Research paper

September 11, 2001 led to the beginning of a war that would last for years, but until recently it meant nothing to me. I was in sixth grade and sitting in English class when the planes flew into the Twin Towers, I knew what happened and that it was a horrible thing; I knew that things would probably change. What I didn’t know or realize is how it would affect me. I had no personal connection to what was about to happen…the Iraq War. October 2008 is when that changed. Four of my close friends enlisted in with the Army National Guard, one with the Marine Corp and one friend’s mother learned she was about to get deployed to Afghanistan. All of that got me to think about how wars, battle techniques, and weapons affect me, but also how they affect the soldiers and children. How do the changes in technology affect young children and children that become soldiers in times of war?
The idea that some soldiers are merely children came from the author Kurt Vonnegut in his book Cat’s Cradle. " 'I do not say that children at war do not die like men, if they have to die. To their everlasting honor and our everlasting shame, they do die like men, thus making possible the manly jubilation of patriotic holidays.'
'But they are murdered children all the same' (248)." Many join the army as boys, but most leave as men. The question is how do they leave; did they die from a rode side bomb, an M-16 Rifle, or a grenade? The way they died, the way they fought for our country, they deserve to be called men. Vonnegut wants us to know that the men that died for us, in reality are just boys. They still had a life to live, but they gave it up so we could continue our lives. Had they not done that, they might not have died as a child.
I don’t think Vonnegut is trying to tell us that war is always bad. However, I do think that Vonnegut wants us to think about the causes for war and see the effects that it has: lost loved ones, ruined cities/countries, broken families etc. Vonnegut states that the children were murdered (248). In a sense that is true. They chose to fight for our country, but why do they have to fight, what caused the war? Was it our selfishness?
David Nye, author of Technology Matters, brought up an interesting point pertaining to the causes of war. “The inventor Nicolas Tesla came to the opposite conclusion: He argued that each new weapons system, far from making war unthinkable, rather ‘invites new talent and skill, engages new effort, offers new incentive, and so only gives a fresh impetus to further development’” (175). When I first read that passage I wanted to blame war on the inventors; they are the ones that came up with gunpowder (or the next new weapon). However, we can’t point our fingers just at them, we are the ones asking them for newer and better inventions daily. Nor can we say that the death of our soldiers is due only to our enemies; their death also lies on our hands. In efforts to win the war, we ask or tell engineers, scientists, and inventors to make a new piece of technology or a new weapon that will protect us, and possibly kill the enemies. We are guilty of the deaths of those soldiers because we are the ones that insist on newer, better, and sharper technology. Other countries in turn take the concept of the weapons that we created, make their own and use them against us. Thus, taking away the advantage that we thought we had on that particular country.
The invention of new technology does not stop war; instead, it almost instigates war. “Events proved Tesla correct. The atomic bombs dropped on Japan did not discredit weapons of mass destruction but stimulated their production” (175). There is an unspoken competition between countries when it comes to weapons. A little competition is great; competition is part of what makes sports fun. However, competition among sports and competition among countries is different. Competition among countries is more serious, dangerous, and deadly; and we expect protection (176). “Civilians, who ultimately pay for weapons systems, expect the military to protect them. But as weapons became more powerful more civilians died in warfare, despite continual predictions of improved accuracy” (Nye176). Civilians use to be safe during a war. They may have gone through hard times like no having enough food or money, or women having to take on the work load while the men were at war; but physically there was typically no danger.
War use to be a face-to-face combat, frontline would strike frontline. Only the soldiers that were participating in that particular battle would be in danger. Their families, friends, neighbors, etc would not be in danger. Yes, they would still be affected, but in a different way. They would be affected because they lost a loved one, a father, or a brother, but the immediate effects wouldn’t affect them. They wouldn’t experience the physical danger; they wouldn’t be in the line of fire. Today, it is possible to die in war even if you weren’t participating actively in the war. Nye brings up another interesting point on technology and how it pertains to the military and our personal lives.
“Thus, if people have used technologies to increase their safety, they simultaneously risk the unforeseeable accidents and even disasters that arise from the interplay of changing technical systems and new circumstances. The greater the power of systems, the more serious is potential failure. This conclusion applies with ever greater force to the military, which faces more severe difficulties that railroad safety engineers or quality-control specialist” (167).
Owning a weapon is obviously a risk, a risk that many Americans to take. They are meant for protection, but having that weapon in the house raising the risk of an accidental death or suicide. That risk is huge, but that risk to the army is exponentially greater. With bigger pieces of technology, pieces that are more forceful, the damage is obviously increased. The men in the army are constantly risking their lives for us. They put their trust in a machine that could at any time go off unexpectedly because of an unknown mechanical error. “Furthermore, troops using sophisticated weapons often die from accidents and mistakes” (176). They, the soldiers, trust their weapons to help them, to save their lives, but so often a fatal mistake happens. They trust weapons that were designed to end lives, and occasionally the unspeakable happens, the soldier loses his life.
War and the weapons used in war are obviously dangerous. The weapons that are used can kill many people; soldiers aren’t the only ones who die in war. Families are broken up, fathers, brothers, mothers, etc can be killed whether or not they are a soldier, how does that affect children. How does the possible threat of death and danger of war affect children?
Children whose fathers are in the army seem to carry a sense of pride, but that isn’t the only effect that war has on children (Freud 17). Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund Freud, wrote a book solely talking about children and war, in fact the title is War and Children, in her book she states, “Though the children seem to be proud of their fathers’ uniforms, they often seem to resent it and feel very much estranged when their mothers appear in such unexpected guises” (17). Children tend to feed off of their parents emotions. So when a mother shows her concern, her outward appear changes, or tries to act like things are okay children can typically pick that up. Then they too mimic their mother’s mood. Instead of a children being carefree and playful, they are over come with worry and distress from trying to figure out their mother’s emotions and why her emotions are that way.
Sometimes children feel the need to act brave, like a hero (Marten 108). They don’t want to show their worries and make it worse for their mother. James Marten records one such example in his book The Children’s Civil War. “She proudly reported that her ‘children bear themselves like heroes.’ Every night, ‘when the balls begin to fly like pigeons over out tent and I call them to run to the cave, they spring up…like soldiers, slip on their shoes without a word and run up the hill’” (109). Many times children say that want to be just like mom or dad, that excerpt shows that even in times of war children still want to be like dad. They want to be strong and brave. They want to be a hero and take care of their family.

(I have a lot information dealing with children and war, but I haven’t had time to incorporate it into my paper yet, but there will be more!!!)