Thursday, February 14, 2008
Eliza Cohn
"The only way to prepare for peace is to be prepared for war."A country can prepare for war by gathering weapons and soldiers, and getting into the correct mindset to fight. If a country is prepared to go into war, they are ready to battle their enemies. Being ready to fight cannot mean being ready for peace. Peace is abolishing hate and violence. Peace is respect and harmony. If a country is ready to go to war, they are ready for extreme violence, and not at all ready for respect and harmony. The only way to prepare for peace is to live in unity with your neighbors, instead of fighting against them. When a country can do that, they will be ready for peace. A respectful country filled with toleration is the background that is necessary for peace to flourish.-
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6 comments:
Eliza, your thoughts on war and peace attracted my attention because I completely agree with what you said. Peace can’t necessarily be something that humans can “prepare” for, but being prepared for war is definitely not a way to obtain it. And, seeing as how countries are always conflicting with another, this lack of unity between a country and its neighbors will not allow them to be prepared for peace, because the fact that they’re ready for war shows that they’re corrupting all possibilities of peace.
-Janice Vong
I would also have to disagree with what you said Eliza. I mean it sounds very nice to have the whole world live together in peace and such, but that isn't the case. Sometimes conflicts reach a boiling point and there will be war between the two. Right now in order for peace to occur between two nations is through the brutality of war and then when the number of deaths pile to an egregious amount, the two nations can see for themselves the consequence and horribleness of fighting. If you are to assume that you can have peace with you neighbor and live in harmony with someone else, you are putting a lot of faith and trust into them, and as we all know, everybody lies. Having peace with your neighbor is a good thought, but it probably doesn't work out. I mean, would you leave your car unlocked with the keys in the ignition and hope that your neighbor will not take advantage of an opportunity? Probably not. If your neighbor doesn't take advantage of this moment of weakness, you know that someone else will. It is the same in this case. You need to prepare for the worst to ensure that peace can occur.
-Francis Lin
I think this quote more speaks to the fact that, while it would be ideal, is unlikely that everyone can live in harmony completely without war, or war machines. However all it really takes is one upstart dictator to ruin this whole Utopian world. So I believe this quote is saying that while, a country does not have to anxious to go to war, they must have the necessary means and ability to defend themselves in the occurrence of a war. However I respect your opinion about how peace should be achieved, and while I don't know if our world is anywhere near prepared for it at this point, I'd like to hope that sometime in the future we will be.
SECOND RESPONSE
2. To assure our country's freedom, the government should be able to spy on its citizens.
I disagreed with this statement before reading 1984, and I continue to disagree with it. To infringe on someone's privacy is to infringe on their freedom. When you spy on someone, you take away their freedom by controlling them. In 1984, the citizens of Oceania are spied on through the telescreens and the Thought Police. This takes away their freedom by constantly monitoring them so their decisions are made by motivation to please the Party. They are afraid to speak or even make a gesture that could be misinterpreted as against the Party. They do not have freedom, they are constricted and afraid.
The previous comment was by Eliza Cohn.
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