Rediscovering Eden
Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the bright and morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart
Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours
Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
and watch me rise again
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
I am Yours
dailies
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Flags of our Fathers
-3:51 PM
"Heroes are things we create, things we need."
Adapted from Flags of Our Fathers.
I met up with wx today for lunch at JEC. We ate at Delifrance and talked a lot a lot before we decided to watch a movie. Wx was keen in watching Flags of Our Fathers cause she says that its very symbolic and inspirational. So, we watched that coz I didnt know what was screening in any case. After buying the tix, we went back to sit at Delifrance, haha, cos JEC demolished all the stone tables!!! Haha, wx still had her drink from Delifrance, and so we made use of that to go back and sit.
The movie revolves a central theme of "Appearance vs Reality". Issues raised is true in general for most wars. We do know, as in common sense, that in a war, many people die; yet, we do not always realise the impact of their deaths. THe show is based on a true story of WW2 at Iwo Jima. The Americans were trying to conquer the Japanese land. Even the characters used were real. The Americans succeeded in the end and had the American Flag on the highest point of that land. But, because of something, the first flag that was raised was not the original flag, it was the flag of someone in camp. THus, that flag had to be taken down, and the original one, raised. The photo of the flag raising ceremony was published back in America and there were 3 guys who were given credits for raising the flag. Of the three, one raised the first flag while the other two were not even the flag raisers. The true heroes and flag raisers had died. However, for publicity sake and to raise money, those 3 guys were said to be part of the 6-flag-raising team, even when the mistake was exposed.
Whenever any country wins a war, celebrations would normally be held to showcase the "heroes" yet who would ever hear or even know of the unsung heroes who gave up their lives so that these "heroes" would be given the title of "Sirs and Knights"? Its actually quite sick that even when the top found out the mistake, no one wanted to correct the mistake but were actually giving excuses or "correct" reasons to try cover up the mistake. It seems as if the higher your post, the more you try to cover up. Who ever cared for the families who had lost their sons? Who ever cared for the hundreds or thousands that died? It was even worse when the higher-ups made this paper mache mountain and asked the 3 guys to "replay" the raising flag ceremony, as if its some entertainment show, with millions of people clapping and cheering and the press flashing their cameras all around. 2 of the guys had problems climbing up that paper mache cause it made them remember the dead, their friends, the people who had died and surrounded them, while climbing up the mountain at Iwo Jima.
There was this other scene where one soldier fell into the sea accidentally. His friends were laughing at him but they threw the float down to him and were expecting for the ship to stop. However, the higher-ups said that the ship will not stop. I mean...so much for "No man left behind."
The show also portrayed the biasness towards the Native American Indians. One of the 3 guys was an American Indian but regardless of that, certain restaurants refused to serve him. He also had to endure the snub and generalisation the top management had on him just because he was an Indian and not a White. The top did not like him because he always refuse to do those "performances" because he felt that he was so undeserving. When he met the mothers of the true heroes that had died, he would hug them and cry. THe top didnt like it because in a way, it is paving a way for the exposure of the mistake. His warmth and uprightness really contrasted with the fascade the top management were putting up for the masses and publicity of how good the military was.
James Bradley: I finally came to the conclusion that maybe he was right maybe there are no such things as heroes maybe there are just people like my dad, I finally came to understand why they were so uncomfortable being called heroes. Heroes are something we create, something we need. It's a way for us to understand what is almost incomprehensible, how people could sacrifice so much for us, but for my dad and these men the risks they took, the wounds they suffered, they did that for their buddies, they may have fought for there country but they died for their friends. For the man in front for the man beside him, and if we wish to truly honor these men we should remember them the way they really were the way my dad remembered them.
