E-Learning 2 (25 - 26 May 2010) - We Slept With Our Boots On

Task 1
Based on your understanding of the selected poem, perform extensive web research and write a report detailing the conflict represented in the poem(s) of your choice. Bear in mind that this piece of background information will allow your blog audience to further understand the poem as well as your analysis of the poem in Task 2.

Be sure to include your references and credit your sources.

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(I was unable to find much information on this poem as it is not very well-known. Hence, the following interpretation of mine may not be very accurate)

Some background information on the author of the poem:
Born and presently living in Dowagiac, Michigan, Steve Carlsen was recruited into the US Army in October 2000. He experienced Infantry Basic Training and Airborne School in Ft. Benning, Georgia. He was assigned to D Company 1st battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and 82nd Airborne Division in Ft. Bragg North Carolina. In November 2001, he was deployed to Kosovo as part of a peace keeping operations and went on to Afghanistan in December 2002 where he was further deployed for combat operations. In 2003, he was honorably discharged from the Army and currently attends Southwestern Michigan College where his professor, Dr Michael Collins challenged him to write about his experiences. This poem ("We Slept With Our Boots On") is a product of his experiences of war.

The poem speaks of Steve Carlsen, a war veteran, war experience in Afghanistan. The first 2 lines of the poem tells us that the soldier emptied the injured and dead soldiers out of the plane and put the author's paratrooper platoon in it. They were clueless as to where they would land for their combat operations. Then, they were ungraciously and unwillingly dropped right smack in the middle of the fierce battefield, the author nervous and scared. They sprinted for cover from the deafending bullets, terrified, shooting continously. They fought on all sorts of terrain, tired and frightened, making sure they were always prepared. It was as if they were in hell but they blocked this thought from their minds. The author feels that fighting in a war and shooting a gun changes a person forever; no longer is he innocent but battle-scarred, witnessing countless deaths and agony.

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We Slept With Our Boots On

They unloaded the dead and maimed right before our eyes
They washed out the blood, we loaded our ruck’s and then took to the skies
Over the mountains, villages, and valleys we flew
Where we would land we had not a clue
Bullets are flying, the LZ is hot
We’re leaving this bird whether we like it or not
30 seconds they yelled, Lock N Load and grab your shit
Get ready to go and make it quick
My heart is pumping adrenalin through all of my veins
I run as fast as I can through the lead rain
The noise is tremendous, terror I can’t define
The only reason I survived that day was divine
I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more
You do what you have to do, with that I will say no more
We fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks
From house to cave, to car to creek
Dirty and tired and hungry and scared
We slept with our boots on so we were always prepared
Those majestic mountains so steep, so high they kiss the skies
The Hindu Kush has changed so many lives
Up the mountains with heavy loads we trod
Who knew hell was so close to God
Beauty and terror are a strong mixed drink
So we drank it like drunkards and tried not to think
Good men and bad men, Mothers lost son’s
Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns
Washed in the blood, and baptized by fire
I will never forget those who were called higher
They say blood is thicker than water, well lead is thicker than blood
Brothers aren’t born they’re earned. In the poppy fields, the tears, and the mud
And when I get to heaven to Saint Peter I will tell
Another Paratrooper reporting for duty sir, I spent my time in hell

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Task 2: ANNEX A

Point of View (POV): POV: The title takes the POV of the author and his fellow paratrooper (“We”), as the poem is mainly about the author’s platoon.

The first 2 lines of the poem takes the 3rd person’s POV (“they”), as the author and his platoon watches the other soldiers discarding the dead and injured inside the plane and loading them aboard.

The next few lines take the POV of the author’s platoon as they were flown to the battlefield (“We”) and dropped into the battlefield by the other soldiers. Then, it changes to the author’s POV (“My”) as he describes his nervousness and terror, sprinting through the bullets amidst the deafening battlefield, then shooting repeatedly, claiming it was what had to be done.
The POV reverts to that of the author’s platoon (“We”) as they fought on every ground, unclean, exhausted and frightened, always on the lookout. Then, it returns to the author’s POV as he thought about how the Hindu Kush Mountains had transformed their lives. The POV yet again turns back to that of the author and his paratroopers as they trudged on, aware of the terror but trying to distract and distance themselves from it with the beauty of the mountains.

The POV is now that of the author’s. He ponders on how everyone seems to lose their innocence once they hold a gun and enter the battlefield. He also remembers those who were killed in combat and feels that his fellow paratroopers are like his own brothers after all they’ve been through together. He ends off on a somewhat bitter but humorous note.

Situation and Setting: The main setting here is the battlefield. The situation there seems to be dire, as can be seen from the “lead rain”, which alludes to the non-stop firing of bullets. The “noise is tremendous, terror I can’t define” tells us the battlefield was extremely loud and induced fear in the author. The setting of the battlefield does change, from “the valleys to the mountain peaks/From house to cave, to car to creek”. This shows that there was war everywhere and that the soldiers had to be cautious and ready to fight at any time, such as how they “slept with our boots on”. Lastly, the setting of the “majestic” Hindu Kush helped the soldiers to distract themselves from the terror of war.

Language/Diction: The use of the word “unloaded” and “loaded” in the first 2 lines of the poem tells me the author feels they (he and his platoon) were treated simply as replaceable, expendable goods. The rhyme of lines 5 and 6 (“hot” and “not”) emphasize how the platoon was to be dropped into the battlefield no matter how dangerous it was, “bullets are flying, the LZ is hot”. (LZ is Landing Zone). The lead rain stands for the repeated fire of bullets, and the rhyme of the following 2 lines emphasize how dangerous the battlefield, its noise tremendous, “terror I can’t define”, was as the only reason the author survived was divine intervention.

The repetition of “and” in “I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more” highlights how the author kept shooting continuously, thus revealing his fear and the danger of the battlefield. The platoon “fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks/From house to cave, to car to creek”. The rhyme of “peaks” and “creek” emphasizes the fact that war was everywhere, inescapable, as does the alliteration of “car to creek”. This explains why the soldiers had to “sleep with our boots on” and the rhyme of “scared” and “prepared” underlines how the soldiers were wary of an enemy attack and hence had to constantly be on the lookout.

The line “Who knew hell was so close to God” again emphasizes the terror of the battlefield and even the majestic Hindu Kush could become a raging battlefield, aptly described by the word “hell”.

The following lines tells us that the soldiers were terrified of the war, but in order to distract themselves, they tried to take in the beauty of the Hindu Kush and forget about war, as emphasized by the alliteration “drank like drunkards”. The next 2 lines state that no matter who you are, everyone would lose their innocence upon fighting. The rhyme of the “son’s” and “guns” highlights this. The soldiers face death and injury as they grow up, as can be seen from them being “Washed in the blood, and baptized by fire”. The author feels his fellow paratroopers are like his own blood brothers as can be seen from how “lead is thicker than blood”, meaning it is how important. The paratroopers have gone through much together “in the poppy fields, the tears, and the mud”, which explains that they have gone through agony, pain and loss together. The poem ends of on a somewhat sarcastic but a little humorous note.

Personal Response: This poem’s structure is untidy and is not divided into stanzas. I feel that this represents Steve’s view of war: messed-up and continuous (participated in many combat operations).

Is Playing or Studying More Beneficial For Us?

This is a really difficult question. Of course, who doesn't wish that there isn't any school to go to or mounds of homework to complete everyday? I rather play Nintendo any day of the week than learn about Newton's Third Law in school. However, deep down inside all of us, we know that at the end of the day, school is truly for our own good. The teachers are there not to work us to death but to nurture us into critical-thinking, mature individuals, ready to face society, from the childish, dependent students we are.

Take for example, the November/December holidays after the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) 2 years back. I was finally free from the hell the teachers put us through. I thought initially that it would be the 2 most glorious months of my life, after all the extra homework, lessons and tuition I've been through. I was all set to plop in front of the computer with a bag of crisps and a soda to catch up on all the agonizing hours I spent studying and revising instead of gaming. It was barely a week before I started to miss and pine for the good old schooldays. Though I was extremely stressed and under a lot of pressure then, at least I had work to do and had a proper aim in mind at that point. It was then I realized that a person must have a purpose in life. Only then would he would be motivated to achieve it and not drift aimlessly. A life without an aim is considered to be a life without any proper direction to it. Without any direction, a life will go astray. It simply wastes itself. How can you be happy if you don't achieve anything? Won't your life be totally useless and unfulfilling?

However, there is a need to play too. Working or studying might land us a job in the workforce in the future but as the saying goes, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." There is a need to strike a proper balance between work and play. If you work too much, you will feel bored too and unhappy. You need a little enjoyment now and then to be inspired to continue studying/working. On the other hand, too much playing just leads to no achievements and boredom.

In conclusion, I feel that both having fun and working are essential to happiness. In other words, we have to work hard and play hard to be happy.

Do We control Technology or does It control Us?

We live in the age of technology. Barely an hour goes by without us having to make use of modern technology. In fact, I'm now making use of technology just to write this blog post.

We wake to the ringing of an alarm clock, use a toaster to toast our bread while listening to the news on the radio, or watching TV. In this time and age, we cannot live without technology. Technology has doubtless made our lives much easier. At the press of a few buttons or a few keystrokes, we can communicate or chat with anyone in the world instantly. Traveling across countries, which used to take months or even years by foot, now takes mere hours by plane, ship or train. Work is done much more efficiently, saving both time and money. We now have better food and nutrition, more comfortable living quarters and even healthier bodies, all thanks to technology.

However, I feel that this dependency we have on technology has caused us to be almost controlled by it. Goodness knows how we would be able to accomplish anything without it. Imagine a world without the World Wide Web, machines or inventions. It would be like the Stone Age once more, with mankind consuming raw and uncooked food with little or no light or warmth. Thus, technology is a double-edged sword as it makes our lives easier but, in a way, holds power over us.

For example, whenever I need to do some research for my projects and assignments, the first thing I would do is hit the search engines like Yahoo!, MSN and Google. Usually, I would get what I want within minutes. Without the Internet, I would be forced to visit the library and pore over thousands of yellowed books just to find that bit of information I require. Hence, this shows that I rely very much on technology and am very much controlled by it.

Furthermore, I know of one of my ex-classmate who spends half his time on the computer; the other half on his Xbox 360. He was so addicted that he played video games almost 6 hours a day on a weekday! As a result, he was so hooked up with the virtual world he lost contact with the real world and did not make many friends. He also failed to hand in assignments on time as he was too busy playing. In the end, he barely passed PSLE and went to a neighborhood Secondary School. In this case, technology has domineered over him and cost him many friendships and maybe even his future.

In conclusion, I feel that technology controls us. We are far too used to it that it has become a point where we absolutely cannot live without it. Hence, we must learn to reduce our dependacy on it and stand on own our two feet, so that we are not manipulated by it.

Should Organ Trading be Legalized ?

Recently, I have come across numerous article on Organ Trading both online and offline. I believe most, if not all of us have some vague recollection of the case of the former Singaporean retail magnate of CK Tang, Tang Wee Sung. He allegedly attempted to buy a kidney for $300,000 from an Indonesian immigrant. As a result, he was fined $17,000 and sentenced to one day’s jail. The would-be donor, Mr. Sulaiman Damanik, was jailed for three weeks. The middleman who arranged the transaction, Mr. Wang Chin Sing, received the heftiest sentence of fourteen months jail. To read up on a more detailed account of the incident, click here.

This shows how people, out of desperation, are forced to resort to the black market of organ trading to buy kidneys, lungs and other vital organs for themselves. In Tang's case, he has been on dialysis for over a year and suffers from various heart problems. Doctors have estimated that he would not live beyond 5 years.

Now, for the main topic: Should Organ Trading be Legalized ?

Personally, I am for organ trading, not just for Singapore, but for the entire world. Why? In the United States of America alone, there were are more than 50,000 on the waiting list for kidney transplants in 2000. Only a mere 15,000 of them received kidney transplants. This implies a mean waiting period of nearly four years before a person on the waiting list could receive a kidney transplant! In the same year, almost 3,000 died while waiting for a kidney transplant, and half that number died while waiting for a liver transplant. These numbers will only continue to increase as the population grows.

What does this show? It shows that clearly, altruism or altruistic donations are not enough. We need something else, something more dependable. Organ Trading.If altruism were sufficiently powerful, the supply of organs would be able to satisfy demand, and there would be no need to change the present system.However, this is not the case in any country. While the per capita(person) number of organs donated has grown over time, demand has grown even faster. Inevitably, the length of the queue for organ transplants has grown significantly over time in most countries, despite attempts to encourage greater giving of organs, such as campaigns.

The situation in Singapore is equally dire. Studies have shown that Singapore is fifth highest in the world in terms of incidence of kidney failure. According to a news report, at least 3,500 people in Singapore have kidney failure; 600 are on the transplant list. Moreover, the demand for organs transplantation continues to increase rapidly. Between 1998 and 2003, the number of people waiting for a kidney increased by almost 20% to 673 patients. Singapore has tried time and again to improve the allocation of available organs among the needy, such as giving greater priority to those who needs them the most. These steps have helped, but they have not stopped the queues from growing, nor prevented thousands from dying while waiting for transplants.

On the other hand, countries like Iran, who have legalized organ trading, have almost no queue for organ transplants! They have proved, beyond all reasonable doubt, that organ trading is the sole solution to this plight that has the world in an iron-cast grip.

However, there are critics and a lot of people who are against it. They feel that it is immoral and unethical to sell what we were born with. I say: Get off your high horse! You don't know how heartbreaking and antagonizing it is to witness one's loved ones suffering a slow and painful death. In all likelihood, you have never been affected personally by the shortage of organs. If this issue becomes personal, I can guarantee you that those who were against it would adapt immediately and become an avid supporter of organ trading; such is the hypocritical nature of humans. They ignore a problem until it threatens to inflict personal harm. Let me ask you; is committing an immoral act worth saving one person's life? Or is it more important to preserve these natural gifts, at the expense of others' of lives? I sincerely believe that under no circumstances, saving someone's life should take a back seat to ethics or principles. The value of a life cannot be compared with that of moral values.

People are also against organ trading as they fear that it will lead to an economic allocation of resources where only those who can pay will receive an organ transplant, to the point where an organ is treated as a commodity.

This is not true. That is what happens in the black market. However, with proper and well-defined framework, the white market will be different.

One idea is to set up a kidney registry for registering and screening donors and recipients to find suitable matches and ensure that there is no coercion, duress or exploitation involved. Furthermore, it would make sure that organs are allocated on the medical condition of each donee, not on the financial value or assets of the donees. Also, the donar's organs will only be accepted if it is a suitable match for one of the donees. A charity or administrative body like the government could easily take care of this and related matters such as donor's and donees' consent, protection of identities of donors and donees, requirements, insurance and other pre and post-transplant issues. As this is handled by a legal administrative body, we would not have any problems that were in the black market.

Another set of critics admit that allowing organs to be bought and sold would be positive. However, they object as they feel that the lion's share of the organ supply would come from the poor. They think that with this implementation, the poor would be induced to sell their organs to the middle classes and the rich. Though there is no reason for complain should the organs of poor persons be sold with their permission after they died, and the proceeds went as bequests to their parents or children, voices might be raised if mainly poor people sold one of their kidneys for live kidney transplants.

Think about it. On the other hand, would poor donors be better off if this option were taken away from them? Maybe a limit on the number of organs that could be supplied by those with incomes below a certain level could be put in place, but would that improve their welfare?

Moreover, it is far from certain that a dominant fraction of the organs would come from the poor in a free market. Most of the organs used for live transplants are still donated by relatives or friends. Scenes wheret volunteers would almost entirely consist of low income families are inaccurate as many poor people would have organs that would not be acceptable in a market system because of organ damage due to drug usage,various diseases and over consumption of alcohol.

Some critics are worried that as a side-effect of legalizing organ trading the total number of organs available for transplants might decrease as it would sufficiently lower the number of organs donated altruistically as there would be plenty of other organs available on the free market.That scenario is extremely unlikely since only a minority of potentially usable organs are available for transplants currently. Compensating people financially for donating their organs would enormously widen the scope of the potential organ market.

If we do not legalize organ trading, we are indirectly helping the black market of illegal transplants to flourish, with poor clinical results for many patients and exploitation of the poor. In the black market, the quality of the surgeons and hospitals is generally very low, drastically reducing the quality of the organs sold and the compatibility with the recipient's organ. If we choose not to legalize organ trading , the desperate , like Mr. Tang Wee Sung, will have no other choice but to continue to turn to the black market. We have to realize that by criminalizing organ trading, we do not eliminate it but instead breed a black market with the middleman taking the largest portion of the amount which the grateful patient is willing to pay the donor.

In conclusion, organ trading is the most effective method in enabling those in need of organ transplants to receive one much more quickly than under the present Singapore system. I find the cons of allowing the sale of organs insignificant, when weighed against the thousands of lives that would be saved by the jump in supply of organs.

A Leader I Admire

A great leader in history I admire would be Winston Churchill, the prime minister of Britain from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. His full name is Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill. He was noted for his undeniable contribution in World War 2.

In particular, I admire his unwavering strength and perseverance. As the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at that point of time, Churchill was in a difficult position;Germany had succeeded in their primary attempt in attacking Britain. The continental ally whom Britain had relied on to face the German army had surrendered, Italy had been conquered by the German side and Hitler was master of Europe from the Arctic Circle to the Bay of Biscay. To make things worse, the French Navy was about to fall into German hands, allowing them to easily mass the Belgian coast and bomb the United Kingdom. Not only did Churchill not despair, he supported going all out to defend his motherland and eventually defeated the Germans in the Battle of Britain.

Furthermore, Churchill dares to speak up and fight for what he thinks it right. For example, when King Edward VIII wanted to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, the Ministry wanted him to abdicate the throne. Churchill publicly gave his support to the King and urged delay in abdicating , even though the Ministry was against it. I admire his courage to do so.

Additionally, I praise him ability to make great speeches which inspired the tired and wounded,. During World War 2, Churchill's rousing speeches were a great source of inspiration to the embattled British and Allied forces. One of his famous speeches was the very first one he made, known as the "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." speech. Another extract from a well-known one is "... we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." These speeches filled the Allied forces and British who had suffered terribly at the hands of the Germans with passion, encouraging them to forge ahead and continuing fighting the Germans to the very end, eventually managing to crush the Nazis.

However, like all others who are limited to the human race, Churchill had his faults. At the start of World War 2, he did not mange to defend Britain sufficiently, allowing parts of it to come under German control. This enabled the Germans to assemble near the coastline and bomb Britain, resulting it many deaths.

Winston Churchill is a very interesting and intriguing person. He had a very different mindset from many people, including his predecessor, Neville Chamberlain. Instead of suing for peace with the Germans, he chose to fight it out with them to preserve the glorious history of Britain and save his country from the humiliation of submitting to Germany. Hence, I admire him.