The Adventures of Phoenix Jones Review (Response 6)

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF PHOENIX JONES REVIEW

Originally written by John Ronson

Reviewed by Timothy Mason

 

                America has grown up with comic book superheroes. The subjects of these comic books produced by Marvel and DC are displayed as super humans who are morally upstanding and who defend the “little guy” in their endeavors. A tour of mainly young men’s bedrooms in America would reveal posters, action figures, movies, or costumes of such superheroes as the genetically altered Spiderman, the armored suit-clad millionaire Iron Man, a darker, nocturnal mammal inspired being named Batman, and the epitome of noble supermen, Captain America. But why are superheroes so popular? They are well loved because they stand for what’s right in a world of wrong. Their purpose is to eliminate evil from the world and to make it a better place for everyone. They have a sense of chivalry and a dedicated desire for justice. Some men and women in America’s cities have taken the superhero concept to a whole new level and have actually become heroes themselves by hand-making costumes and fighting crime on their own terms. These crusading vigilantes, such as the famed Phoenix Jones, have split the population between favorable and opposing opinions.

                Jones was a well-known mixed martial arts fighter who had become personally affected by crime when a thief broke into his car and shattered glass all over the ground. His stepson accidentally tripped and gashed his knee severely on the sharp glass, causing him to lose much blood and thus making the child very ill. He constructed a muscular looking, bulletproof suit and a mask to conceal his true identity, recruited some friends, and declared war on intercity crime while wearing his super suit, a Taser, first-aid kit, and some pepper spray.

                Mr. Ronson takes the place of a first person spectator as he patrols the streets with Phoenix and describes the incidents of an urban city nighttime crime fighter; so the style of The Adventures is an informative, informal format. The piece almost appears to be Ronson’s personal journal as he records his outings with Jones’ group of heroes and others from different cities. There is much dialogue in the piece as the actual conversation between superheroes and superheroes and drug lords is displayed. The author does a commendable job in creating the drug dealers as a rough bunch of thugs through their speech and the heroes are painted in a much brighter light as they discuss among themselves their desire for justice.

                The piece was definitely interesting and further research was pursued to verify the author’s account and this seems to actually be a true story-not just some fanciful rendering. The Adventures was interesting and held the reader but some critical skepticism was held due to the heroes’ insane devotion to live their alter ego and fulfill their self-created avatar. They almost seemed like a group of boys playing cowboys and Indians in the back yard. Maybe some people just seem to have difficulty understanding what makes these real life superheroes tick.

               

 

Redeployment Review (Response 5)

REDEPLOYMENT

By Phil Klay

     Serving one’s country is one of the noblest things a person can do in his life. He puts himself in danger and faces uncertainty, hard times, fear, and death “…so that others may live.” He has a sense of duty and enough patriotism that he will pick up a weapon and seek to do damage on those who wish to harm his loved ones. The United States Marine Corps has adopted the Latin phrase, “Semper Fidelis” which means “Always Faithful,” and these warriors are determined to live by that principle no matter what. Through hard work and dedicated training, these men and women of war have become world renown for their tenacity and fighting spirit. Ronald Reagan once said, “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But the Marines don’t have that problem.”                   

     Redeployment, written by Phil Klay, recounts the adventures of Marine SGT Price and his squad during their deployment to the Middle Eastern country of Iraq. These Marines would patrol the hot and dangerous streets of Fallujah and clear hostile districts of insurgents. Mr. Klay briefly describes what happened to the Marines overseas but spent more time on their homecoming and adapting to stateside life-mainly through SGT Price’s point of view. The homecoming piece was somewhat touching to me personally because while I read, I remembered the day I came home from Basic and Advanced Individual Training. While being under the very sheltered world of training for four months is absolutely nothing compared to the seven month deployment to a hostile arena that these Marines faced, I could still sympathize with the reuniting of families mentioned in the story. While reading the piece, I felt that I was reading the mind of SGT Price himself due to the informal method of writing which focused on his thoughts and actions; some of which would be lost in a boring, formal, point by point presentation about this incident in general. Price’s mercy killing of the disease-ridden family dog, Vicar, was recorded in this piece and an interesting contrast was drawn between Vicar and the homeless mutts that SGT Price dispatched on deployment. At some points, the language used was slightly offensive but this is the diary of a rough and ready US Marine. One cannot expect him to speak like a minister. 

T. Mason’s Brainstorming Blog

     Because I am interested in the past, I have enrolled myself as a History major while here in school. Due to the fact that our Comp instructor has ordered us to write about anything we wanted that interests us, I have chosen to write about a instance of history. I will attempt to expound upon a topic that has been distorted by movies, books, and video games and I think that many people have been misguided about this subject. They have adopted Hollywood’s false rendition of the incident. So what really happened at the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl? How many people were effected or even killed? What do conspirators say about the ordeal? My curiosity has been piqued and I will soon delve into some enlightening research.

Leadership

ARMY LEADERSHIP

PFC TIMOTHY MASON

 

            John C. Maxwell, an affluent businessman, former pastor, and leadership conference host has said that, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” One can have authority over something but unless he is influencing those under him to better themselves and the organization of which they are part, he is not leading-he is simply in charge. An organization with a detached leader who is interested only in having a position of authority will soon crash and burn, with all fingers pointing toward the man in the big seat. A good leader cares about those under him, inspires them to become great, and rolls up his sleeves to take part in the work. How can a leader effectively understand what he is ordering his followers to do unless he himself was once in their boots and knows how to do it?

            The United States Army has a definition of leadership similar to that of Mr. Maxwell’s: “Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.” Is it not funny that the same theme of influencing others keeps appearing? That just goes to show that an effective leader, whether civilian or military, cannot remain aloof from those under him and simply observe them from afar. He is responsible for their wellbeing both physically and mentally. The Army has developed the Be, Know, Do Principle to help its members understand how to be successful at leading others.

            Be. Medieval folklores speak of the white knight in shining armor as being king material because he is just, pure, brave, clean, and noble. To some extent, that same idea should be referenced when considering possible leaders today. Would you follow a spineless coward into battle? No. Would you take orders from a sneaky trickster? No. Would you trust a thief with the money of your organization? Once again, the answer is no. Then why would you place a person of questionable character in leadership and expect the organization to succeed? A good leader can be summed up by the Bible verse, Philippians 4:8,

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” 

While being a Christian is not mandatory to be a good leader, following Biblical principles will more than likely lead to success. Mr. Maxwell also says, “Real leadership is being the person others will gladly and confidently follow.” Be a person of integrity, do what’s right, and when you speak, others will listen.

            Know. Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa once claimed that, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” A leader must be well versed in his area of expertise and fully understand every aspect so that he can easily teach others. The Army classifies a leader’s intellectual capacity in five areas: Mental Agility, Sound Judgment, Innovation, Interpersonal Tact, and Domain Knowledge. Mental Agility describes having a flexible mind and being able to quickly apply multiple perspectives to situations while Sound Judgment is the capability to assess situations and draw sound conclusions. Innovation speaks of being creative in order to get the job done and Interpersonal Tact is the ability to be able to deal with different people and their personalities. Domain knowledge is simply knowing facts and having logical assumptions.

            Do. Sometimes saying that a person has potential might not be a compliment. Mickey Mantle, one of the greatest New York Yankees of all time held the idea that having potential simply means one hasn’t done anything yet. What good is a leader who has upstanding character and incredible knowledge in his field if he is not proactive and never gets anything done? An active leader is one who promotes esprit de corps in his unit by developing his underlings and achieving goals. One task of a leader should be to train someone else to be able to do his job someday. Also, doing an action repeatedly builds muscle memory and in the field of battle being able to reload without thinking for example will saves a soldier’s life. The leader must be sure his unit is capable to accomplish its missions.

            So by using determination and the Army’s Be, Know, Do Principle, even a lowly Private and rise to the elite officer ranks. The road is bumpy and steep but victory is sweet. When considering your future, whether military or civilian, ask yourself this: what can I become?