches cliques often, but I feel like this just makes her more human. I would probably befriend her in one way or another. I feel like her life in Europe was presented well. We were given to most important points in her time there and that is what’s important. Seeing her relationships and how they unfolded really formed her character later in life. We see so many instances of Marjane being treated wrongly for being an immigrant. I believe that people see her as new and strange. Like her old boyfriend’s mother, they don’t seem to understand what they are doing. Marjane’s line about her not looking at herself in the mirror greatly represents how one person can treat another without contempt. They don’t want change or see differences as barriers of society. I think that Marjane’s self-imposed homelessness was because of her desire to not have to rely on others. She saw that she had nobody to go to, so she decided to move on with that idea no matter the life she would have.
I learned much about Iran from this story. Before, I had a limited amount of information except things I heard in the news. I somewhat have a personal connected based on seeing this place through the eyes of Marjane. I pretty much feel the same about Iran. Seeing Marjane in Europe, what she experienced was sort of what I expected to see. It was full of color even though the story was drawn in black and white.
I feel that Marjane and Vladek were very similar in the way they interact with the world. They keep moving forward in life no matter what comes their way. I feel like Marjane is very prone to change in her opinions. We always see her moving in different directions, but she always keeps moving. My big difference between Marjane and Vladek is that Vladek seems to be stronger willed in keeping his opinions and personalities. No matter what danger came his way, he always had a way around it or a way to give himself some sort of positivity in the situation.
Marjane's parents made the best decision for her that they could make at the time. Her actions and her outspoken behavior would have made her a target of the Repressive state her family lived in. Her parents themselves were not political activists like so many of their friends and family, but they were knowledgeable about what was going on in Iran. They knew what would happen to her if she stayed in their country. If it had been my daughter, I wouldn't have left her to the care of my friend, I would find some way to make it so that she wouldn't be without one of her parents. Even if it meant that I had to give up all my livelihood and take a menial job in the new country, I wouldn't let her go alone. At 14, she was too young to be left to her own devices. Imagine yourself at 14, do you think that you would have been able to adapt to living on your own and being abandoned. I sure wouldn't have.
ReplyDeleteAs we've gotten further along on the story, I've gotten to like her more. She's lost that annoying naivety and ignorance that comes with the very young. When the story first started, I thought she was going to be one of those brainwashed drones that tend to get swept up in the fanatical movements of some cultures, but she's grown on me. I think some of her relationships with people seem fabricated, like a filler to have it make more sense. In the 1980s' many people around the globe were against anyone from the Middle East, regardless of which actual country they came from. They were afraid, and understandable so, many people that came from those regions carried some of the same repressive and fanatical doctrines with them to new countries. It makes sense to lie about who you are if want to make friends. Her self-imposed homeless wasn't really self-imposed. She was at a place in her psyche that she couldn't function, and then Dr. Heller accused her of stealing. Because she was an immigrant, if she had stayed and Dr. Heller had called the police, she would've been arrested and sent to jail and her story would have ceased, end of story. But she essentially was thrown out of her place.
I've always had the idea that you can't have an opinion about a place without personally having been there, which the same can be said of a situation. My opinion of Iran was always that of ignorant bliss, I've always known that things in the Middle East were not great, in fact mostly awful, but because I didn't know anyone from there, or had been in a similar situation, I couldn't really form an idea of Iran. I know that the country has had its share of extremist regimes, but what countries haven't?(The US was extremist during the Revolution, my goodness whoever thought of a democratic republic,haha). Persepolis has affirmed my opinion that every culture has its drawbacks-- such as fanatical regimes and over zealous leaders, but that the people are the ones who you need to pay attention to. The people are the ones who show you what their culture/religion is really like, not the political leaders. Can you imagine what people think of our culture/country if they just look at our politicians? We all look like idiots regardless of what party the politicians belong to--objectively speaking.
Marjane is not trying to just survive, where Vladek was doing just that. Marjane's parents sent her away in order to protect her from the repressive regime's terrors, Vladek lived in them. They are both very resourceful, but Marjane sort falls into her resourcefulness, for Vladek it was a necessity.
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ReplyDeleteI see Marjane more as refugee than in immigrant. She has been forced to leave her family and country due to war. While she attempts to become integrated she is not able to do so. In many ways she is an unlikeable character - she is so outspoken and is constantly creating her own destruction.
ReplyDeleteHer transition from a girl who refused to fit in, to a girl who only wants to disappear seems incongruous to her personality. She seems too strong a person to turn to drugs and suicide. This is where I feel that comics are failing to tell the whole story, the author is limited here by the frames and gutters. Too much is left off the page to be able to identify with this character.
Perhaps it is because we are so far from war (even though we are at war) it is difficult to imagine why a person would chose to remain in a country where the government is so oppressive. I understand her parent's reason for sending their daughter away, and in some respects understand their reason for staying (if everyone of opposition leaves then they are surrendering their country to the oppressors). Still it seems odd to send a fourteen year old child into the world without even putting her in a boarding school. Although Marjane would probably have had a difficult time with that too.
At this point the book seems very odd.
I actually feel that not including every detail of the story makes it more universal and relevant to more people. I personally really identify with Marji, although I can see that not all readers would feel the same way. But I definitely agree that it's one thing to imagine what you might do in that sort of situation and another thing entirely to actually be there and have to make the decision to either flee or remain in your country. Also, I think when Taji sent her daughter to Austria that it would be better if she were staying with a close friend like Zozo. Although far from ideal, it seems like Marji's parents are doing their best to protect her.
DeleteI'd say that was probably the best thing her parents could've done for her safety. I think I'd prefer to leave the country with my daughter. Maybe that's just because I'm comparing cultures and I think I'd readily leave America if something like that was going on. They could try to sell their home and try to start a new life somewhere else. But that's pretty unlikely considering their situation.
ReplyDeleteMarjane is relatable for a couple reasons. one I think this is because of McCloud's iconography theory about simplification. But I also think we relate to her because we were all kids at one point, and can understand her state of mind as she meets certain cultural obstacles in her country. She rebels and stands against things we as adults would also find wrong (typically) and this help us further understand her. In Europe she felt like she just couldn't fit in with the rebels or the conformists, and after some final straw fights she ends up on the streets. I'm actually not surprised that it ended up happening that way considering how she was brought up, she wouldn't just melt into a completely different culture.
After Persepolis my opinion of Iran only slightly shifted because of my view on Iraq as the real tyrants of the middle east. But considering how the storyteller is always the hero in their own narrative it could go the other way, but I don't think I could ever understand the madness Iraq is currently in at the moment. The bits that I found mostly interesting were when Iranian culture tried to mingle with western practices like life drawing in an art class and the model had to be even more covered than normal. Maybe this is just because of my art background, but I found bits that showed the country trying to be like others but failing due to their own culture pretty amusing.
Marjane's issues don't seem to be affecting her nearly as much as Vladek's. I say this because Marjane only seems to bring up the horrors she's seen in a "show-offy" attitude to make herself seem like she's better than whoever she's bragging to. Vladek is the opposite where his problems were significantly worse, but he will hide them from the world unless it was to scold or teach someone why he acts the way he does. They react similarly because of their pasts, but for completely different reasons.
If Canada invaded I'd die laughing.
How about ISIS. Okay well in that case I'd hightail it to Europe (or maybe Australia) considering our incompetent president. The country would be screwed. I couldn't fight for a country I hardly believe in to begin with. America has also known was for pretty much our entire lives (speaking for myself at 22) so I find it sad we can relate to Persepolis so much in these days and in this country. We can justify our wars because of our liberally biased media. So once again very depressingly similar to Iran.
Addressing question one:
ReplyDeleteMy little heart broke when I read about Marjane’s journey to Austria. I don’t think there was any sort of “right” or “wrong” decision on behalf of her or her parents. Marjane was incredibly mature and intelligent, but she was also assertive and expressive and this put her in danger in her own country. I think her parents understood the fact that this was a part of Marjane’s development and they thought she could really flourish in Europe. She could stay safe and on track because of her maturity (war makes you grow up fast) and her upbringing. But at the same time that war made Marjane mature to the extent that she was alienated from her peers (no one could understand her life experience) she still needed meaningful social connections at this point in her development and that’s why the things that happened played out this way. You can't skip developmental steps, no matter the necessity. It was a risk in either way, in different ways. Honestly as a parent, I would think that at least with her life in check, she could work out some of the scars earned by struggling with insensitivity and marginalization. But of course that is an impossible choice, brought on by impossible circumstances.
Addressing question three:
Honestly, I have to admit ignorance about the entire subject of the Iranian Revolution. I knew it happened, but this longstanding history of war and conflict of the nation and region really didn’t sink in until I started reading this (which is a testament to the power and importance of the memoir). I think one of my biggest surprises was that not everyone in Iran really bought into this Islamist regime, and I partially didn’t understand this because I didn’t realize the imposition of it in the first place or the violence that entailed the cultural revolution. Marjane’s family broke rules even when it put their lives in danger and in honesty it’s very jarring to think that people lived and continue to live in under these regimes that literally demand a uniformity of ideology to the extent that it’s almost easier to give in and comply than to resist and risk death, rape, persecution of yourself and your family. Her family continued to honor themselves as people and free thinkers and did as they pleased even at risk and it makes them and their struggle admirable, and every action to do so a brave act of resistance. The entire experience of reading this has been very sobering, and it seems like some of you are having a similar experience.
1.I think the move to Europe is the point at which she starts to be able to define herself. While it may not have gone well, it was when she really began to think and act on her own. Personally I would rather be marginalized than feel I was under physical threat on a daily basis. Her parents staying in Iraq seemed to do so as they felt their presence was needed in their community.
ReplyDelete3. I like to think that I am well cultured, I have friends in Iran, Iraq, and Jordan. This book gave better context to how a police state of a dictatorship works. While it may not have changed my opinion about Islam, or the country of Iran, I feel it nicely shows the people involved. They are not ignorant and hopeless, they have dreams and aspirations for themselves and their country.
5. During an invasion I believe I would be forced stay within my country. I would likely enlist in the military under the air force. I think Americans can be dissociative about war in a sense. The US is a young country with few war scars on our soil. I don't think anyone wants to justify war, but it certainly is easier to destroy something when it is not in your own backyard.
1. I think that it ended up being very good for Marji to go to school in Austria. Not only was she able to escape the danger and violence that was going on, but I feel like she really benefitted from learning about all kinds of different perspectives and information. Her one group of friends got on my nerves a little bit, to be honest, especially Momo who declared that everything people do was to distract themselves from how bored they are and that everything is meaningless (at least this is the impression I got). However, even when Marji didn’t agree with the people she met, it always seemed like she used it as an opportunity to learn more, which I really admire.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know what I would have done if I had been in Marji or her parents position. I can understand one aspect of it, since I have lived in the same city most of my life. I would absolutely not want to feel forced out of my home. I also would not want to go somewhere where everything was so unfamiliar (without choosing to go) and where I would probably have to start my life over completely and any education or experience I had would basically be worthless. Also, I would not want to leave my country if I felt that I would be unfairly discriminated against, misunderstood, and treated badly. Marji’s parents also seem to be making a stand, in a way, by staying in Iran. They are unwilling to subject their daughter to so much danger, but they are standing by their ideals. I can really appreciate that they don’t want to give up, run away, or start over against their will.
2. I identify very much with Marji. I see Marji as a very curious, opinionated and often blunt person and I definitely see some of those characteristics in myself. A lot of the stories she tells about being young are familiar to me, especially when she gets in trouble with authority figures. Marji doesn’t always make the smartest decisions (e.g. sneaking to a protest, skipping school, talking back to teachers), but I think this makes her more relatable.
I also think Satrapi does a really good job stringing together these stories to create a full story and I didn’t notice any gaping holes during her time in Europe. It seems to me like she chose the most powerful or formative moments and put those in the comic.
It was upsetting to see Marji face discrimination when she was in Europe. Those people did not bother to get to know her at all and instantly dismissed her, saying terrible things. I’m sure I was not the only one who was annoyed at this point. It was especially poignant to me when Marji’s mother came to visit and she expressed that it was nice to be able to have somebody to talk to where she didn’t have to explain her culture or feel judged.
I like this first question. I think Marjane made the right choice going to Austria and her parents made the right choice staying in Iran. It was sort of referenced by how the husband of Marjane's mother's best friend was nothing in Austria even though he was a CEO in Iran and that probably would have happened to Marjane's dad. At least her father still has work in Iran even if they aren't rich anymore. If I was Marjane's parents I would have wanted her to leave the country and myself as well but maybe I would have sent her with her grandmother or something because it doesn't seem feasible for the whole family to uproot just for the sake of sticking together.
ReplyDeleteI find Marjane relatable because we are watching her grow up but she isn't assaulting us with teen angst so it is very nostalgic. It reminds me of when I was a child, except I wasn't living through a war so those moments make her sympathetic. It makes sense, in terms of the time and context, that she was sort of discriminated against as an Iranian because of the political issues that were affecting the whole world. Still it seems better for her to be in Europe and safe from bombing and Islamic extremism than to be in Iran and not discriminated against.
I watched this film in the context of a comparative government class, so we were asked to think about the film in relation to the government/political/religious issues of the time. If anything this is a good summary of how things came to be the way they are in Iran. My opinion doesn't change from this narrative, but it definitely gives insight into other aspects of the situation (such as Marjane and her liberal family).
Both Vladek and Marjane seem to be very intelligent and resourceful, as well as stubborn. It is possible their similar traits are what got them through events that many others didn't survive. Marjane's storytelling is much more personal and detailed. Vladek told his story as though it was not even his own story (which probably comes from the fact that his son was the one who actually wrote it down, where as this is written by Marjane).
This is too heavy of a question. One side of the answer is considered criminal and the other seems ludicrous as Canada most likely would not invade America...... I really can't imagine this scenario or how I would react. But American's have definitely always had a different experience than many countries who have experienced war much closer to home. Which is probably part of why I can't imagine it in any logical scenario.
ReplyDeleteReading Persepolis gave me a completely different idea of what I had in mind when I hear the word Iran, it was quite a shock to learn all the chaos that was going on first hand, it made us seem as if we were actually there. I found many things interesting and want to research more about Iran’s history and why everything happened the way it did, it was different to see the events through a child’s eyes, it also is hard to determine if the narrator herself is a reliable character or not, no one is ever objective when it comes to stories like these.
Reading about Islam, it did give me mixed feelings, because I am Muslim, and I do know what it is about, and if there was a real Islamic government, it would not do what they had imposed on those people, it did bother me that Islam was portrayed in such a horrible way, but even nowadays, the media and the events that happen around us, aren’t shedding much light on Islam either.
I think it is excellent idea to compare both books, I also agree with you in the sense they both are about war, and both give us a direct view about how war affected the lives of those who had to live through it. I think the major similarities are both Vladek and Marjane seem to be the same kind of narrator, in the sense, they both are so quick to ask and judge and react to whatever is going on around them. The major difference between them would be their ages and mind frame, but I do believe that Vladek was also child-like in a way, the way he complained about his wife, how he talked to his son, Marjane on the other hand seemed very mature for her age, going out of her way to know more, to understand and to seek change and question the norm, she did not want to conform but wanted to fight back and held strong to her beliefs.
If Canada tried to invade, I would immigrate, I would want to be a neutral party, I don’t promote war nor would I ever support or enlist, I don’t believe war solves anything. Yes, I agree, I do believe Americans seem disillusioned by war, it doesn’t affect them directly, people go about their daily lives, it isn’t like the war in Iran, there is a dramatic difference between how war is envisioned here and how it is in third world countries. I believe it is easier for us to justify war because we don’t see or feel the consequences directly.
1. I think Marjane’s parents made the right choice sending her to Austria. It was defiantly the most difficult decision but it was their natural instinct, as parents, to protect their offspring. Their decision was very selfless and was only made because it makes Marjane’s life better.
ReplyDelete2. I think Marjane’s open and shamefulness personality makes her more relatable to the reader. She doesn’t sugar coat any of the situations she’s been through. By being raw and honest about personal decisions she made along the way it made her more real and honest.
3. I never really had a strongly developed idea about Iran. So this reading has supported facts that have happened during the war. It is an interesting way to learn about how the war was through a victims point of view.
4. The main similarity between Vladek and Marjane is that they are telling their 1st person point of view through personal stories that happened during the war. They are very different though in regards to the age at which they went through war. That age difference changes the way war effected them.
5. If Canada was to invade the US I would try to immigrate. A couple reasons, one, I feel it’s just better to avoid the situation that is out of my control and I should make the decision that will keep me alive. Second, It would be a great chance to start a new life in a new country.
I think it's difficult to say with any certainty that going to Austria was the best decision for Marji. We may have a strong sense of the good and bad experiences that made up her time in Austria, but it's not certain what might've happened to her if she had stayed in Iran. The key difference between these two possibilities is that Marjane would never have lost her sense of belonging if she had remained in Iran. Iran would be all she knew of, and she wouldn't have the same sense of alienation that she currently associates with her first home. I think this outsider perspective allowed for a great deal of growth and development for her, and although it might have been painful for her to have to reacquaint herself with the place she was born, I would say that living in Austria was a net plus. As for her parents remaining in Iran, I think their position is quite justified. As far Iranian life goes, they are well off. They have numerous personal and financial attachments to the country, and as a result their wish to stay is understandable. That said, I think it's important to note how little they, as individuals so politically minded and progressive, fit in with the Iran of that time. While they may have a strong historic connection to Iran, I get the strong impression that it simply isn't their country anymore. If I was in their position, I imagine I would be more receptive to leaving the country and starting fresh, whatever challenges that may present.
ReplyDelete1) I think Marji's parents made the right decision for her because of who she was. She was too overtly defiant and stubborn to be safe there. Also she was very curious about things that were foreign to her already so she was better suited to adapt to Austria than her peers might have been. Dangers to life and livelihood are certainly more important than potential social awkwardness.
ReplyDelete2. Everyone goes through a rebellious phase and tries many fashions and music that they end up leaving behind. Marji's adolescence was typical in that sense and it made it easier to relate to her experiences. Every adolescent has a band or musician that they listen to because they know it goes against some fundamental tradition or belief of their elders and there is usually a struggle to find a way to listen to that band very loudly all of the time, without bothering said elders, which is usually the goal. For Marji, it was more than just being told to turn the music down or being ridiculed for having naive tastes. Her parents actually helped her to get posters of the musicians she liked and she risked being taken away and tortured to get a cassette home.
Marji was probably alienated so much in Europe because they didn't understand how a country could still be in a fully fledged war. They also didn't know about the traditions of uniform and how people actually suffered and died over fashion in Iran. To them Marji probably seemed hesitant, cold, shy, or aloof since they had no real concept of her past struggles. This made her not want to reach out to them and it also made her only partially integrate into their culture.
3) I found a few things interesting, especially about how they treated the political cartoonists Marji worked with at the end of the book. I will probably research Persian history a little further. I was not really aware of most of the conflict aside from the 'westernization' idea until reading Persepolis.
4) Vladek and Marjane are similar in that they both survive, but they are not similar in many other ways. Vladek would never risk speaking out simply to speak out as a statement. This is perhaps because Marji's values are less practical and more emotionally driven.
5) I would try to end the war. I'm not sure why Canada would ever invade the US. They have more accessible natural fresh water than any other country and their population density makes their country very manageable. I would do what I could to end the conflict without fighting. I would probably be one of the cartoonists who got a black eye, a beating, and a nice story. That is, if Canada was run by extreme religious fundamentalists who operated under tyrannical near-fascist law.
1) I think that both sides of the decisions made by Maryjane her family are understandable. Both were looking out for the best possible future, but along the way mishaps are bound to happen. Of course her parents would have loved to leave Iran, they never really had a clear opportunity to. Also Maryjane learned that those who were successful and left Iran were not always successful in other parts of the world. She saw that when she went to live with Zozo.
ReplyDeleteMaryjane obviously went through a tough time of feeling like she didn't belong anywhere. Not having a home after getting thrown out of her school's and having to bum off her friends could not have helped her anxiety. She chain-smoked herself into having bronchitis and I believed it directly stemmed from her time in Austria.
2) I do enjoy Maryjane as a character because I see a lot of confusing times that I went through in my life in her story. She is relatable and exciting because of her passion to learn, but like everyone in the world she got lost for a second. I especially admire her story because of the relationship with God. I have went through this, not nearly extreme as her situation, but losing faith is a tough thing to deal with when you are trying to grow.
Losing her relationship with God did not help her relationship with his modern disciples either. She was driven away from many homes because of religious views or people being hypocritical. I also see her accounts of discrimination as very honest, but despised her when she accused that man of an inappropriate act.
3) Reading this book has made me realize how many deaths these people have had to deal with their entire lives. This was never taught to me in school because growing up in America you aren't taught about the lives lost in other countries especially ones in the middle East. When I grew up and started to interact with people from Palestine, Pakistan, and Iran I really got the whole story about the problems. It makes me realize how ridiculous it is when Americans complain.
The move to Europe was perfect for Marjane, it gave her a real taste of independence, a real taste of that thing which was most lacking and repressed for Iranian women. Without this move, it would be surprising if Marjane survived to adulthood in my opinion. As for her parents, i think they did what most any parent would do, they feared too much change for themselves so they stayed, but knew Marjane should not be subjected to life in such a way, and was young enough to adjust otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI do find Marjane likeable, and fairly relateable. The yearning to be independent despite all of the circumstance of life and society. This yearning is what ultimately drove her to her self-imposed homelessness, homelessness in this sense was the ultimate expression of freedom and independence, she had no responsibilities, she had nothing which could constrain her freedom (assuming we ignore the lack of finances barring her from doing things in the upper echelons of society.)
Persepolis has given me a somewhat better understanding of what exactly has been going on in the middle east, however nothing has been that surprising within the text.
The clearest difference is in the storytelling, being that Marjane tells the entire story filtered through her adult perspective rather than it being straight as was. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the "materialism" of Marjane's is i think a great similarity between her and Vladek. They both understood the value of and thoroughly appreciated the "luxury" items they could receive during war time, as well as the momento's left behind by those who died.
If Canada were to invade tomorrow i doubt i would do anything drastic, i certainly wouldn't enlist and i doubt i would run to another country. In all honesty, i doubt a war between the US and Canada would last very long, or that the infringement onto American soil would extend very far beyond perhaps the first attacks which catch us more or less off guard. Do i think Americans have become desensitized to war? Absolutely. This is in part because of the distance between us and the real atrocities of war, and also in part because of our society. Society is inundated with these war images, and images of gore, and people are simply more desensitized to violence now than in any other point in our history.
That’s an interesting view on America’s exposure on war. Do you feel as though America is comfortable with the concept of war, or do you feel like we are actually familiar with war itself? I believe there’s a big difference there, where the true horror and confusion of life in the midst of war can only be captured first hand, when your and your family’s deaths are more than just a distant philosophical topic. Perhaps being desensitized to a concept isn’t always the same as understanding it.
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