Victims

Child soldiers ages eighteen and under is a problem discussed all around the world.  Unfortunately most of them are fourteen or younger.  The articles “Children at War,” by P.W Singer, “Armed and Underage” by Jeffrey Gettleman and a documentary, a CBS interview with Ishmael Beah, explain the life, dangers, and misfortune of child soldiers.  They give details about how the children were forced or tricked into service, how they were manipulated and/or brainwashed while in service, and how they were traumatized after they were released from the army.   Although some might say child soliers are perpetrators, I see them as victims.

One reason child soldiers are victims is because they were forced and tricked into service without choice.  For example, in the article “Children at War,” by P.W Singer, a boy from Liberia who had experienced this was interviewed.  He said, “The rebels came and attacked us.  They killed my mother and father in front of my eyes.  I was 10 years  old.  They took me with them.”  This directly shows one way how many child soldiers were forced into service.  It also shows the boy had no choice because the people would probably kill him too if he did otherwise. He also had nowhere to go because his family was dead.  In the CBS interview with Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier from Sierra Leone, Beah explained, “We thought if we went to the military base we would be protected.  That was not the case.”  The army gave them false impressions that ended up in Beah becoming a child soldier.  Both Beah and the other boy who was interviewed, tell us that child soldiers are victims because they were forced or tricked into service without choice.

Another reason child soldiers are victims is because they were manipulated and/or brainwashed to be killers while in service.  For example, in the CBS interview with Ishmael Beah, he discussed what it was like to be part of the army and kill people.  “You’ve lost yourself.  It completely becomes your life.  You have to do it to survive,” he said.  He was manipulated by fear of being killed if he didn’t cooperate.  Beah also talked about how the soldiers were manipulated into drugs by the commanders, in order not to fully comprehend the awful things they were doing.  In the article “Armed and Underage,” by Jeffrey Gettleman, it said that in the 1980s, an army from Iran gave “12 to 16 year old boys ‘keys to heaven’ to hang around their necks as they cleared minefields during the Iran-Iraq war.”  These keys were meant to “protect them,” but this just shows how child soldiers were brainwashed into thinking that they were protected or doing the right thing. Through these examples, it is shown that child soldiers are victims because they were manipulated and brainwashed to kill while in service.

A final reason child soldiers are victims is because they were traumatized afterwards.  For example, in the article “Children at War,” by P.W Singer, it said, “Girl soldiers are often singled out for sexual abuse, even by their own commanders, and have a harder time integrating back into society at wars end.” I feel utterly horrified that these girls were emotionally damaged to the extent that it was difficult to go back to society!  When Ishmael Beah was interviewed, he said that after UNICEF rescued him, he’d turn on the shower, but see only blood.  This is an example of mental trauma that many of the soldiers faced afterwards.  I feel that it’s very difficult to hear about how these people’s childhoods were ruined, and the rest of their lives affected because they were child soldiers.  In the end, child soldiers are victims because they were traumatized after they fought as child soldiers.

In conclusion, because child soldiers are forced or tricked into servitude, manipulated and brainwashed while in service and traumatized after they were released from the army, they are victims.  Some may still argue that they are perpetrators because they killed people, and that’s a crime.  However, I believe they say this because they are looking at these children from the outside.  Instead, they should imagine what it would be like to face all of those horrors (that were really in the hands of those who captured them) at such a young age, and then come out of it traumatized and charged as a criminal.  Hopefully then, those who believe these child soldiers are perpetrators would realize that they are truly victims.

Thoughts Come With A Price

As I finished the book "Specials," by Scott Westerfeld, I realized a connection between empty-headed bubbleheads and the fact that there are no wars or arguments between them.  In the book, there is a city called Diego where the people are given the choice of whether or not they want lesions in their brains or to be "random-minded" and think for themselves clearly.  Unfortunately, in the city where Tally comes from is against having clear and open minds, so they saw Diego as a threat and sparked war.  This makes me think that ideas come with a price: arguments and war.  Because the minds of pretty bubbleheads are too muddled to form clear ideas, there is no room for war or disagreement.

I think this because when the main character Tally listened to conversations of people in Diego, she realized that most of it was arguments.  However, back in her city, it was very uncommon to have any disagreement between people.  This makes me feel upset that in order to have a personality and have your own thoughts, you can spark disagreements that could end up killing people.  This happens because when everyone has their own opinions, they might think that they are right and try to argue with people who think otherwise.  This makes me think about how you can't only have good or bad, because they can't exist without each other.  Is this the reason behind those who invented the lesions?  This just ads to my previous conflict expressed in an earlier post about how I feel about Pretties and Uglies and the Smokies.  Would it really be bad to just live in a peaceful world without wars?  Or is having your own mind fully to yourself worth the risk?

Both Lesions Are Bad

     As I read "Specials," the third book of the "Uglies" series by Scott Westerfeld, there are two types of lesions that doctors put into people's brains when they are operated on.  One lesion is for the Pretties.  When people in this series turn sixteen, they are turned beautiful.  However, the doctors put lesions in their brains to make them feel muddled, and not have a clear mind.  This way, they would never cause wars, violence, or anger.  The other lesion is for the Specials.  Specials are dangerously fast and alert.  They put down anyone who tries to rebel, such as the Smokies, who are people who run away from the operation of turing Pretty so their minds don't become messed up.  And although the Specials have very clear minds, the lesions make them feel as though they are better than everyone.  I agree with the main character Tally, that both lesions are wrong.
     Tally escaped being Pretty- minded, but later was turned into a Special.  Although her friend thinks that the lesions to make Specials think they are better is good because "it's true," Tally knows that they are bad.  For example, after the boy she loved wasn't turned into a Special, she went to see him.  But she felt sick after she realized she thought she was so superior compared to him.  I agree with Tally's feelings, because in this series, they are trying to create a type of Utopia by turning almost everyone Pretty and making them calm.  However, if they are trying to do this, why would they make those who think they are better?  This does not make the perfect world, because in the perfect world, everyone is equal.  I also think that in general, putting these lesions into people without their consent is inhumane.  Also feeling that you are better than someone is harmful.  It can put others down and cause you to become a mean, stuck up person.  Overall, I respect Tally's opinion that both lesions are bad, even though some think they are good because they help keep order.  I also admire the fact that Tally followed her heart, which led her to realize that all of the operations have horrible side effects.  I wonder how Tally will express her feelings towards the lesions throughout the rest of the book.

Being a Leader Isn't Always so Great

I used to think that there was one definition of the word leader.  This definition was that a leader is someone everyone looks up to, and who usually makes the right decisions.  However, characters from the book I just finished, The Mark of Athena, by Rick Riordan helped me realize that being a leader can be really hard.  It's not always easy to make the right decisions, and it can affect the person negatively on the inside.

In the book. I learned that with leadership, the leader must be willing to sacrifice things for the better good.  For example, one of the main characters named Frank told his friend Leo that Leo would rather save machines than people.  At first, Leo shrugged this off, but when his friends were in danger, he had to choose between the machines or them.  He decided to be a true leader and friend and risked the technology and in the meantime, realized what it takes to be a leader.  Piper was another main character who had to sacrifice something to save the majority.  In this case, she sacrificed herself.  Although she didn't die, she was willing to give up everything to save her drowning friends.  This shows that leaders have the tough job of having to make the right decision, and that can be as hard as sacrificing things on order to help the majority.

Besides the fact that leaders in the book were physically wounded in battle, they were also hurt internally.  For example, both Percy and Jason have always been leaders their entire life.  Everyone just expects them to do something phenomenal.  However, this just makes them feel bad when they don't meet everyone's expectations.  It also sets a pressure on them that sometimes makes them go crazy.  I also hate to bring out the bad qualities of them, but being a leader can also make them stuck up.  Everyone thinks they're so great, and so they start to believe it and think they are invincible.  Although they are pretty wonderful people, pride can sometimes be harmful.  For example, Jason had said, "I've always been the leader.  Being with equals on this quest makes me feel like I'm failing."  This shows that their pride and feelings can be hurt because they thought they were the best, and it's hard to take when there is more than one leader.  Overall, there can be negative affects to being a leader.

In conclusion, this book has helped me see so many sides of being a leader.  The characters in this story were shaped to realize what being a leader really means.  Usually in stories, people praise the leader and don't stop to think about what this is actually doing to them.  This makes me think about people in reality today.  I think it's good to have someone in charge, but maybe everyone should be given a chance so nobody is alone when it comes to sacrifice and internal pain from trying to be the best leader ever.