Journal #15

I thought Ms. Silko's essay was interesting and I agreed and disagreed with her points. I agreed with the fact that they should not have been asked to step out of the car. Gus, the man she was driving with, didn't do anything sketchy or question authority, he just wanted to know what was going on. I also thought it was interesting that the dog refused to "snitch" on her because she had the medical marijuana. I also agree that people should not be detained for hours at a time at the border patrol check points for no reason. If anything they should have dogs already there in case an incident does pop up. Ms. Silko then mentions all of the cases of border patrol agents treating people terribly, even murdering, but she does not mention stories of immigrants attacking agents. I know for a fact that this happens because I have read articles of immigrants doing similar things to border patrol agents. I'm not condoning what the agents did, but I think she needs to present both sides of the story. I also disagree with her idea that the US-Mexico border is ineffective. While it has its loopholes, it is there to keep people safe. I dont doubt that there are people who purposely open up the border with blowtorches, and I think that is not only wrong but also dangerous because you don't know who you are letting in. Also, she says that white people are not flagged down at the I-25 and I-10 checkpoints. I can say for a fact that it is not true because my family and I have driven on that stretch of highway before and everyone is either required to stop, or the checkpoints are vacant and no agents are on duty in which case no one is required to stop. I personally have no problem with having checkpoints on major highways because I don't minding stopping for a few minutes, similar to security screenings at airports.

Journal 14

If I were in Lieutenant Cross' army I would probably carry not as many things as the other men did. Because I am skinnier than an average man I probably would not be able to carry as much stuff physically, but emotionally I would probably carry just as much if not more. I would probably carry with me a picture of my family to remind myself who I am here for and that I am fighting to protect their freedom. I would also have a few pictures of my good friends, again just to remind myself. Then I would have with me some sort of powder to mix with water, kind of like the kool-aid that they had in the story, and I would carry a lot of water with me. Mosquito repellent is a must for me because I get huge welts when I get bit. I would definitely have some sort of smaller weapon in my pack as well as a rifle/machine gun with ammunition. I thought it was interesting that the supply helicopter came every night, that way it was probably much easier because you could carry less stuff with you and know that you can just "re-load" for the next mission. I would carry a change of clothing in case something happened to my uniform. I thought it was interesting that they carried a Vietnamese-English dictionary and I would also carry one of those with me, because I'm sure it would come in handy. I would have some food with me too, nothing huge because of limited space, but probably some of the stuff they have where you mix it with water and it turns into food. Of course I would always carry the ones closest to me and would think about them all the time just like Jimmy did.

Bonus Blog #2

Having taken United States, European, and World History, before I read the readings I already had a somewhat general knowledge of imperialism. However, it is different when you actually have writers focus specifically on the topic of imperialism and as in Queen Liliuokalani’s case, actually write about what life was like growing up under imperialist rule. After reading Twain’s short story I was very surprised at how much the man prays that the enemy be destroyed. Of course the story is a response to the Spanish American war, and this story basically expressed why Twain changed his stance on the war. The man in the story says “O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells;” I couldn’t believe that the character had literally prayed to God to kill the enemy soldier. It is certainly very ironic to say the least. The man also prays for the enemy to be homeless, and to be wanderers without food and water. Again, the irony here is overwhelming, and having read Twain before it certainly fits his style of writing. Clearly the imperialism that the United States took part in Philippines had a huge impact on Mark Twain. However, where I learned more about imperialism was in Queen Liliuokalani’s autobiography. I actually had no idea that most Hawaiian’s actually adopted Christianity. Usually with imperialism you see rebellion against the Christian Missionaries, Hawaii surprisingly was different. I was also surprised that they locked up Liliuokalani even though she really posed no major threat to them. They pretty much did what they wanted, which is pretty consistent with imperialism. Then the clip we watched about how the troops took over the palace where Liliuokalani lived and took down the Hawaiian flag while replacing it with the American one. I also can’t believe that the United States only recently apologized for the events. Finally from the article, it was interesting that Hawaiians did not have the word adopt in their language, and Trask points out that this concept of hanai which means feeding was completely foreign to the imperialists. I also liked her statement that languages are different, and the above example illustrates that perfectly.

Journal #13

After reading this story, I realized that this is what most consider to be the American Dream coming true. All of the suffering that the author goes through in her childhood seemingly pays off in the end when she ends up winning awards in college. However, the real question here is does she really want to be educated and live like a "paleface"? Throughout the entire story she is very torn between getting an education and staying with her mother. The American Dream for her had come true, but the second to last sentence sums up her feelings about it. "The little taste of victory did not satisfy a hunger in my heart". It is clear that even though she is "civilized" and educated, she can't overcome her ties to her home and her mother. I think alot of this is a result of the treatment she received while she was just beginning school. It is riddiculous that the teachers would treat the girls so harshly right when they arrive because they can't understand what the teachers are telling them. This is most obvious in the incident when the writer's friend is spanked for saying "no". In the end I think the American Dream does come true for her, but it isn't at all what she thought it would be.

Journal #12

"The people to whom your fathers told of the living God, and taught to call 'Father,' and whom the sons now seek to despoil and destroy, are crying aloud to Him in their time of trouble; and He will keep His promise, and will listen to the voices of His Hawaiian children lamenting for their homes."

This sentence stood out to me because it shows how strong the Christian faith is in the Hawaiian people. It's a little ironic that the nation who is trying to annex them has the same religion and that the natives have taken such a strong connection to it. I also think the author does a good job portraying the Hawaiian people almost like God's chosen people in their actions and in the way she refers to them as "His Hawaiian children," that really stood out to me.

Journal 11

After reading "As the Lord Lives, He is one of Our Mother's Children", there were a few things I found that were strange. The one thing I want to know is how did Gentlemen Jim know that the reverend and his son were going to be on that train? I also think that Reverend Stevens is a strange man himself. As a reverend he is supposed to be acting in the way of God, yet he doesn't really feel compelled to help Jim after he realized his true identity. Even though the reverend does eventually spare Jim, he doesn't really help him out after that, and Jim eventually moves out after getting a job in another state. I think a very broad message from this story is that terrible things can happen to good people, something that was a common theme throughout certain parts of the United States during the Reconstruction time period.
After reading McKay's poems the one question that came to my mind was how McKay correctly predicts America's downfall (although America has since recovered from the Great Depression). This theme I think is especially strong in the poems "America" and "Africa" where McKay compares America to things like "priceless treasures sinking in the sand" or "...now thy time is done, of all the mighty nations of the sun."

JOURNAL #10 RESPONSE TO CECILY WEIR