No Cap

Since I was in middle school, I remember my love for comics. I read Calvin and Hobbes, Pearls before Swine, Peanuts and many more. Thats why when presented with the question "Do comics hold less literary value than normal books" I was particularly against the statement. Why would it? Because there are pictures and less words? Granted on the surface they might be simpler to read but often times comics can hold a much deeper meaning. In fact depending on the comic the argument could be made that a three panel comic is much deeper than a 900 page book written in size 8 font with no pictures. The drawings incorporated with the comic gives it an extra layer of depth, or a way to get a deeper layer of understanding. Take for example this comic. Any person who has read Calvin and Hobes recognizes the iconic wagon rides. Although it gives the impression of a light hearted comic, it undoubtably holds a second level of depth. I believe that the theres a certain level of stipulatio...

      In "Civil Disobedience" the phrase that stood out to me most was when Henry Thoreau "Now what are they? Men at all? or small movable forts and magazines at the service of the men in power." Throughout this piece about government inefficiency, Thoreau touches on the governments treatment of the military. specifically the troops themselves.  I went back and reread the passage and had a few thoughts from this passage. For starters, this giant, ineffective government does not view its soldiers as people. Although it may try to preserve its troops, they achieve their goal by any means possible. Thoreau is right when he says "What are they, men at all? Or moveable forts and magazines? In my opinion this phrase although it applies to soldiers can apply to all people in general. Are we independent people or are we subject to the whim of the government. At another point Thoreau says “Witness the present Mexican American war, the work of a few indiv...

        Before the attacks of September 11 it was assumed that America was an untouchable giant.  After these events public perception of America shifted dramatically. Sarah Vowell touches on this in 'The partly cloudy Patriot."         Vowell "The only words you hear more than patriot are 'in the aftermath of' and 'since the events of September 11.'" She goes on to talk about how the country seemed to come together; with patriotism soaring. For example the Halloween shops selling out of Uncle Sam costumes and people getting flags in their cupcakes.               Her reaction to when she woke up on Independence Day with a flag in her lawn always stuck out to me. The first time I read this section I didn't understand why she would react the way she did. However later in the reading, she explains it. The image that the flag may give, is one of a militia type in the backwoods of Michigan cleaning th...

The Korean War veterans memorial has stood as a reminder of what has been given up by others to protect Americas freedom. In class this week we looked at many diffrent memorials around the world because of our passage 'Postcards from the trenches'. Although this was said to be a harder passage I liked it because it had a very captivating writing style. I was able to go to Washington DC several years ago; while I was there I visited several monuments including the Vietnam and Korean War memorial. I remembered many things from this memorial after talking about it in class, including the many names we saw on the wall. I have a grandpa who served in the war who came with us, and while we were there he found some of his friends names. watching him find it was a very solemn moment that I reflected on while reading this piece. When I visited the Korean War memorial I remember seeing the inscription "Freedom is not free" on the Pool of Remembrance. At the time I didn't re...