I am in the group that is reading the book the Baghdad Diaries this week for class. I have not finished the entire book, but from what I have read already I am so impressed with al-Radi. She has to be one of the strongest people I have ever heard of. I know that there must be so many others stories like the ones she tells in her book, and it makes me realize just how much the people in Iraq and specifically Baghdad go through on a daily basis. It is hard for me to understand and picture what living in the middle of a war zone would be like, and I know that the pictures that are shown on the news and in the media is nothing compared to what actually goes on. Parts of the book actually put me to tears because I know that if it were me going through the events in this book that I don't think I would be strong enough to get through it. I know that survival is one of the strongest feelings a person can have and I know that I would do what I could to survive but I don't know how someone can stay sane and even happy at times in times and situations like that. I can't imagine what it must feel like to lay in your bed at night and hear bombs going off all around you and constantly wondering if your house was next. I think she does go about dealing with these issues in the right way however.
Even though it probably one of the hardest things to do I think that in order to get through situations like this that you must find the smallest joys and hold onto those. Things such as going to her friends houses and having her dog around are the things she has to focus on in order to keep herself sane. I know that I do the same thing when it seems like I have too much to do and a lot of stress with things in life, I have to take a step back and do something to either take my mind off the bad things and focus on what is good in my life. I think al-Radi has to do the same thing in a much worse situation. This book is definitely eye opening for me and gives me more of an idea to what people go through on a day to day basis. Although there are not a lot of big events in the book I still really enjoy it. I finally am getting a better understand of what life day-to-day is like and not only hearing about the big events of the war, but instead what goes on everyday. There are some things I never realized too, such as having to eat the food when they get it because there is no way to keep and preserve what they have.
I will say that I am a conservative republican and I supported what the war was doing. It is hard to see though how we can justify killing and causing innocent people to live this way. I know that we had to do something because if we didn't there could be much worse things happening in the world along with those who live in Iraq. I am starting to realize thought that there may have been a different way to go about the war and that maybe there was a way that we could have saved more civilian lives. I know there is really nothing we can do about it now, but maybe for future issues there may be a different way to go about things. I do feel bad that there are innocent people who have to live this way and that they deal with things on a daily basis that I hope I never have to live through in my life, but I do think that some of what happened with the war was necessary. I hope this doesn't spark too much political debate but I think that from reading this book and seeing some of the movies we have watched in class that my opinion about what is going on with the war are changing. As my knowledge grows about this part of the world, I think that I will be able to keep formulating a more well rounded opinion and better educated opinion and also be able to back up what I argue.
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It's great that you are open to changing your opinion about the tactics our nation implemented during both wars with Iraq. This blog post will spark political debate, but hopefully it will be productive. As you think more about this book, it might be worthwhile to consider the situations of the least fortunate in Iraq. This author was well-to-do before the war, and her suffering brings you to tears. What about those who were barely surviving before the bombs?
ReplyDeleteI too agree that your willingness to be open and question all information is a valuable gain from this experience. My father was a Conservative, lifelong Republican, who was also a Vietnam Vet and he was completely against going to war in Iraq. Defining oneself to a party shouldn't prevent them from thinking independently.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have very conservative political views. But I am willing to hear what the other side has to say, just as you are. I think that that having an open mind does not mean conforming to other people's opinions, but rather being able to listen to what other sides have to say, and then either back up your own argument or maybe change what you think based on new information. As long as it is INFORMATION, and not just OPINIONS. And, yes, you are right: war has terrible effects, especially on civilians... war is awful. It is also unavoidable sometimes. But it is still awful.
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