Welcome...and initial guidelines...

This blog will be used in the spring of 2008 by 80+ students at Drexel University to investigate the effects of Iraq on culture and the reverse. Our goal will be to better understand why the US is in Iraq, and to question whether literature can help us on this journey.

Weekly plans and other materials will always be posted in Vista, not this blog. So go to Bb Vista to get the discussion prompts and other instructions.

I intend this blog to manage our discussions and track our collective investigation.

You should have received an email from me inviting you to become a contributor to this blog. The email was sent Monday afternoon to your official Drexel email address.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Week Eight--Memorial Day

Memorial Day marks the opening of pools in most developments and parks. We spent our memorial days sleeping in, getting some house work done, going to the pool, and studying for midterms. I was constantly reminded of the remembrance holiday because of yahoos front page. The banner changes with the holidays, and this weekend it had purple heart and badge.
I was also reminded with a memorial day scholarship quiz i found online. It was hard, and i realized i really didn't know anything about the day. The day is in remembrance of those who fought in the civil war and then expanded after WW1 to honor all soldiers. The quiz asked questions like who was the general who enacted the holiday and when did the holiday become national, i guessed, and probably am not going to win.
I think that when i see older men, like grandpas, they feel the need for the holiday much more than we do , because they lived through it. This is their time to tell stories to their grandchildren, and celebrate with their family.

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