Samples: (topic sentences or links)
Bill Clinton once said: “Our differences make us interesting. Our common humanity is more important.”
As E.O. Wilson said, “the conquest of Earth has come only to the co-operators. The great cooperating species are ants, termites bees and people”.
King Abdullah of Jordan said in a speech at Davos, “Let us avert the clash of civilisations and help the overlap of cultures.”
In southern Spain in medieval times, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived and worked together in the polity known as al-Andalus. It was a society that had the courage to “live with its own flagrant contradictions.”
Many soldiers who have returned from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq testify to the fact that fighting in distant wars helps to strengthen one’s core values
or
- exposure to life-and death situations changes one’s priorities;
- encourages one to examine your conscience;
- the close experience with death challenges one views and values and leads to profound personal change.
(Give example of a soldier story : or compare and contrast two different experiences: see below.)
German philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote of heroic individuals that during times of conflict there seems to be a compulsion to do the “right thing”. This is certainly true of Mohamed Bouazizi and Khaled Said, two instigators of the Arab Spring.
In 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight protesting against the overwhelming nature of Tunisia’s bureaucracy. His death was seen as the catalyst for the Tunisian overthrow and the beginning of the “Arab spring”. He appeared to make the ultimate sacrifice against injustice. He inspired 60 similar cases of self-immolation, including five in Egypt. Likewise in Egypt ….. was killed for his trouble in exposing police corruption via social networking sites.
“Khaled Said was beaten to death by police officers on June 6, 2010. Mr Said was arrested in Alexandria in an internet cafe after he posted online a video of local police officers sharing the spoils from a drug bust. Like many in Egypt, he was tired of the open corruption and greed of government employees and saw the potential to expose the hypocrisy via social media. He was killed for his trouble. Pictures of the 28-year-old’s corpse went viral. His face had been reduced to pulp, his nose and jaw clearly broken, his skull fractured.”
“They put an AK474 to my head, but I laughed at them” says Souad Nofal a school teacher who stood up to ISIS. So enraged was Ms Nofal at the hypocritical religious beliefs of the ISIS militants that she stood for more than two months outside the ISIS headquarters in Raqqa carrying placards. Each placard criticised the group’s ideology and behaviour. “Show us your religion through decency, compassion and good deeds, ” was one such demand.
A dramatic change:
“The real me – the person who has led soldiers in battle – watches aghast at the blubbering fool I have become”, says Major John General Cantwell who documents his psychological downfall in his book, Exit Wounds. Major Cantwell was on track to become Chief of Army in the Defence Department. However, he was so severely traumatised by his 10-year involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan that upon his return to Australia he found himself in a psychiatric ward rather than at the top of the Defence Department. Nowadays, he offers counselling services to members in the Navy and Defence forces who likewise suffer emotional distress in the line of duty.
STORY 1: the brave bullet-proof hero
In 2009, Trooper Mark Donaldson was the first Australian soldier for 40 years to receive the Victoria Cross medal – for his fearless actions in Afghanistan. Braving an onslaught of enemy firepower, he dangerously exposed himself to enemy fire, enabling back up forces to recover the wounded soldiers. Such heroic acts show us what it is to be a true Australian. In this case, his actions show us that he could not walk away from danger; in particular the danger that threatened his mates.
STORY 2: a soldier snaps
In 2012, an American army staff sergeant civilians entered three Afghan family’s homes at 3am and began a vicious killing spree. He killed 9 children and 3 women. Relatives said he poured chemicals over their dead bodies and burned them. One wonders whether this soldier, who evidently reached his breaking point, as Ivan Pavlov (ground-breaking psychologist) would say, suffers from remorse.
STORY 3: survival takes over
Several Australian soldiers who have returned from the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq claimed that the need for survival tends to overwhelm them in war-like situations. As one soldier, Tom Williams stated, “compassion starts to slip.” Williams says, ”I went from gung-ho to scared shitless to back to normal in three days, but it changed things,” he says. His attitude shifted. ”The fight for survival takes over everything. The compassion starts to slip. Trust between you and the people you’re supposed to help fades away.”
Evidently, in these cases it is easy to understand that survival becomes a person’s main priority.
STORY 4: survival of one depends upon another
However, this fight for survival is often not so straightforward. What if the survival of others depends upon your survival? In this case, you have a duty to save your life. Officer Kyle Tyrell an Australian officer who also fought in Afghanistan, stated that his purpose was not only to stay alive but to “make sure everyone else stays alive.” He says, ”You read stuff about the armed forces and love and brotherhood. At a base level, it’s probably the most beautiful thing that you can get – you are helping another person stay alive.”
(Like the women in the Sumatran camp, he, too, put a lot of effort into helping others maintain their sanity.
STORY 5: change of priorities
Often coincidental, but traumatic experiences, can lead to a change in priorities. Just take Sapper John Smith. By a quirk of fate, he buried one of his best mates, Sapper Rowan Robinson on his birthday. He says, “It’s a remarkable experience to have on your birthday. It’s the one anniversary of every year you can’t let go of it.”
STORY 6: a breakdown
Major John General Cantwell was on track to become Chief of Army in the Defence Department. However, he was so severely traumatised by his 10-year involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan that upon his return to Australia he found himself in a psychiatric ward rather than at the top of the Defence Department. In his new book, Exit Wounds, he details his struggle to come to terms with his grief, pain and suffering. Nowadays, he offers counselling services to members in the Defence forces who likewise suffer emotional distress in the line of duty.
STORY 7:
Returning from war, many soldiers suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.
Their priorities change: they suffer from their awareness of extreme brutality; they go to war fighting “terror” and trying to bring about “democracy” but realise they are killing innocent civilians. They often realise that the government has hypocritical and selective agendas; they often do not have a clear and concise agenda.
“PTSD is the knowledge that you’ll never be this awesome again” is the saying going around the barracks post-Afghanistan, another tells me. Others talk about their struggle after returning from what was essentially their first trip overseas, of “coming-of-age” revelations mixed up with the experience of war. Another veteran gripes about being sent to a public clinic for his PTSD. “I’m not going to do group therapy with some idiot housewife who had a breakdown.”
Anthony McKenzie, a volunteer veterans’ advocate in south-east Victoria, explains some of these attitudes. “The military, it builds you up so your opinion of yourself is [that you’re] better than everyone else.” A lean man, McKenzie served in the first Gulf War. “After all, if you didn’t think you were bulletproof, you wouldn’t run towards danger.”
Example: taking advantage of conflict
Many self-serving individuals often seek to exploit conflict for their own advantage. For example, Abu Hakam (an ex fighter and refugee now in Turkey), was a member of the Free Syrian Army who became disillusioned after he found out that a leading general had misused funds. Hakam says he even wanted to change sides to ISIL, because the general took more than $1 million to renovate his house and bribe his way to safety. The funds had been donated by sponsors in the Qatar to buy weapons and equipment for the FSA brigades to fight against the Syrian Government. (The Age, 7/10/14)
A quote: conflict tells us who we are
As Arthur Miller reminds us, the choices we make under pressure reflect our personality, our views and our values. In his autobiography, “Timebends”, he writes: “a character is defined by the kinds of challenges he cannot walk away from. And by those he had walked away from that cause him remorse.”
Dealing with conflict:
Compare and contrast two different responses:
During his Freedom Ride in 1965, a group of student activists, including Charles Perkins toured Australian country towns to expose racism. When Perkins swam with Aboriginal children in a public pool in Moree, he gained headline news as the locals angrily defended the race-based ban. Likewise, Perkins frequented the Oasis Hotel in Walgett to protest against its colour ban. This Ride was the beginning of a relentless lifelong campaign undertaken by Charles Perkins to draw attention to the unjust apartheid-style conditions endured by aborigines in Australia.
Compare this with Robert Walker’s cry of pain in a Fremantle jail in 1984. And the officers – how did they deal with conflict? They bludgeoned him to death.
A story of principles
In 1968 it was Mexico City’s turn to stage the Olympic Games, and Peter Norman represented Australia. It is often forgotten, however that Norman won the silver medal in the 200m; he was blacklisted by the Olympic Committee because of his outspoken support for fellow (African American) medallists Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Peter Norman stood on the pedestal bearing the Olympic Project for Human Rights badge, whilst Smith and Carlos raised their fists in symbolism of Black Power for racial equality. Whether we feel compelled to take a stand or remain impartial, ordinary people have the potential to defy the odds and act in extraordinary ways that can restore our faith in humanity.
An indigenous young man, Robert Walker, died in custody at the Fremantle Jail in 1984. He was just 25 years of age, disenfranchised and angry. Consumed by bitterness he slashed his wrists and was subsequently bludgeoned to death. A fellow indigenous poet, Kevin Gilbert notes upon Walker’s death and the consequent farcical autopsies, “he didn’t intend to die … his personality unerringly dictated that he protest his treatment, that he force someone to take notice”. Likewise refugees in detention centres also resort to passive-aggressive means of dealing with conflict because of their extreme sense of impotence. (quote)
See persona/ personal style beginnings
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