Reflections

A New Look At Patriotism (pg. 7)

Written and Edited by Elinore Duguay

Table of Contents 1.   Letter From the Editor

2.   Rethinking Patriotism

3.   This Is Enough

4.  Your Questions

Answered

2 Reflections

Letter From the Editor… Throughout this writing process, I have had to think hard

about analyzing, revising, and developing my writing. In each piece, I thought hard about my previous work, and how I can change it to make it better.

The Substantial Revision was definitely the most difficult piece for me, because I truly thought I was interpreting the song. In my original essay, I wrote about heroism and that the song implies that going to war is not worth the benefits when returning home. The song clearly states this, because that it what the lyrics and video displayed. Finally it hit me that I was only hearing the song, but not really interpreting the effects of what the band was saying. For my Substantial Revision, I really went back and thought hard about the song. I knew that the song questioned patriotism and included that in my old essay, yet I couldn’t figure out how to tie it into a new paper. After rereading my paper multiple times and listening to the song, the irony of the song jumped out at me. I had seen and used all the evidence but just didn’t interpret the overall question of “So what?” By selecting this paper for a Substantial Revision, I really caused myself to push and think in a new way. Once my new thesis came to me, writing the paper was no problem because the ideas from my last paper rolled over but with a new interpretation. Also, instead of summarizing the lyrics and interpreting them literally in one giant paragraph, I included the small summary in the beginning.  

3 Reflections

This is because it is hard for one to understand the interpretation if they aren’t familiar with the story the song is telling. Just doing this also helped me, because it allowed my body paragraphs to focus on my thesis and the points I was trying to make. By taking a step back and looking at my paper from the outside, I had the opportunity to look at both my writing and the song from a new perspective.

For my Genre Change, I chose my ethnography about my younger brother’s hockey team. I chose to write about coaches who push their players too hard, because I have had my own personal experience and the topic interested me. I knew that I wanted to change my ethnography into a short story because it allows me to write creatively, and it is rare that I get that opportunity. With this freedom I found myself with the burden of crafting an interesting story. Eventually I decided to write a memoir loosely based on my own experience of injuring my knee and losing my ability to play volleyball. This experience also came from having many coaches that pushed me too hard physically. To tie it into further to the ethnography, I wrote it from a hockey player’s standpoint. By doing this, I was able to truly express the emotion of the player because it came from me internally. Also, because I have grown up with hockey in my family, I used personal experiences to capture the coach’s overwhelming expectations of players. This paper became not only interesting for me to write as a creative story, but it also allowed me to reflect on my own experiences and put them into a different story that allows me to see it from the outside.

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For the Reading Response Revisions, I chose Responses, 3, 4 and 6. I chose Response #3 because it was our plan for our Rhetorical Analysis. As I stated before, I completely rewrote this paper and changed my thesis. This caused me to create a new reading response for this paper because I wrote about the new paper rather than the scattered idea of the old. I believe that my response greatly improved because like my last essay, my previous response was basically a summary of the song. Because I had an actual plan for my new essay, the new response reflects this. I chose Response #4 because it asked for a plan for our Op-Ed in which we evaluate how a television show either reinforces or opposes a stereotype. In both responses I focus on That 70s Show, but I change my topic from writing about the stereotype that attractive people are not intelligent, to the show being racist against nonwhites. Like Response #3, having this new idea allowed for me to write a more thorough response. My old response only listed quotes that were my only evidence and it had a small interpretation. The new response tells what I will be focusing on, but doesn’t include the evidence and interpretation that my essay supplies. Lastly, I chose to rewrite Response #6 which was the Substantial Revision plan. At the time I wrote this, I was still hung up on how to change my old paper. Because of that, the writing is very broad and not specific at all to the changes I would make in my paper.  

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When I rewrote this, I knew what my new thesis would be, and I knew how I would change the structure of the essay so I was able to supply more specific information. In the new response I answer the questions asked, rather than just restating the question and saying that I will do ‘something’ about it.

I feel as though the Portfolio has allowed me to look back on my work and grow as a writer. When I am forced to look at things from a new angle, it allows me to be more critical as a reader. I have never been very successful at revising my ideas because I am hard headed, so this process has taken me out of my comfort zone, which is exactly what I needed.

       Elinore E. Duguay Elinore E. Duguay

 

Reflections 6

Reflections 7

Are We Missing Something?                    Rise Against’s song, “Hero of War” says yes!

 In  2008,  during  the  midst  of  the  war  in  Iraq,  the  popular  punk  rock  band,  Rise  Against,  wrote  the  song  “Hero  of  War”  to  reveal  the  horrors  of  becoming  a  soldier.  At  this  point  in  Dme,  America  was  sending  troops  across  the  sea  and  many  boys  were  joining  the  military  to  display  their  loyalty  to  the  country  they  love  and  trust.  “Hero  of  War”  tells  the  story  of  one  of  these  young  men,  how  he  innocently  joined  the  military,  and  became  a  different  man  aHer  his  experiences.  While  telling  this  story,  Rise  Against  quesDons  patrioDsm  and  reveals  the  irony  of  going  war  to  prove  ones’  loyalty  and  heroism.    

 The  song  begins  with  a  boy  being  asked  if  he  wants  to  see  the  world  and  that  all  he  would  have  to  do  is  “Just  carry  this  gun,  you’ll  even  get  paid”.  Because  the  boy  is  innocent,  he  decides  in  the  chorus,  “A  hero  of  war,  yeah  that’s  what  I’ll  be,  and  when  I  come  home,  they’ll  be  damn  proud  of  me.  I’ll  carry  this  flag  to  the  grave  if  I  must,  ‘cause  it’s  the  flag  that  I  love,  and  a  flag  that  I  trust”.  Following  this  chorus,  the  boy  is  deported  and  experiences  traumaDzing  things.    

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He  watches  his  comrades  pull  a  man  away  from  crying  children  and  beat  him,  but  he  joins  in  aHer  telling  them  to  stop.  AHer  this  experience,  the  chorus  is  repeated,  clearly  showing  that  the  boy  sDll  wants  to  become  a  hero  for  his  country.  Then,  during  a  baRle,  the  boy  sees  a  young  girl  walking  through  the  chaos,  and  in  agonizing  terror  and  dismay,  he  begs  her  to  stop  walking:  she  doesn’t.  Following  duty,  the  boy  shoots  the  girl  only  to  come  to  the  dreadful  realizaDon  that  the  girl  was  carrying  a  white  flag,  which  symbolizes  surrender.  This  is  the  breaking  point  for  this  poor  soldier  and  when  he  repeats  the  chorus  he  changes  it  to,  “A  hero  of  war,  is  that  what  they  see?  Just  medals  and  scars,  so  damn  proud  of  me.  And  I  brought  home  that  flag,  now  it  gathers  dust,  but  it’s  a  flag  that  I  love,  the  only  flag  I  trust.”  This  change  in  chorus  depicts  that  the  soldier  has  changed  as  a  man  who  has  seen  and  experienced  horror.  To  close  the  song,  Rise  Against  repeats  the  opening  line,  “He  said  son,  have  you  seen  the  world?  What  would  you  say  if  I  said  that  you  could?”  This  ending  is  haunDng  because  it  signifies  that  the  boy  regrets  his  decision  that  ended  his  life  emoDonally.    

 Not  only  does  “Hero  of  War”  show  the  boys’  loss  of  innocence,  but  it  also  shows  that  he  lost  his  patrioDsm  while  at  war.    

Reflections 9

When  the  boy  is  originally  recruited  by  the  military,  he  trusts  that  what  they’re  saying  is  true  because  it  is  coming  from  his  country  and  his  government.  Boys  are  constantly  being  told  by  commercials  or  adverDsements  sponsored  by  the  government,  that  only  the  best  men  could  protect  their  country  and  that  “there’s  strong  and  then  there’s  army  strong”.  American’s  are  brought  up  being  taught  to  love  and  trust  their  country,  so  boys  believe  that  they  are  being  asked  to  do  something  great  and  that  everything  told  about  the  military  is  true.  During  war,  the  boy  jusDfies  his  acDons  because  he  is  following  his  duty.  When  he  is  taking  the  man  away  from  the  children  he  states,  “I  kicked  in  the  door,  yelled  my  commands.  The  children  they  cried,  but  I  got  my  man.”  The  choice  of  words  clearly  shows  that  the  boy  was  just  listening  to  orders  and  doing  what  he  thought  he  had  to  do  to  be  loyal  to  his  country.  Rise  Against  causes  the  audience  to  quesDon  patrioDsm  because  if  being  loyal  to  one’s  country  means  doing  brutal  things  to  a  man  and  shaming  him  in  front  of  his  family,  then  maybe  this  country  isn’t  as  noble  as  we’re  taught.  Throughout  his  Dme  in  war,  the  boy  repeats  his  patrioDsm  in  the  chorus  when  he  states,  “I’ll  carry  this  [American]  flag,  to  the  grave  if  I  must,  ‘cause  it’s  a  flag  that  I  love,  and  a  flag  that  I  trust”.    

Reflections 10

The  boy  repeats  this  chorus  because  it  jusDfies  his  acDons;  in  his  innocence,  he  trusts  his  country  is  telling  him  the  right  things  to  do.  Yet  aHer  he  kills  the  young  girl,  the  final  repeDDon  of  the  chorus  changes  to,  “And  I  brought  home  that  [white]  flag,  now  it  gathers  dust,  but  it’s  a  flag  that  I  love,  it’s  the  only  flag  I  trust.”  By  staDng  that  the  white  flag  is  the  only  flag  he  trusts,  he  clearly  states  that  he  no  longer  trusts  his  country  because  they  took  advantage  of  his  innocence,  and  forced  him  to  do  things  that  will  haunt  him  forever.  The  white  flag  is  the  only  thing  he  trusts  because  his  country  betrayed  him  with  orders  that  caused  him  to  kill  an  innocent  girl.  The  boy  no  longer  has  moral  jusDficaDon  for  his  inhumanity,  so  he  cannot  face  the  flag,  causing  it  to  gather  dust.  Without  the  trust  in  his  country  that  kept  him  going,  the  soldier  is  leH  with  nothing  to  believe  in.  The  cruelty  of  America  is  revealed  to  the  audience,  and  this  makes  it  so  people  quesDon  their  naDonal  pride.  

 AddiDonally,  “Hero  of  War”  reveals  the  irony  of  going  to  war  to  prove  loyalty  to  one’s  country.  When  the  boy  is  recruited  into  the  military,  the  man  says,  “Have  you  seen  the  world?”  By  staDng  this,  one  thinks  of  seeing  the  world’s  beauty  and  different  cultures.  Ironically,  the  boy  does  see  the  world,  but  it’s  the  horror  that  is  hidden  from  the  reality  of  most.    

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It  is  easy  for  the  audience  to  recognize  this  irony  because  it  is  typical  for  people  to  say  they  want  to  see  the  world  before  they  travel  to  beauDful  countries.  Rise  Against  shows  that  seeing  the  world  is  seeing  the  good  and  bad,  but  soldiers  mostly  see  the  worst  the  world  has  to  offer.  The  recruiter  was  true  to  his  statement:  the  boy  did  see  the  world,  but  just  not  in  the  way  he  had  imagined.  Also,  it  is  exposed  that  boys  are  joining  the  military  to  prove  loyalty  to  a  country  that  deceives  them  with  their  words  and  is  not  loyal  in  return  like  expected.  The  music  video  for  “Hero  of  War”  shows  the  irony  of  serving  ones  country  as  well.  The  video  shows  a  man  awake  during  the  middle  of  the  night,  crying  on  the  floor  in  distress.  In  between  this  image,  clips  of  photos  from  the  boys’  past  are  shown  such  as  pictures  of  him  happy  with  a  girlfriend.  By  showing  these  short  flashbacks  of  the  boys  life,  Rise  Against  brings  up  the  irony  that  this  could  happen  to  anyone;  anyone  could  have  their  life  ruined  by  going  to  war.  This  video  makes  it  relatable  to  viewers  because  the  boy  once  experienced  the  same  things  most  people  do  before  he  went  to  war  which  displays  that  going  to  war  can  destroy  the  most  average  of  people.  The  main  image  throughout  the  video  is  the  man  suffering  from  PTSD  (Post  TraumaDc  Stress  Disorder):  painfully  crying  while  rolling  on  the  floor,  crying  looking  into  a  mirror  and  striking  it.    

Reflections 12

The  boy  originally  went  into  the  military  so  that  he  could  come  back  with  the  dignity  and  patrioDsm  of  a  hero;  Rise  Against  portrays  the  irony  that  the  boy  only  came  back  with  PTSD.  It’s  made  clear  that  going  to  war  to  come  back  as  a  hero  is  ironic  because  people  come  back  with  things  much  different  than  what  is  seen  in  the  media.  The  physical  scars  that  are  shown  off  as  baRle  wounds  are  what  are  imagined  by  men  dreaming  to  be  heroes.  Ironically,  the  mental  scars  and  Post  TraumaDc  Stress  Disorders  that  come  back  with  them  are  the  real  wounds.  Lastly,  the  video  closes  with  a  soldier  whose  face  is  painted  half  as  an  American  Flag  and  half  as  a  skeleton.  This  image  portrays  that  soldiers  must  have  their  patrioDsm,  but  need  to  lose  the  emoDons  and  soul  of  a  human  being.    

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The  song  leaves  the  audience  with  this  image,  because  the  withstanding  irony  is  that  one  cannot  have  a  life,  and  fight  for  their  country,  because  if  they  don’t  die  physically,  they  are  leH  as  skeletons  emoDonally.  This  irony  throughout  the  song  lyrics  and  video  cause  the  audience  to  look  at  war  from  a  new  view,  and  criDque  the  idea  of  joining  the  military  to  prove  loyalty  to  a  country.    

 In  the  end,  “Hero  of  War”  causes  people  to  see  soldiers  and  war  differently,  because  instead  of  focusing  on  the  strength  of  our  country  and  its  soldiers,  it  shows  the  faults.  Rise  Against’s  quesDoning  of  patrioDsm  makes  the  audience  rethink  how  quickly  they  are  to  trust  a  country  because  it  gives  that  country  the  ability  to  take  advantage  of  it’s  people.  This  idea  Des  into  the  irony  of  being  loyal  to  a  country  and  going  to  war,  only  to  find  out  that  the  country  takes  advantage  of  the  soldier’s  and  makes  them  do  uncivil  things,  knowing  that  it  can  cause  severe  psychological  damage.  To  give  credit,  American  ciDzens  and  the  government  gives  veterans  money  and  respect  upon  returning  from  war.  Yet,  this  money  and  treatment  doesn’t  allow  the  soldier  to  sleep  peacefully  at  night,  or  stop  seeing  a  monster  staring  back  at  them  in  the  mirror.  Overall,  Rise  Against  successfully  conveyed  a  meaningful  message  to  their  audience,  causing  them  to  reflect  on  their  true  perspecDve  on  war  and  their  country.      

Reflections 14

How Much Is Enough?  A  Story  of  Overcoming  Tragedy

 How  could  this  happen?  This  wasn’t  supposed  to  happen  to  me.  

 I  pull  on  my  skates  before  prac3ce  while  si7ng  in  the  locker  room  of  the  Monroe  Community  College  hockey  rink.    The  air  is  dense  with  the  smell  of  sweat  and  I’m  physically  exhausted  as  I  3e  the  laces  of  my  skates;  hockey  all  day  everyday  for  months  has  taken  a  toll  on  my  body.  I  grab  my  s3ck  and  stand  up  only  to  feel  an  aching  pain  in  my  right  knee.  That  check  last  scrimmage  s9ll  has  me  weak.      

 The  cool  air  s3ngs  my  lungs  as  I  slowly  lower  myself  onto  the  ice.  My  teammates  all  stormed  into  the  rink  and  are  already  warming  up.  

Reflections 15

Star3ng  to  skate,  my  knee  aches  but  it’s  nothing  I  can’t  fight  through.  Coach  would  bench  me  if  I  sit  out  of  prac3ce  for  an  “injury”.  I’m  not  about  to  give  up  playing  9me  in  our  first  game.    

 I  run  through  the  usual  drills  with  my  team.  When  we  line  up  to  shoot  I  can’t  wait.  Thank  God  I  barely  have  to  skate.  Yet  my  aching  body  disables  me  from  playing  my  usual  game.    

 I  shoot  once  and  miss  the  net  completely.      I  shoot  again:  another  miss.    Finally  I  wind  up  for  a  slap  shot,  to  release  my  

frustra3on.  The  clank  as  the  puck  hits  the  goal  post  only  infuriates  me.  I  just  want  to  go  home.  I  go  grab  water  as  I  hear  my  coach  yell  for  us  to  condi3on.  Apparently  we’re  all  lazy  with  no  discipline-­‐even  though  we  all  came  out  here  on  Thanksgiving  morning.  Standing  up,  the  ache  in  my  knee  reminds  me  that  this  condi3oning  may  be  harder  than  usual  for  me.  There’s  no  way  I  can  do  this.  My  eyes  meet  coach’s  and  he  raises  his  eyebrows.  No  I  don’t  have  a  problem.  I  turn  around  and  take  a  deep  breath  before  I  roll  my  eyes  and  make  my  way  to  the  end  of  the  rink.  My  face  gets  warm  in  an3cipa3on,  and  my  heart  speeds  up  as  I  prepare  myself  for  the  approaching  pain.  The  whistle  blows  and  we  take  off.  Coach  is  always  watching  for  who  “works  the  hardest”.  He  has  no  idea.    

Reflections 16

Stride  for  stride,  I  manage  to  keep  up  with  the  majority  of  the  team.    Coach  is  yelling,  but  no  one  can  hear  his  taun3ng  over  our  gasps  for  air  and  our  skates  scraping  the  ice.  We  all  finish,  and  I  raise  my  eyes  to  see  coach  looking  at  me  disapprovingly  from  across  the  ice.  I’m  usually  one  of  the  first,  but  today  I  was  one  of  the  last.  The  only  explana9on  must  be  that  I’m  not  working  hard.  

     I  begin  to  undo  the  chinstrap  on  my  helmet  

when  coach  yells  that  we’ll  have  one  more  drill:  a  fake  scrimmage.  Usually  I  would  be  one  of  the  guys  that  sprint  over  to  the  bench  to  grab  a  pinny,  but  today  is  different.  The  last  thing  I  want  to  do  is  play  hockey.  We  set  ourselves  up  for  the  puck-­‐drop.  I’m  on  defense  so  I  lean  forwards,  watching  the  puck  intently,  ready  for  my  center  to  win  the  face-­‐off  and  pass  the  puck  back  to  me.  Coach  drops  the  puck  and  I  hear  the  clashing  of  s3cks  before  the  puck  goes  flying  off  to  my  right.  I  sprint  as  fast  as  I  can  over  to  the  boards  where  the  puck  sits,  yet  my  injured  sprint  doesn’t  compare  to  my  opposing  teammates’  speed  and  he  gives  me  a  hard  check  into  the  boards.  

 A  spli7ng  pain  worse  than  I  could  ever  imagine  crashes  into  my  right  knee  as  I  drop  to  the  ice.  I  sit  there  for  only  a  second.  There  is  no  way  it’s  a  big  deal.  Don’t  be  a  baby.    

Reflections 17

I  aRempt  to  get  up  and  skate  but  when  I  put  any  pressure  on  my  right  leg  the  pain  returns,  crippling  me  from  any  sort  of  play.    

 “You  good?”  Coach  asks  with  an  odd  look  in  his  eyes.  Is  that  concern?  I  nod  my  head  even  though  my  eyes  are  glazed  over  from  the  unbearable  pain  shoo3ng  from  my  knee.  Once  again  I  aRempt  to  skate,  but  I  crash  down  on  the  ice  from  the  pain.    

 Coach  looks  at  me  and  calmly  says,  “Get  off  the  ice.”      Everything  in  me  wants  to  say  I’m  fine  to  keep  

playing,  but  I  know  the  truth:  there  is  no  way  I  can  skate.  I  leave  the  ice,  take  off  my  skates  and  hobble  my  way  to  my  parent’s  car,  skipping  our  team  talk  that  comes  at  the  end  of  prac3ces.  I  tell  my  parents  what  happened,  and  they  immediately  make  an  appointment  for  me  to  get  an  MRI  the  following  day.  Great,  I  love  doctors…but  at  least  I  don’t  have  to  bear  another  prac9ce  for  a  few  days.    

 A  week  aXer  my  MRI,  I  sit  in  the  wai3ng  room,  looking  at  old  magazines  un3l  a  nurse  comes  out  and  calls  my  name.  My  knee  has  been  blown  up  like  a  bowling  ball,  so  I  limp  my  way  into  the  examina3on  room.  The  doctor  comes  in,  shakes  both  my  mother’s  hand  and  mine,  sits  down  and  pushes  the  MRI  disc  into  the  computer.    

Reflections 18

Mary  Cooke  Photography  Rochester,  New  York  

 An  image  that  looks  like  an  x-­‐ray  pops  up  on  his  screen;  he  scrolls  through  and  evaluates  it  for  a  few  minutes  while  we  sit  in  silence  awai3ng  his  diagnosis.  He  turns  around  and  looks  sympathe3cally  in  my  eyes  before  he  says,  “I  don’t  think  you’ll  ever  be  able  to  play  hockey  again.”  

 His  words  hit  me  in  the  chest  like  a  ton  of  bricks  and  I  blink  back  tears.  The  last  3me  I  was  on  the  ice  I  just  wanted  to  go  home  and  wasn’t  apprecia3ng  the  sport  I  love.  He  goes  on  and  says,  “The  easiest  way  to  explain  it  is  that  it  looks  like  your  knee  was  smashed  in  with  a  hammer.”  My  eyes  widen.    

 How  could  this  happen?  This  wasn’t  supposed  to  happen  to  me.    

 He  tells  me  I  need  surgery  but  that  doesn’t  even  maRer.  His  words  seem  to  fade  into  a  murmur  behind  the  ringing  in  my  head.  I  walk  out  of  the  doctor’s  office  and  wait  un3l  I’m  in  the  car  before  the  tears  begin  to  silently  but  uncontrollably  flow  down  my  cheeks.    

Reflections 19

 The  next  day  in  the  locker  room  I  tell  my  coach  and  teammates  what  the  doctor  had  said.  Wide  eyes  and  “I’m  so  sorry”  follows  but  I  don’t  care.  All  I  care  is  that  I  won’t  be  able  to  play  again.    

 The  rest  of  the  team  gets  on  the  ice  and  skate  through  the  normal  prac3ce  as  I  sit  on  the  bench  and  watch.  When  coach  yells  for  them  to  do  sprints  I  can’t  help  but  be  jealous.  I  would  give  anything  to  be  able  to  sprint  right  now.  I  can  feel  my  hos3lity  building  towards  the  players  that  don’t  work  hard  because  they  don’t  appreciate  that  they  can  sprint  and  condi3on.    

 The  prac3ces  all  seem  the  same  for  the  months  before  and  aXer  my  surgery.  I  can’t  stand  just  watching  everyday.  The  desire  to  play  is  too  strong.  It  kills  me  when  anyone  complains  about  a  drill  because  I  will  never  have  the  adrenaline  from  playing  ever  again.    

 When  I’m  finally  off  my  crutches,  I  decide  that  enough  is  enough.  That  day  at  prac3ce  I  march  onto  the  bench  and  3e  up  my  skates.  I’ve  been  ska3ng  as  long  as  I  can  remember:  it’s  like  walking  to  me.  Standing  up,  my  legs  feel  weak  with  an3cipa3on  and  a  hint  of  doubt  that  this  may  be  a  bad  idea.  As  soon  as  I  stand  on  the  ice,  the  doubt  fades  and  I  take  my  first  stride.  This  is  the  best  feeling  in  the  world.  My  teammates  all  cheer  me  on  and  my  grin  stretches  from  one  ear  to  the  other.    

Reflections 20

I  can’t  believe  I  looked  over  this  feeling.      I  haven’t  recognized  the  details  of  ska3ng  

since  I  was  a  young  child:  the  brisk  air  in  your  face,  the  crisp  gliding  and  quickness  of  the  blade.  There  is  no  way  I  would  ever  forget  this  feeling  again.  In  this  moment,  I  love  hockey  more  than  I  ever  have  in  my  life.  Without  having  hockey  in  my  life  every  day,  the  details  of  what  made  me  love  the  sport  become  clear.  

I  feel  invincible  on  the  ice  and  for  once,  this  is  enough.  Watching  my  team  grin  back  at  me  sheds  all  the  hos3lity  that  was  building  inside  of  me.  I  am  no  longer  jealous.  None  of  them  will  understand  the  joy  of  having  this  moment  that  will  forever  be  sacred  to  me.      

Questions From Readers…

Q:  Why  did  you  choose  the  song  “Hero  of  War”  to  write  about?  

 I  chose  the  song,  “Hero  of  War”  by  the  band,  Rise  Against;  This  song  is  a  haunDng  song  about  a  young  man  who  innocently  joins  the  army  to  become  a  hero,  only  to  be  destroyed  as  a  human  being  because  of  the  traumaDc  events  he  experiences  while  overseas.  This  song  was  wriRen  as  America  was  sending  troops  over  the  Iraq,  which  makes  this  song  very  relevant  to  anyone  listening.  I  chose  this  song  because  it  brings  out  a  deeper  meaning  behind  war  rather  than  typical  war  songs  that  talk  about  heroes  and  love  stories.  Rise  Against  takes  a  harsh  reality  and  puts  it  into  lyrics  that  cause  the  audience  to  quesDon  what  they  think  about  our  country  and  the  men  who  serve.  This  song  makes  a  listener  quesDon  patrioDsm  because  the  song  shows  a  man  that  will  carry  the  flag,  “to  the  grave  if  [he]  must”,  change  into  a  man  who  suffers  from  Post  TraumaDc  Stress  and  a  lack  of  trust  in  his  country.  AddiDonally,  Rise  Against  perfects  the  use  of  irony  to  make  his  audience  come  to  tough,  but  real  conclusions  about  men  proving  their  loyalty  to  their  country  by  serving  overseas.      

Reflections 21

Reflections 22

I  believe  that  Rise  Against  opens  the  eyes  of  people  to  see  that  the  government  betrays  their  young  men  by  trying  to  convince  them  to  join  the  military  to  become  heroes.  The  music  video  shows  the  aHer  math  of  war:  a  veteran  suffering  from  PTSD  during  the  middle  of  the  night.  The  lyrics  of  the  song  tell  the  story  of  his  experiences  that  haunt  him.    I  hope  that  through  explaining  the  irony  and  quesDons  discussed  in  the  lyrics  and  music  video  of  “Hero  of  War”  I  can  convince  my  own  audience  to  take  a  deeper  look  into  our  military  and  veterans.    Q:  I  hear  that  in  your  next    magazine  you’re  wri3ng  an  ar3cle  about  That  70’s  Show.  What  made  you  want  to  write  this?    

 I  focused  on  the  television  show,  That  70’s  Show,  and  how  it  reinforces  racism  against  people  of  nonwhite  ethniciDes.  The  show  demonstrates  that  Fez,  a  foreign  exchange  student,  is  incapable  of  fidng  in  with  typical  American  culture  because  he  is  from  a  different  country.  The  show  takes  place  in  the  1970’s,  and  focuses  around  a  group  of  stoner  teens  that  spend  most  of  their  Dme  in  Eric  Forman’s  basement.  The  show  was  aired  during  the  90’s,  and  lasted  for  eight  seasons.    

Reflections 23

Because  there  are  many  examples  of  racism  throughout  the  show,  I  decided  to  focus  my  aRenDon  on  season  five,  episode  nineteen.  In  this  episode,  racist  stereotypes  such  as  foreigners  being  dirty  and  poor  are  directed  at  Fez  and  in  like  many  episodes,  he  becomes  the  buR  of  everyone’s  jokes.  In  one  scene,  Kelso  checks  Fez’s  hair  for  lice  without  Fez  knowing,  and  the  laugh  reel  reinforces  that  it  is  ‘funny’  that  Fez  may  have  lice  in  his  hair  because  he  is  foreign.  AddiDonally,  Fez  makes  himself  seem  as  though  his  country  was  poor  when  referencing  to  making  canoes  out  of  banana  peels  while  at  dinner  with  his  girlfriend’s  parents’  house.  To  make  the  dinner  more  focused  around  Fez’s  race,  his  girlfriend’s  parents  do  not  accept  him  as  a  boyfriend  because  he  is  not  white;  they  only  accept  having  a  “different”  friend  so  that  it’ll  look  good  on  her  college  resume.  Because  the  show  aired  twenty  years  later  than  the  Dme  it  takes  place  in,  it  is  possible  that  That  70’s  Show  is  laughing  at  the  views  people  held  of  foreigners  during  that  Dme  period,  rather  than  foreigners  themselves.  Yet,  if  this  was  true,  at  the  end  of  the  episode,  the  racism  would  have  been  made  up  for.  Instead,  when  Kelso  aRempts  to  comfort  Fez  aHer  he  was  the  vicDm  of  discriminaDon,  he  ends  up  comparing  him  to  a  MarDan,  and  turns  Fez  into  another  joke.  Although  the  show  doesn’t  take  place  in  the  current  era,  it  sDll  reinforces  racism  against  foreigners  because  watching  the  show  makes  it  funny  to  treat  people  differently  based  on  the  color  of  their  skin.    

Reflections 24

Q:  You  did  a  substan3al  revision  on  one  of  your  ar3cles.  How  and  why  did  you  chose  your  piece?    

 For  the  substanDal  revision,  I  will  be  focusing  on  my  rhetorical  analysis  essay  which  analysis  the  song,  “Hero  of  War,”  by  Rise  Against.  In  my  original,  my  thesis  was  a  general  restatement  of  the  lyrics,  and  it  didn’t  portray  a  thorough  interpretaDon  of  the  true  meaning  behind  the  song.  My  new  thesis  will  argue  that  “Hero  of  War”  quesDons  patrioDsm,  and  reveals  the  irony  of  going  to  war  to  prove  loyalty  to  a  country.  This  thesis  will  be  a  stronger  claim  because  it  looks  further  into  the  meaning,  rather  than  just  staDng  the  obvious  to  the  reader.  In  the  beginning  of  my  original  Rhetorical  Analysis,  I  summarized  the  song,  and  my  interpretaDon  was  just  restaDng  the  lyrics  and  saying  what  they  mean  literally.  For  my  SubstanDal  Revision,  I  will  include  a  short  summary  as  a  first  paragraph,  because  it’ll  be  needed  to  reference  back  to  throughout  the  rest  of  the  essay.  Instead  of  using  this  paragraph  as  my  evidence,  I  will  organize  the  essay  into  two  paragraphs:  one  focusing  on  the  patrioDsm  aspect  of  my  thesis,  and  the  other  focusing  on  the  irony.  This  will  not  only  make  my  essay  beRer  understood  by  the  reader,  but  it  will  also  supply  them  with  a  new  insight  on  the  song  rather  than  me  telling  them  what  they  can  blatantly  hear.    

Reflections 25

I  brought  out  these  changes,  because  in  my  first  essay,  I  included  a  paragraph  on  patrioDsm  that  really  expressed  the  interpretaDon  of  the  song.  Also,  the  irony  of  the  song  was  always  there  such  as  the  boy  thinking  he’s  going  to  “see  the  world”.  Rather  than  just  staDng  that  this  is  a  part  of  the  song,  the  irony  was  brought  to  me  and  I  found  that  many  of  the  points  Rise  Against  makes  related  back  to  how  ironic  it  is  to  serve  a  country  to  prove  loyalty.  These  two  ideas  within  my  thesis  go  hand-­‐in-­‐hand  which  will  make  the  essay  flow  and  be  easily  readable  and  understandable.  AHer  wriDng,  I  will  have  to  proof  read  and  solve  for  any  syntax  errors.