Fall Reading

The book I chose to read was Catch-22. I had heard it come up in everyday conversation enough times that I figured I should learn what it's really about. After reading an overview about it, I learned that it has to do with military life during World War II. I knew I would learn about the politics behind and the results of the war, but I figured it would be interesting to understand more about what life would actually be like as a soldier in this time, and get a better cultural perspective. Catch-22 involves a condition in which soldiers may opt out of flying missions if they are insane. However, the fear of flying the missions that would cause someone to want to opt out is a sign of having a rational mind and being sane. Therefore, anyone who tries to opt out due to insanity proves their sanity. The book is full of other illogical instances like this, and makes the reader hope that the book is more satirical as opposed to less since the military in Catch-22 is not by any means well run. I knew that this book was long, but decided to read it anyway, figuring I would find time over the course of the year. I failed to realize that junior year was going to be as busy as it has a reputation for being, and I couldn't really find time to read it outside of class. The parts that I read really were interesting and entertaining, though, and I hope to find time to read the rest over the summer, if I'm not too busy then.

Cold War and Civil Rights Movement

The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement both took place in the decades immediately following World War II. At first glance, it seems that they have nothing else in common. The Cold War was a long phase of militaristic and political tension primarily between the two biggest powers in the world at the time, the United States and the Soviet Union. Then there's the Civil Rights Movement, that cannot really be called a war as only one side was really acting violently. However, there really are some similarities between the two events. One key connection was that one side was labeled as communists, and therefore the enemy, in both situations. In the case of the Cold War, this was clearly true, as the government was more than openly communist, and posed quite the threat to the Western world with its disparate ideas. However, the blacks in America were not actually communist, or at least not disproportionately so. There were some communists in all parts of the country representing all races. Despite this, the black community's hopes of being granted equal rights were seen as communism, in which everyone is essentially equal. The fact that there was so much tension between the U.S. and the communist superpower, USSR, led to even more racism, particularly in the South, as black people were being compared to the Soviets, giving them the appearance of being the enemy. Another connection is the effect the Civil Rights Movement must have had on the USSR's opinion of the U.S. With so much class division and racism, America must have looked weak and vulnerable to the Soviet Union, giving it more confidence to try and overtake the United States. Since the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement were both so prevalent in the U.S. at the same time, it makes sense that they would affect each other.