  -Hello AP English, this is Ryan Elliott and I'm a rookie to Blogger.com. I recall reading Night freshman year in Mrs. Micheel's English class, and the impression the story left on me brings to mind the narratives of Fredderick Douglas and Harriet Jacobs. The accounts of the Holocaust enable the reader to experience the horror firsthand, and each individual number in the death totals suddenly forms a face. At the beginning of the year I remember Mrs. VA stressing the importance of showing and not telling in writing, and I feel in many cases that history can tell a story, but it takes a first person account like Night or the narratives of Douglas and Jacobs to show the reader a story and make them live it.
Considering the current study of World War II in AP History, I think Night would be an excellent compliment. The present study of World War II with Ms. Clark has made me feel disappointed in American diplomacy because of the decision to drop atom bombs on two Japanese cities. When encountering the situation, I pretended I was a soldier in WWII, and I tried to think of how I would have felt about our actions. Not only am I shocked at the civilian aimed tactics implemented globally during the war, but also I am troubled by America's decision to take part. Personally, I would have difficulty enlisting in the military because of the possibility that I could be asked to carry out a mission like the one presented to Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay. I believe war is a conflict between armed military soldiers, and does not involve intentional civilian casualties. In today's military this death count is accounted for by the term collateral damage, which masks its true definition probably for the morale of soldiers and the maintenance public relations. I can't imagine I would feel at peace pledging allegiance to a nation who was engaging in civilian warfare.
I love my country and would no doubt serve if conscripted; however, I feel the line in the pledge of allegiance, "with liberty and justice for all" extends to all people of the world, and that the American bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were injustices to the Japanese people. I believe pledging allegiance to the United States of America means promising one's devotion to preserve the liberty and justice of our nation while attempting to extend the basic courtesies to all who we come in contact with. The invisible borders separating the people of the world are self created illusions, much like the concept of racial differences, that do nothing to obscure the sanctity of democratic rights or our responsibility to uphold them. 
