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| I'm in there somewhere! |
Since I have been in South America, I have developed many new perspectives and different ways at looking at things. Now that I have been here for over four months, I feel like I will be returning to the United States with more maturity and perspective than when I left.
Argentines are extremely political and have demonstrations almost on a daily basis. Though Argentina is currently having political problems, I think it is great to see so many people so passionate about politics and making their country their own and reflective of their beliefs. It is impossible to describe the unforgettable experience of the demonstrations in Argentina through words, videos, or pictures. The political action of Argentines starkly contrasts the political involvement in the United States, where people involved in demonstrations are seen as "strange" or radical. The first demonstration I experienced was reported of having 2 million people that day.
On a political note, I have been learning a lot about the disappeared people in Argentina during the military dictatorship. It happened as recently as the early 1980's and it is estimated that close to 30,000 people "disappeared" from the 1970's-1980's. The Argentine government was "combating" communism so it acted to kidnap and create fear among the people to derail communist manifestations. Examples of people who could be kidnapped were people who had political beliefs, teachers in the villas, and pregnant women. These people were kidnapped, tortured, and killed. Most of the people were dropped into the ocean alive to erase the evidence of the crimes that had been committed. This was a time where the people were afraid of their policy meant to protect them.
Learning about the disappeared has given me a whole new appreciation for the police force that I grew up with, where I have always felt secure in my ability to turn to. Historically, Argentines have not had this type of confidence in their police, and still do not really today. Police officers here will often not do anything if someone is mugged or will whistle at a woman walking by.This is a problem due to lack of incentives and structure in the police force, and so on.
My main point is, however, that today while i was learning more about the disappeared during the dictatorship, I realized that this was a part of the global "fight against communism," and I asked my Professor if any countries had supported the Argentine government during this time where they declared their "civil war"(not justly a war because no one was fighting back) against their people. She then answered that the United States had given major funding to the Argentine government and that Argentine military men were taken to military school in the United States and France where they were trained their torture techniques. At this moment, I flushed because I have never felt this sort of shame of being from the United States. Communism is not an "evil" force and there is no reason that we should have supported them. I feel ashamed because I did not know about that and because, though I wasn't born at the time, I feel we need to be more part of our government because it is our responsibility to try to have our government in accordance to our fundamental ideals, at least the best we can. We can not live ignorant from what our government is doing and then take no responsibility when it does things that are completely wrong and unethical. I know I am not the model citizen of political involvement but I believe we can start by being more educated about what is going on, which I have been trying to do. If we all are more aware and speak up when we do not agree with something, we will be putting our efforts towards continuous growth and just checks on the government, which can apply to every country.
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