Entry # 9: Rex Winship & Larry Heinemann

Rex Winship was a trader after he was out of the army. He worked his way up in the business he was in. He referred to his job as a risk manager because of the uncertainty in the market. "Nothing is forever. You always have to stay flexible, so you can change. That means education" (402). Rex Winship states that his job of being a trader meant that he was constantly having to re-educate himself in order to stay aheaed. I think this is true for many other jobs in America and not just being a trader. People always have to re-educate themselves to become the best at whatever their profession may be. Rex Winship also discussed the decreasing need for farmers in American society. Because Americans rely heavily on imports from overseas, farmers aren't needed as much to produce food for the country. He also said that unions were becoming less adapted to changing times. "And Unions. As you change society, unions are not set up for the change. They're designed to keep people out. They're designed to lock prices...They're built for inflexibility" (404). I think that Rex Winship's idea of flexibility being highly significant in any aspect of life is interesting. I agree that without proper flexibility in one's character, they cannot be successful because American ways are constantly changing to be better and newer.

Larry Heinemann, a Vietnam war veteran, told his story of life after the war was over. He knew about the political opposition that was growing in the country and how many people were against the war. "In my household, there was never any political discussion. We were raised to jsut submit to the draft, stiffly and strict. I went there scared and came back bitter. Everybody knows it was a waste" (416). Larry Heinemann states that although nobody fully believed the war was a good thing for America, he was raised to follow orders and going to war was just another thing he had to do. I also thought it was interesting that he reflected back on not joinign the antiwar movement as something he regrets. At the time he stated that he "didn't get involved with any antiwar movement. I felt I would be breaking faith with my friends who were still overseas. Now I'm sorry I didn't" (417). I feel that Larry Heinemann regrets not joining the antiwar movements because he was against the war, but chose to stick with his value of loyalty over sticking up for what he believed was right. Larry Heinemann also talked about America's progression since the Vietnam War. "I don't think the country's learned anything from the war. The guys who organized the Vietnam Veterans' Parade wanted it to be remembered as a nostalgic positive experience. They wanted so hard for it to be all right. It's not. It's going to be an evil thing in our lives and nothing's gonna change it" (420). This means that although many people still feel the war was wrong, nothing can change the past events. The country will always have the Vietnam war as part of its history. I think Larry Heinemann feels that although it cannot be undone, people need to stop looking back at the war as something that was positive because to him, there wasn't any positive moments to it.