Leah\’s blog

Leah Isaacson                                                                                                                                    04/19/07                                                                                                                                             

Essay 5                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Tears of the Sun                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Americans are privileged, proud, safe people. People keep their doors unlocked, let their kids go to the park alone. They also use their freedom of speech, fly a flag on a pole and some even have political bumper stickers on their cars. Americans have a freedom and safety that many countries only dream of having. People are killed in other countries for expressing their beliefs, choosing a religion, and even for wearing certain clothing. This is a good film for college students to watch so they can see how other countries differ from ours.                                                  In the movie Tears of the Sun, a Navy S.E.A.L. unit has to rescue a U.S. doctor from a refugee mission in a war torn Africa. There’s a rebel militia group killing people. The doctor fears for the refugee’s safety and doesn’t want to leave them behind and won’t go with the Navy S.E.A.L. team without them. They all make their long, dangerous journey through the jungle, all the while being hunted down by the rebels. The refugee’s goal is to get to safety before the rebel militia group gets to them.                                                                                                                                   Its funny how Americans take their freedoms for granted. We don’t understand the fears people in other countries have.  It’s not hard to understand why some countries hate Americans. They want their people to fear them so they do what they want, whether it is good or bad. That’s why America helps other countries in crisis so they can enjoy some freedom and choices as Americans do.                       Critics might say that college students wouldn’t be able to sympathize or relate to this movie because we don’t hear about Africa’s war problems and they are so far away from us, I say the critics are wrong. Almost every college student knows someone or of someone that is over in Iraq right now fighting a war. As college student’s we need to realize that war doesn’t just happen in other countries, it happens in the U.S. too. Americans have to realize that they aren’t as safe as they would like to think. Remembering 9/11 lets us know that the U.S. is just as vulnerable as the rest of the world. What separates the U.S. from the rest of the world is its fight for equality and freedom.