Afghanistan hw conversation

Per our conversation at the end of class today, I want you to have a conversation with someone (parent, sibling, relative, friend, or peer). After you have your conversation, write a reaction to your conversation.

One might assume that most in the United States have a good knowledge around the war in Afghanistan; however I found a couple people that had similar views of mine (before the seminar). I decided to talk to my parents, to get an opinion from those who might remember than my generation. However I did also talk to two of my other friends, to compare the thoughts. With each group, I found that they knew little of what was going on, why it was caused, and the progress that we’ve made over these nine years. The first discussion was with my parents, whom I informed about what I learned in the class. They had known about the oil that they held but had not known about the other minerals that made Afghanistan so valuable. Understanding that their government is corrupt, they both agreed that we have been in this war far too long, and there has been sufficient time given to try and help Afghanistan.

My dad did bring up the interesting idea that we could send troops from Afghanistan and train them here in the US, but that would bring up problems. Some of these would include the different environment, and the costly measures that would need to be taken for transportation. They had also agreed that the worry of being attacked is not as great as the lives lost from the war so it would be better to leave. So instead of trying to keep them happy, we could strengthen our defense, from Afghanistan and other countries. Because my mom was unaware of the minerals her view has slightly changed on whether or not we should stay in the war. Now she does want to get out because of the lives, however she does not want China to come in and become more powerful than they already are. As for my dad he thinks that we could help by being there, but it is at too much risk to stay with the money spent and the lives lost, with slow progress.

My friends knew somewhat more about the war because of the history classes. They believe that good is being done and if you compare the mortality numbers to previous wars, there have been far worse ones. Yes it has taken a long time to get where we are, but they believed everything we’ve done would be a waste if we leave. They also say that the troops are doing well for the country. And since this is a fight against terrorism, it can be expected to last longer than others, because the US would need the first years to get the government in order and the remaining to fight step by step to prevent terrorism as much as possible. They think that the supplies and alliance with them after helping is worth the war.

I found that these conversations were interesting, especially to find two groups of ages and of different opinions. I informed them of all that I knew, and had some changing opinions. I was also interested to find that my parents had similar views, which could be because of the household. Yet those that did not live with me saw it at a more political level than economically or socially. All in all, we will have to wait to see what may come of the war. I look forward to discussing the immigration topic!
-Reyna Lanzas