In the Valley of Elah

When a soldier who recently returned to the U.S. from the front lines of Iraq goes AWOL, his veteran father starts the search for his lost son. Mike’s father, Hank (Tommy Lee Jones), quickly recruits Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) to assist him in his search for the missing soldier. While searching for his son, Hank strikes upon the very heart of the American experience in the Iraqi conflict.

The movie”In the Valley of Elah” has a strong impact on young people because serving in a war may change who you are. In the movie we meet several young soldiers who values are changed because of their service in Iraq. As mentioned earlier, one of the soldiers goes AWOL and it turns out that his friends were the ones who killed him!

Mike was a nice guy, and normally he would never hurt anyone. But after killing a child in Iraq by running the child down he is changed forever. In the movies from Mike’s cell phone we see Mike and his friends do inhumanly things towards innocent people. To ease the pain Mike feels inside he starts taking drugs.

The reason why they change so much has to do with all the lives they have to take. They have to serve their country by killing people; sometimes innocent people. Something no one wants to do, but someone has to.

http://www.starpulse.com/Movies/In_the_Valley_of_Elah/index.html

Should a country have a military draft or not?

I'm not sure what to think. I have both pros and cons for military drafting. But I do believe that everyone should be required do some sort of public service. If not as a career, then just to help and support their community/country. I understand that not everybody wants to serve in the military...

On the one hand, I think it would be best if it was required at least two years service in the military. This way there is always someone to protect the country, if needed. Furthermore, a military draft will increase the military power which will result in frightening away other countries so that they won't attack.

In the near future I think we should only draft men. And then if something were to happen and a country is needy for more military working capacity, then the country should discuss wether or not to draft women.

On the other hand I don't think we should force somebody to serve in the military if they don't want to. First of all because I don't think that that person would pull one's weight. Specifically because he or she doesn't really want to be there (lack of motivation). It is a personal and difficult choice for most people and therefore a draft should not be forced on you.

I don't really have a conclution on this topic since I'm remaining neutral so feel free to comment:)