The Healing Wound :: Vietnam Veterans War Memorial Essays

The Healing Wound It’s a beautiful morning at our nation’s capital. Constitution Gardens is blooming with life. Flowers of red, yellow, and pink bob their heads in the gentle summer breeze. Wise old trees proudly oversee the grassy lawns, while twittering birds scamper about on their strong, sturdy limbs. People talk animatedly as they stroll in small groups along the brown, dusty paths. Children run and jump, stopping occasionally to make quick poses for parents’ snapping cameras. As we walk ahead, we notice a shape taking form on the horizon. It looks like a large gray splinter embedded into the green landscape. As we come closer, we realize how truly large this object is, yet it does not rise up from the earth like other structures in the park. Rather, it sinks down into the lawn, as if its very size were a giant weight upon the land. Now that we are upon it, it looks far more like a gaping black wound than a silver sliver. Its opening begins narrowly and then widens in the middle, tapering off again at the other end. It is very dark, and now that we are close enough to touch it, we see that it is solid and black and hard and dense. The park breezes die here. Adults cease their prattle. Children stop their play. Eerily, even the chatter of birds doesn’t reach this solemn place. All senses tell us that we have entered a sacred site--a place meant for reflection and contemplation. We are at the Vietnam War Memorial. The tip of the gash points to President Lincoln sitting high above and looking out upon us all. In contrast to the giant statue of pristine white, the wall that rises by my foot is so dark that it reflects the ground in which it is burrowed. There are letters inscribed on the wall. They form names. I read: FLOYD LEE WILLIAMS JR. I wonder about Floyd. To most people who come here, his is merely one out of a myriad of names scratched into this cool granite wall. Does anyone know that Floyd was from Northglenn, Colorado, or that he was only 20 years old when he died? How can the thousands of people who see his name here know that he was in Vietnam for only 12 short days? His helicopter was shot down. His life was important, yet his death is only the tip of a great iceberg that chills the hearts of Americans everywhere. There are over 58,000 more names like his listed on these cold slabs. The sleek and stark feel of the memorial is enhanced by the The Healing Wound :: Vietnam Veterans War Memorial Essays The Healing Wound It’s a beautiful morning at our nation’s capital. Constitution Gardens is blooming with life. Flowers of red, yellow, and pink bob their heads in the gentle summer breeze. Wise old trees proudly oversee the grassy lawns, while twittering birds scamper about on their strong, sturdy limbs. People talk animatedly as they stroll in small groups along the brown, dusty paths. Children run and jump, stopping occasionally to make quick poses for parents’ snapping cameras. As we walk ahead, we notice a shape taking form on the horizon. It looks like a large gray splinter embedded into the green landscape. As we come closer, we realize how truly large this object is, yet it does not rise up from the earth like other structures in the park. Rather, it sinks down into the lawn, as if its very size were a giant weight upon the land. Now that we are upon it, it looks far more like a gaping black wound than a silver sliver. Its opening begins narrowly and then widens in the middle, tapering off again at the other end. It is very dark, and now that we are close enough to touch it, we see that it is solid and black and hard and dense. The park breezes die here. Adults cease their prattle. Children stop their play. Eerily, even the chatter of birds doesn’t reach this solemn place. All senses tell us that we have entered a sacred site--a place meant for reflection and contemplation. We are at the Vietnam War Memorial. The tip of the gash points to President Lincoln sitting high above and looking out upon us all. In contrast to the giant statue of pristine white, the wall that rises by my foot is so dark that it reflects the ground in which it is burrowed. There are letters inscribed on the wall. They form names. I read: FLOYD LEE WILLIAMS JR. I wonder about Floyd. To most people who come here, his is merely one out of a myriad of names scratched into this cool granite wall. Does anyone know that Floyd was from Northglenn, Colorado, or that he was only 20 years old when he died? How can the thousands of people who see his name here know that he was in Vietnam for only 12 short days? His helicopter was shot down. His life was important, yet his death is only the tip of a great iceberg that chills the hearts of Americans everywhere. There are over 58,000 more names like his listed on these cold slabs. The sleek and stark feel of the memorial is enhanced by the

A Civil Action Movie Notes Essay

Dead child worth least of all Schlichtmann received a call from Anne Anderson because her son died 12 deaths from leukemia >> 8 are children Water from two city wells are contaminated by TCE Case was kicked from firm to firm It’s a hard case because it is most likely unproven Apology from â€Å"who?† >> the defendant is sure to have some professionals >> case might not be winnable Beatrice and WR Grace are the perpetrators Lawsuits begin with the complaint Will Cheeseman: lawyer for WR Grace Jerome Facher: lawyer for Beatrice Charges in the complaint: negligence, conscious pain and suffering, wrongful death Rule 11: civil law suits Facher: knock a guy down, knock him in a way that he can’t get up again â€Å"it’s about this†¦-showing pictures of little kids- Walter J. Skinner: judge MOTION: cheesman (motion to dismiss): schmn. Had no evidence >> no real investigation >> no research RULE 11 is a nonissue because it’s so old Team of geologist and engineers are needed to show if the wells are actually contaminated 6 barrels were found in the back, in a pit Solvent†¦in barrels They get dumped out back, in the ground (witness) Immune system of kids: tore down to nothing He was doing well, and he looked fine†¦it was abrupt Facher: â€Å"these people can never testify† Silicon and TCE are used to waterproof leather Silicon is poured on†¦so some of the spill will fall off of the ground 50 more barrels that city inspector didn’t find â€Å"dump it out there in the gulley† Or dump it in a ditch Pour it into a pit Dump it into the swimming pool Lawsuit: compel the others to settle Schmann wants 25 mil cash†¦and another 25 mil to establish a research foundation to establish link between chemicals and illness†¦1.5 mil annually for families for 30 years Facher claims that Schmnn wants money Geological evidence has to come first; there needs to be proof that the chemicals reach the wells first before the parents of victims can testify The questions were confusing Facher offer a 20 mil settlement for Beatrice WR Grace: Yes on Q1 Beatrice: No on all questions >> case has ended for them Grace offer 8 million >> Schmnn said that he owed the families more than that 375 K per family The companies aren’t going to clean up the place Anne was not interested in money >> she still wanted the apology >> she said that he said that they apologized with their checkbooks >> Schmnn said sorry, but Anne said it was not meaningful The families even lost more that the lawyers Dump trucks full of scraps >> kids playing with fire†¦the water went up in flames Riley told the worker to keep his mouth shut with Celtic tickets APPEAL Judge Skinner found that John Riley deliberately concealed evidence at the trial. His tanner was torn down in 1990. WR Grace was indicted by the Grand Jury for making false statements to the EPA regarding its use of TCE, acetone, and toluene. The company pleaded no contest to the acetone charge. Its Woburn plant was closed in 1990 Two companies paid 69.4 mil to clean up

Gattaca And The Short Story - 1713 Words

The film GATTACA and the short story, â€Å"Nine Lives,† exemplifies the ethics of altering human life at the genetic level, through techniques of genetic engineering. Throughout GATTACA, the ability to create improved, even superior forms of human life as a positive development through eugenics is shown as well as arousing questions about the moral implications of such engineering. The main protagonist in GATTACA, Vincent Freeman, battles with the discrimination of being an â€Å"invalid† in a world of â€Å"valids† and comes to realize that he is not an inferior being in the midst of an altered humanity. In â€Å"Nine Lives,† a lone survivor of the ten genetically engineered clones of John Chow struggle come to understand itself in relation to unaltered humanity and its individuality for the first time in its life. A dystopian society is produced when unaltered humans and genetically engineered beings coexist and interact with one another due to nefario us social practices such filtering menial jobs only to â€Å"invalids† in GATTACA and the emphasis in the value of clones and their worth to society as collective work group rather than focusing on each individual’s contribution to society. The film GATTACA exhibits the adverse nature of eugenics while â€Å"Nine Lives† stresses the importance of individualism instead of collectivism and fend off the need to be reliant on others to feel welcomed in society. GATTACA is well known for its use of eugenics in the film. The film is set in a â€Å"not tooShow MoreRelatedEssay about Future Concerns - Gattaca and Fahrenheit 4511562 Words   |  7 Pagesfrom them. Texts such as the film ‘Gattaca’, directed by Andrew Niccol and novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury explore futuristic societies and the implications that become of their innovation. 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