Yusef Komunyakaa’s “Facing It” is a poem that illustrates how the spirits of the more than fifty eight thousand who were killed during the Vietnam War. It was a poem wrote a decade after the war ended. It is a poem about soldiers’ journey to peace after terrors of the killing fields. This journey did not end during after the long-running war in Vietnam. American citizens are still undergoing the same journey of peace since the United States is still persistent on its war on terror. In the article entitled, “We are Losing the War on Terror” by David Rothkopf, many soldiers are dying. In the name of security which Rothkopf referred to as “national narcissism,” the American government launched a “War on Terror” and deployed its many soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and other countries that America named as threats to national security. The killing zones are still in place where many American souls witness the horrors of war until they find peace with death.
Institutionalized violence through wars is one of the messages that the five-line poem wrote by Randall Jarrell in 1945 entitled, “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner.” Today, the institutionalized violence is seen elsewhere in the world and the world is pointing its fingers to America as the cause of Terror. The Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the U.S. has amassed critiques from the social movements. The movements in the Philippines are calling for its abrogation as it has terrorized the women and children for the many rape cases perpetrated by the U.S. soldiers. On the other hand, many American soldiers have been sacrificed. The agreement does not only destroy the Philippine society but also the dreams of many American soldiers who are sent to the uncertainties of war.
On the other hand, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats displays hope with the capacity of human beings to love. Tracing back the world history, humanity has experience endless sufferings due to long-running wars and famine but humanity was not totally destroyed. After the wars, people held hands and reconstructed the ruins and together built a new society. Laws on human rights have been crafted by almost all countries since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. From being enemies, states all over the world worked together to restore peace. One of the initiatives was the formation of the United Nations where almost all countries of the world joined. Social movements today are going stronger in assertion of human rights amidst the fast growing world economies. Indeed, despite the cruelty in the world, the capacity of human beings to sympathize, to love, to forgive, and to work together illuminate the beacon of hope.
Works Cited
Komunyakaa, Yusef. “Facing it.” Making Literature Matter, 5th Edition.
Ekiss, Robin. “Yusef Komunyakaa: “Facing it”.” Poetry Foundation. (2014). Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Rothkopf, David. “We Are Losing the War on Terror.” FP, (10 Jun. 2014). Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
InterAksyon.com. “US use of PH as major spy hub is reason enough to abrogate VFA, say critics.” InterAksyon, (3 Nov. 2013). Web. 21 Nov. 2014.
