This image for example, I knew was from the Vietnam war and what the event was, but I did not realize what Napalm did to the skin. It now makes sense that the girl was running naked in fear of her life. I also did not realize that she survived and became an anti-war activist which is quite an amazing story. 
The talk about iconic images and the lack of a symbol for 9/11 really spoke to me as well. Just as Kip said, I remember the exact moment when I found out what had happened to the twin towers. Before that moment, I had no idea that the towers, or any of our problems with the middle east even existed. When I think of 9/11 all I can picture is Bush, soldiers, and burning buildings. No icon was chosen or shown by the media in a consistent way, just like no one understood the true reason for our war with Iraq or the search for weapons of mass destruction. It seems that this time of war has been extremely unclear and lacks in reason/theme. My uncle who protested the Vietnam war expressed to me his disappointment in my generation for not voicing our opinions about the war in Iraq. The sad truth is that in the US we don't really have a connection to the current war because we don't understand it, have no idea how it started, and are not told truthful information about it on a regular basis. Our ignorance is made possible by the media withholding certain information like the coffins which were not supposed to be seen by anyone.
The talk about iconic images and the lack of a symbol for 9/11 really spoke to me as well. Just as Kip said, I remember the exact moment when I found out what had happened to the twin towers. Before that moment, I had no idea that the towers, or any of our problems with the middle east even existed. When I think of 9/11 all I can picture is Bush, soldiers, and burning buildings. No icon was chosen or shown by the media in a consistent way, just like no one understood the true reason for our war with Iraq or the search for weapons of mass destruction. It seems that this time of war has been extremely unclear and lacks in reason/theme. My uncle who protested the Vietnam war expressed to me his disappointment in my generation for not voicing our opinions about the war in Iraq. The sad truth is that in the US we don't really have a connection to the current war because we don't understand it, have no idea how it started, and are not told truthful information about it on a regular basis. Our ignorance is made possible by the media withholding certain information like the coffins which were not supposed to be seen by anyone. 
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