The Role of a Soldier in Society:
THE ROLE OF A SOLDIER IN SOCIETY: CONTRAST OF PAST TO PRESENT WARFARE
The current role of a soldier is far different then what it was in the past. Soldiers were a person walking down the street. One that lived in the local community as was a hero in the public’s eye. During a war soldiers are required to leave behind family and friends to protect there nation. They leave everything behind for the good of the nation. The role of the soldier has come a long way in recent years.
During Vietnam, soldiers were asked to fight in a war for political reason. They fought hand in hand with the South Vietnamese. The American public loved them for what they were doing for the South Vietnamese people. But as in all wars things came up to turn the public’s eye. “Caputo orders his men to “snatch’em up and bring’em back here, but if they give you any problems, kill’em.” (Caputo 317) This brought on a black eye for the military. The American public or society didn’t want the soldiers over there anymore.
WWI we saw a different kind of war, one that pitted nation against nation. WWI soldiers were the first to have war thrown at them. They were told time and time again to fight for your country. Hemingway writes “We had heard them, sometimes standing in the rain almost out of earshot, so that only the shouted words came through, and had read them, on proclamations that were slapped up by billposters over other proclamations…” (Hemingway 184-185) Society wanted the soldiers to fight in the war to end all wars. Society wanted to feel safe again.
The attacks of September ll, 2001 brought our nation to their knees. We were not that nation nobody could touch. We showed that we were vulnerable. We could be hurt and in doing so our society came together. We fought like brothers as in the wars before. We didn’t see each other as black and white but as Americans. Society didn’t know what we were going to do.
The current role of a soldier is far different then what it was in the past. Soldiers were a person walking down the street. One that lived in the local community as was a hero in the public’s eye. During a war soldiers are required to leave behind family and friends to protect there nation. They leave everything behind for the good of the nation. The role of the soldier has come a long way in recent years.
During Vietnam, soldiers were asked to fight in a war for political reason. They fought hand in hand with the South Vietnamese. The American public loved them for what they were doing for the South Vietnamese people. But as in all wars things came up to turn the public’s eye. “Caputo orders his men to “snatch’em up and bring’em back here, but if they give you any problems, kill’em.” (Caputo 317) This brought on a black eye for the military. The American public or society didn’t want the soldiers over there anymore.
WWI we saw a different kind of war, one that pitted nation against nation. WWI soldiers were the first to have war thrown at them. They were told time and time again to fight for your country. Hemingway writes “We had heard them, sometimes standing in the rain almost out of earshot, so that only the shouted words came through, and had read them, on proclamations that were slapped up by billposters over other proclamations…” (Hemingway 184-185) Society wanted the soldiers to fight in the war to end all wars. Society wanted to feel safe again.
The attacks of September ll, 2001 brought our nation to their knees. We were not that nation nobody could touch. We showed that we were vulnerable. We could be hurt and in doing so our society came together. We fought like brothers as in the wars before. We didn’t see each other as black and white but as Americans. Society didn’t know what we were going to do.
Cited: Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms. New York: Scribner’s, 1929. Caputo, Philip. A Rumor of War. New York: Harry Holt and Company, 1996