In the Time of the Butterflies

"As Americans, we want peace -- we work and sacrifice for peace. But there can be no peace if our security depends on the will and whims of a ruthless and aggressive dictator. I'm not willing to stake one American life on trusting Saddam Hussein." -George W. Bush. President Bush promised America that he would bring down Saddam Hussein no matter what it took. But why? Why would the president make such an imposing promise? In order to ensure the safety of his people (the Americans) such terrorists must be brought down. President Bush was willing to sacrifice the lives of many heroic soldiers to halt terrorism from afflicting this country. Are the lives of these young brave soldiers worth the sacrifice that is needed to bring change into the corrupt government of Iraq? Sacrifice becomes necessary to achieve social change when there is loss of personal freedoms, abuse of power, and physical abuse. This is demonstrated by the revolutions in Nicaragua and Haiti as well as the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez.
When people are being severely oppressed and they no longer have any freedom, they are likely to sacrifice themselves in the hope of achieving justice. In most nations, people have the freedom to act in their own will. For example, in the United States people are protected by the constitution, which lists the many fair rights of the people. In it, includes freedom of speech, the freedom to press, the freedom to action, freedom of privacy, and almost the freedom to do anything. If these rights are taken away, people will become irate, and eventually they will do anything to get their rights back. In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez tells the story of Dominican Republicans who have lost their freedoms. Rafael Trujillo, dictator of the country creates a secret police called the SIM, which he uses to protect the government. These secret police go undercover during their job of bringing in any information to the