Rebekkah Jones ENGL 1301 TTC Response Paper 10 January 2013 War is At its core, perhaps, war is just

t another name for death, and yet any solider will tell you, if he tells the truth, that proximity to death brings with is a corresponding proximity to life. (OBrien 77). War, in all its destruction and terror, can be beautiful. Not that war is beautiful, but some of the realizations brought forth due to war are. It is during war that you truly value what you would normally take for granted. These hostilities make communities aware, and make one consider the importance of something that generally would not have been greatly considered. It is only after devastation is caused that consequences can be created. It was only after the annihilation of a great deal of Vietnams forestry that international codes were made to safeguard the wellbeing of the worlds limited resources during wartime. In an area that once had two species of animals and four species of plants being discovered per day, there is now extinction of wildlife and rising health complications due to chemicals stored in soil and water. It is this devastation that makes one consider the delicacy of life, and the care that must be taken to ensure its extended existence.

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It is only in the Hell created subsequently that will make others stop to appreciate what they still possess. It is this Hell that will produce innovations to better the life of humanity and the Earth it is responsible for maintaining. It is this Hell that yields compassion and love. It is this Hell that will be an example to future generations. It is only after I read The Things They Carried that I would think this. Without first reading this book it was easy to see only the cruelness in war. But as OBrien stated, war is so much more, War is hell, but thats not the half of it, because war is als o mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness (76) and as such cannot be so easily confined to such a one-dimensional definition. It is in wake of war that Order blends into chaos, love into hate, ugliness into beauty (OBrien 78) In the end, war is what we say we dont want, but it is one of the only things that make us appreciate what we do have. It is this prison that defines our freedom.