Will’s Comments (group member since Dec 18, 2013)

Will’s comments from the On Tyrants & Tributes : Real World Lessons From The Hunger Games group.

With how smart Collins is, I wouldn't doubt it being an additional layer to the story. Katniss and Gale are definitely individualists, and I loved how they used to black market to survive. It seemed very much like an Appalachian attitude.
I loved that article. It made so much sense that I believe what I believe because of where I live. It's like rooting for your home team, or worshiping a local idol.

Well I'm really wishing I read the book right about now.

There is absolutely a disconnect between Washington DC and the rest of the country. The amount of bad career politicians in the government right now is astounding. However I don't believe the problem necessarily lies with being a career politicians. Just like a firearm, a position in politics is just a tool. The same individual can work to make the government more powerful, or less intrusive on individual lives. One can use the office for good for their entire life, or one can use the office for bad for one day. Term limits to me are ineffective at keeping the potential evil of government at bay. It could absolutely help to have fresh ideas in the government ever few years, but there is no reason why they can't be open to new ideas and policies every day of the week.
I very much enjoyed George Washington's approach to term limits. I believe it was absolutely necessary to show the nation for centuries to come how a leader should act. Cincinnatus did an amazing thing by not expanding his personal power after the war, but that does not mean that everyone in that position should do the same thing. Leaders absolutely exist that could serve for decades without infringing on an individuals liberties. I don't think Katniss believed this. That is why she didn't simply replace Snow. The system as a whole is broken, and a new president would not change the situation in the districts. Change was needed in the highest echelons of society.

I think Mrs. Collins has a great objective with her desire to increase inter-generational dialogue. Her books certainly put the thoughts of war and liberty on the mind of young adults, and the younger the better. While young adults may not recognize all the signs that Collins writes in, it still puts them on the mind of those people. Hopefully the things young adults read about in the books will be reiterated by their parents. I think parents have an obligation to talk to their children about the morality of war, but that doesn't mean that all parents will talk to their children about it. Books like the Hunger Games do a great job of installing the ideas of morality in the face of oppression, but nothing beats proper parental guidance.
The topics in the Hunger Games are perfectly tailored to the subjects of liberty. I haven't read the books, although this course makes me want to, but from what I have seen in the movies alone has showed me that Collins has a firm understanding of the significance of her books on the mind of young readers. The relationship between the capitol and the rest of the districts is purely exploitative. If the districts did not offer anything of sustenance to the capitol then they would not exist.
I think it's ironic that the capitol played that video before the reaping about this "history" of their relationship. It is clear that the districts offer the capitol resources. The mining district, farming, etc. The only thing the capitol offers the citizens of the districts is "love and kindness." Surely one can't survive off of the affection of others or else Hollywood stars could live forever. The propaganda tactics used by the capitol remind me of the propaganda used by the totalitarian dictators of the 20th century. Installing the idea that without the government we would be nothing, and nothing is possible without the government. To me there also appears to be a sense of divinity. Like mentioned in the question about the game makers similarity with the Greek gods altering the field of battle. When an entity as powerful as the capitol feels like they don't need to justify their actions, they can do anything for any reason. Including subjecting a peaceful populace to regular execution.
It is extremely important to talk to young people about war. Not because they need to know the history of it, but because they need to know why. History is easier if you understand why the characters took the actions that they did. I think it's important for young people to start building an understanding of morality, and that occurs when they understand why we take the actions we do. If we just tell people what is right and wrong then they do not get to figure out morality for themselves. If one can take the time to explain why we do what we do then we can allow them to draw conclusions for themselves.

There is no doubt that the parents of a hero have a significant effect on their mentality. It's the same for every person though, not just a hero. I believe it could be argued that any single person could attribute some of their attributes to their upbringing. But that doesn't necessarily make the parents a more important character in whatever it is their child hero has done. I have never thought about George Washington's father and how he raised him. While I'm sure it was very important that Katniss's father taught her those things, it was ultimately her that had to utilize that information for whatever cause she got behind. I do think her father had an important role, but so did her mother for birthing her.

We're totally changing the way we act to look better in case anyone is watching. I always liked the saying, "Don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to hear." Good or bad, we always change to adapt to society; it's part of evolution. Citizens merely respond to external stimuli in a way which best suits their survival.

I am very much in agreement with the second article. There was defiantly a god-like mindset with the creator and managers of the game. The only stipulation I would make is that the government of Panem likely also did it to appease the citizens of the capitol. Along with other grand elements of the capitol, such as the architecture mentioned in another post, the government devised things to provide a mindset for the citizens. If the population felt like they were on the winning side and could play god in lower citizen's lives, they would be less likely to ask questions the government didn't want to answer.

First off, the "double tap" method for targeting first responders to an attack is used frequently in the modern theater of war. In areas as technologically advanced as United States military drones which use their missiles to target terrorist convoys, then launch another missile once their rescue shows up. These tactics are not only deadly, but psychologically terrifying. It prevents you from acting on your instinct to rush in and rescue someone is distress. American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan can be forced to watch their friends bleed to death, unable to act because their might be another explosion waiting to go off. The value of this psychological beating by the attacker cannot be understated. Gale knows this, and is ready to fully implement it as part of the battle plan. I think Peeta comes to realize the value of it, but since he has already come to terms with the requirements of their resistance does not feel the need to maintain a level of morality.
With that said, I do not think it is right. If you are immediately defending yourself then there is absolutely nothing you should not do to save yourself. However these traps were an offensive weapon, and their secondaries were even more-so. I believe that if you want to win you have to be better. Not only militarily, but morally. Just because they did it is a cop-out response that allows you to continue with no moral justification for your actions. I think Katniss and Peeta have both experienced the worst and don't want to drop to such a low level of depravity. Otherwise what is the point, you save yourself only to oppress others.

Not only can I spot the Stalin and Hitler in Panem, but I think its extremely prevalent in Washington DC today. The Capitol I think fits this profile completely. The buildings there are totally meant to make people feel like the government is a larger-than-life entity that they should feel submissive to. The Capitol building is the first one that comes to mind. While it does not embody the exact same architectural facies, it creates a new age twist on the old Roman designs. While not evil in its own being, what it represents is similar to, what I think, Hitler had in mind for Germania.

I don't think rashness is the right word for some of her actions. I don't think she approaches any of her tasks without some form of analysis. However I don't think she believes the state will react to the extreme that they often do. She thought about her speeches to the people, but didn't think the government was going to start executing people on the spot for showing signs of solidarity.

I think the most prevalent theme is the general treatment of civilians by the government. In the books/movies, President Snow has absolutely zero remorse for his actions against the innocents. The only thing that man cares about is power. I feel like some politicians are approaching that level with their disillusionment of life outside of DC. Laws are passed that they are told will help the little guy, and make operations for businesses more 'fair' to some companies. These laws actually serve to directly harm the people the politicians are elected to represent, and they rarely, if ever, recant their actions.

I feel like I probably wouldn't take a substantial action unless I was facing a directly noticeable personal loss. Something in the form of threat of physical harm to myself or a family member would likely draw a response. However we are losing smaller liberties everyday, and I am guilty of letting those go for the sake of convenience. It's far easier to just agree to some slight inconvenience than make a bigger scene than is already occurring.