Final

Writing Diagnostic: Why Are They Different?

         What makes the soldiers on the other side any different than the ones on your side? Other than which side they are fighting for there aren’t many differences. In the song “The Day After Tomorrow” by Tom Waits he sings “you cant deny, the other side don’t want to die anymore than we do. What I’m trying to say is don’t they pray to the same God that we do?” Soldiers on neither side wish to die yet they risk their lives every day, but for what? Most of the soldiers on both sides eventually question themselves about that everyday. They both think they are fighting for their country, for their families. Whose family is more important, your side or theirs? Soldiers on both sides of the war have more in common than they would ever think.

Both are strong, brave men and women who risk everything for something they probably don’t know much about.  When you hear the words “fighting for our country” or “fighting for our freedom” what do you think of? To me it sounds as if they are protecting the country from invasion or take over. In reality, the last invasion of the US was when Mexican troops crossed over the Rio Grande in the war over Texas territory. That was in 1846, nearly two hundred and sixty-seven years ago. The US hasn’t been threatened to be taken over nor would any country we have fought have the power to. So are these soldiers really dying fighting for our freedom? Now in the war on Iraq they truly couldn’t be. Iraq never attacked us on 9/11 as some so wrongly claim as the reason for the war. We would be retaliating on a confined group not a whole country. In his article “They Fight and Die, But Not For Their Country” Ted Rall writes, “Iraq never had weapons that could hurt us or means to hit us with them if they had. And we know that they didn't attack us--not on 9/11, not ever… But since Iraq neither threatens our freedom nor our borders, they're neither protecting our freedoms or fighting for America. The best anyone can say is that they're fighting for our country's geopolitical interests”. Do the soldiers know why they’re fighting? Who decides which sides country is right?

Both are trying to protect the friends fighting alongside them.  They not only have to worry about keeping their own lives but those of their fellow soldiers. They spend every waking moment with their colleagues so seeing them getting injured or worse, killed isn’t a welcome feeling. Soldiers die everyday in war and if it’s not you it may be your best friend, your bunkmate, your boss, or maybe even a family member fighting in the war alongside you. When you see a friend in need what do you do? You try and help them. Soldiers get injured or killed all the time trying to help the wounded. Does your best friend deserve to die? Or does your enemy’s best friend deserve to die?

Both sides have families waiting for their return home.  Moms are waiting for their sons, wives waiting for their husbands, children are waiting for their parents. Neither family on either side of the war want to get that call or that knock on their door saying that their loved one wont be coming home. No child should have to go through losing one of their parents but some lose both to war. In his song, Tom Waits also sings “I’m not fighting for justice, I am not fighting for freedom, I am fighting for my life and another day in the world here”. The song is written like a letter back home to the people waiting for him. Millions of soldiers have died fighting in war. Millions of fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, and best friends will never get to return home to their families. So whose son or husband deserves to die? Which sides family gets to lose?

No soldier goes into war hoping to get injured or die. They are just doing their duty and following orders. They may all have different reasons for joining the fight but they all believe what they are doing is right. They believe they are helping and protecting the well being of their country and in turn their family.

So which side do you think deserves to die fighting for a war they didn’t start and can’t end?