Viet Nam

When Professor Rhodes gave us writing prompts in class on Wednesday, for some reason my memory settled on a magazine photo that I had seen when I was only 8 years old. It was in Time magazine and can be seen at the website: http://www.famouspictures.org/mag/index.php?title=Vietnam_Execution.

Mom and dad subscribed to numerous magazines and encouraged us kids to read, but they didn't count on me finding the photo in Time of a Viet Kong soldier being executed by an enemy General. The photo, to this day, sends chills down my spine, and while I can't remember what I did yesterday, I can remember the soldier's face perfectly.

I remember asking mom why the photographer didn't stop the killer, and why we (I guess I meant the U.S.), didn't punish the "bad man" for what he did. She calmly explained that the "bad man" was on our side and if he hadn't killed the soldier, the soldier would have eventually killed him. I just didn't get it, but I kept my thoughts to myself, mulling over good and evil-a conversation I still have with myself to this day.

Because of that photo, I do not trust people who say they're "doing the right thing," especially in the name of God. I do not trust politicians who want to rush into war, unless they want to be on the front line with the soldiers, and for better or worse, after that day I no longer trusted my parents' version of the truth.

How this ties into computer technology is that images of war are now commonplace. No one flinches anymore when dead bodies are shown on the news or on news websites. We have so much more access to what is going on in the world, which I think is a good thing, because it stirs us to action and allows us access to help others in need. I just hope we don't lose the significance of the horrors of war.