I excerpted a mass amount from your blog entries (see below); many intriguing thoughts to discuss today, along with how to move forward with our work on saving Barclay grounds. I've spoken with John Cottage, and I'm in contact with another member of the "Save Barclay Grounds" group, so I have things to report!
Spring
Depression
Laura: “I feel swamped with all of this information. I'm
overwhelmed with how awful humanity can truly be. And with all of that, I feel
like there is absolutely nothing I could ever do to make a difference. I am
aware how day in and day out I am consciously choosing to ignore the problems
with the world and I deny that anything is wrong. I choose to close my eyes and
everyday my eyes are torn open over and over again. I'll be doing my
assignments for class and start crying uncontrollably…. [Now] I show up. I take
notes. I sit quietly and smile and nod. I eat with my friends, I hang out, I
don't talk about the subjects that bring me to tears. I am doing what Iversen
was doing for a long time. I close my eyes and I live.”
Loren: “In the epilogue of Full Body Burden Iverson continues to talk more about the
contamination and risks of Rocky Flats. She talks about other nuclear disasters
around the world, and how the government also kept huge secrets from them
in other countries. Overall I really enjoyed this book because I was
learning about something I have never even heard of before. It is very
interesting and extremely scary to me that the government and the people
you're supposed to trust can keep such crucial information from you. I think I
liked Parable of the Sower a
little bit more than Full Body
Burden. I liked that it took place in the future and seemed pretty
unrealistic. This made me start to think about if it could actually ever happen
or not. Not all of the details of the book seemed logical for the future,
but it was just something to get us thinking, and it worked.”
Kasey: “In the epilogue Iverson writes about other nuclear disasters throughout the world and then talks of future plans for producing more ‘pits’ in the United States. Iverson writes of a plan to build a facility to make 450 pits a year. Luckily Iverson writes, ‘So far, the NNSA has failed to gain full congressional support’ (344). Maybe the government is finally learning from their mistakes and caring about the good of everyone. Probably not.”
Jacob: “One of the things that I have taken from this class is that we seem not to react to environmental problems until it is too late. Although it was a fictional story, the Parable of the Sower captures this very well. All the problems with water and fuel sources got so bad that they are basically irreversible by the time the story takes place. Today we are facing a growing scarcity of fossil fuels, much research is going it to green energy, but probably not as much as we should. The focus on finding alternative energy sources will likely not increase until another spike in gas prices or electric bills force it to. Rocky Flats is another example. People ignored the problem for years and by the time enough people knew about the problem it was too late. It's impossible with today's technology to clean up Rocky Flats without bankrupting the government, but even with a huge budget a clean-up project wouldn't be able to completely reverse the effects of Rocky Flats.”
Fukushima & The Question of Nuclear Power
Jenny: “I have been very fortunate and haven’t had to deal with a nuclear plant like the people near Rocky Flats and Fukushima had to. I could never imagine living near plutonium and the contamination. [And yet, right now you live 20 miles from a nuclear power plant.]
Rebecca: “It was not until the epilogue that I fully understood the severity of what can happen with a nuclear plant. The Fukushima incident is one of the scariest things I have ever heard about…. Kris states, "In the United States we currently have approximately 25,000 plutonium pits in our stockpile: roughly 10,000 in nuclear warheads, 5,000 in 'strategic reserve' and more than 10,000 'surplus' pits at the Pantex plant near Amarillo, Texas" (344). All of those numbers, to me, are extremely scary. Why should we need any of that in our country? If we saw what happened in Fukushima and in Russia, why would our country want to put ourselves in that same risk? I believe that is very scary and that the government is very secretive. The secretivity of our government is also something I learned more about in this memoir and how real it actually is. I remember hearing my parents talking about it and how there is so much the citizens don't actually know. I believe, if we live in America we have a right to know what is going on in our government and why things are the way they are.”
Mike W.: “The tsunami that hit Japan wasn't that long ago and it will be something that I will remember because I was alive when it happened. Everything else in this book I was not alive for, so it had less of an effect on me than something I know of would have. [Except that Rocky Flats was recently flooded!] I know that the point of this book was to make me aware that these dangers still exist, but now that Fukushima is mentioned I really feel like everything is real. The fact that Fukushima is worse than Rocky Flats makes me think more negatively about nuclear power plants. I am sure by this period of time the human race can move forward in phasing out power plants and creating alternative energy. This alternative energy is very necessary, for radiation is literally destroying the planet. In the case of a nuclear war, we could very well find the entire world a radiated mess. Before either a war or a power plant failure occurs again the world should work to make nuclear energy safer.”
Alex: “…should [we] even have nuclear energy as a resource[?] Before reading this memoir I was all for it. Anything that would reduce the consumption of fossil fuels was a good idea in my mind. Reading this made me question the way I feel about things a lot and I am starting to come to the realization that the nuclear energy may be just as bad. I understand that Rocky Flats did not produce nuclear energy they produced bombs. However, that is not the same with Fukushima. I do not believe that as humans we are responsible enough to handle nuclear anything yet. We obviously don't know how to react to it. The whole business just ends up being a lot of scandal and I think we are better off without it.”
Perks of Fiction
Ryan: “Full Body
Burden was not meant for me…I think I would enjoy a memoir more if I
knew who the person was… On the contrary, Parable of the Sower held my attention and kept me on edge… Keeping
an eco-focused class is relevant and important in our society. These issues do
not get enough attention from my generation. I am looking forward to continuing
this class and getting started with our project.”
Risk of Memoir
Shelby: “I was very shocked that Iversen was able to recount such difficult times in her life and share them with the world.”
Abuse
Nicole: “I can relate to Kristin’s mother in a minor way. I was in a toxic relationship this past year (though I was not married with children). In a previous post I said that if I was her mom I would have left a long time ago. The only reason I reacted that way was because of my own personal experience in an abusive relationship. I now have made a promise to myself to always make sure I'm getting the respect I deserve.”
Gabby: “Is it worth it to risk the lives of thousands, to
simply have the ability of protection? The Epilogue of this memoir
finally made me come to the realization of why nuclear weapons are really being
made. At Rocky Flats, Hanford, Fernald, and Fukushima, secrets were being
kept from the residents around the plants. People can call the residents
naïve, but the truth is that the truth is so much easier to recognize when you
have a clear view of the entire situation… Throughout this entire memoir, one
question that I’ve had is why? Why would the government risk so many
lives? Is it really just because they don’t want to take the blame? …It all
made sense what once I realized why the nuclear weapons were really being
made. The nuclear weapons are our safety, our last resort defense, in case
any other country decides to attack us. The weapons aren’t even for now,
or for anything concrete. They are for a “maybe” “what if” situation… It
all seems like a paranoid sense of needing safety. It’s too sick and cruel to
really even wrap my head around. How deep does the deception really go? What
other petty tricks and secrets are being kept from the “peasants” of the
government’s “medieval” world.
“The first thing that came to mind
was smoking. My parents have been smoking since I can remember. My mother
has ‘quit’ so many times it’s like a tradition, but she only ever lasts a few
weeks before she’s smoking again. My older sister and I have always hated
the fact that my parents smoke, and we’ve tried everything to get them to stop. I’ve
been grounded more times than not from throwing my parent’s cigarettes away.
I’ve tried playing the pity card when it came to my asthma, because smoke bothers
me the most. I’ve even played the pity card when it came to my sister’s
dad dying from leukemia. I begged my parents to stop because, ‘Sissy lost
one parent to cancer, do you really want to make her go through having to lose another?’
Nothing has worked, and my question was always, why is smoking even a
possibility? I can understand why way back when, when we didn’t really have too
much of a clue about what smoking did to the body. Yet, now we know every
terrible thing it does, and it seems to me that these days, every one smokes. I
ask, why wouldn’t the government ban it after knowing what it does to the
people? Yes, people may be upset but no one is going to die from not
smoking, there is no mistake in that decision. What I failed to realize, was
that there is a reason why the government doesn’t ban it. Yes, it slowly
kills people, but it brings the government money, especially because of how
addictive it is. It’s really just another trick. They know what
smoking does, but all the government cares about is money, not the lives of the
people. They lie to us saying it’s “free will,” but really it’s revenue;
they need more money for their nuclear weapons and what better way to get it
than by an addictive product?
“This memoir has truly caused me to care and wonder if all of what I know isn’t
truly ‘all.’ It hasn’t made me into a conspiracy theorist; I just simply
consider the deeper meaning, and will no longer look at the news as the given
truth. I accept that there may be things I will never know, but it won’t be for
a lack of trying. Iversen has taught me that the thirst of knowledge is an
ever beautiful quality. There will always be something I want to know more
about, and I should never stop learning. I like to think of myself as
young, free, and passionate, but how do you really know? I think you have
to be ready for it, realize an opportunity is in front of you and take
it. It’s all about timing, and when it comes to it, rash decision-making.
I wish I could thank Iversen for opening up my mind and teaching me about one
more subject I didn’t know about. I’m one step close to passion, and just
waiting for the opportunity.”
Speaking Up
Brittanee: Finishing the last of Full Body Burden brought me to the final conclusion that Kristen Iversen
is an eloquent author. Combining a biography and a nonfiction story is
extremely challenging but Iversen made it look simple. With her final
touch of weaving together the two most markable themes in her life,
Iversen states “Many inescapable decisions have been forced upon us...To speak
out or to remain silent is the first and most crucial decision we can make”
(344). A very personally relatable statement, Iversen basically summed up
her reason for writing this memoir; to finally speak up. For her whole
life she witnessed horrible events that again and again she wished she could
just speak up about, but instead she held inside like she was taught. My
connection to Iversen is similar, but at the same time different. Being a very
independent person, I have always preferred keeping my feelings inside of me.
This factor has always upset my mother, making her feel like she could not
connect with me or felt like I was not comfortable talking to her. Although
this was not true, I never changed the way I handled my feelings. Reading
Iversen’s memoir has influenced me somewhat to change and instead of keeping my
emotions in and letting them build up, to talk about them. Change is
difficult and not always the most favored option, but just because it is
difficult does not mean it is not the best thing. It is better to take
care of things, avoid procrastination, and speak up when you feel something is
not right. Before things approach a level that is more challenging to handle,
like the Rocky Flats incident or Kris’s fathers alcoholism, this quote has
spoken to me to try and speak out and alleviate the many emotions I hold
inside.”
Resolution May Never Come
Chad: “Although I preferred Parable of the Sower, I still was captivated by Iversen’s eloquence
and her shrewd ability to blend two seemingly irrelevant narratives into a
cohesive story (her father’s alcoholism and Rocky Flats). However, what
resonated most with me were Kristen’s family travails, because I experienced a
very similar situation during my childhood. Thus, I could relate to her
feelings of bewilderment and curiosity at her family’s rapid deterioration. In
the Epilogue Kristen concludes her memoir masterfully and the very first page
conveys, succinctly, the underlying theme of both narratives. “The serenity of
the landscape belies the battles that still wage over who controls the land,
how dangerous the levels of contamination are, and what’s to be done about it”
(341). This quote personifies both the environmental debacle at Rocky Flats,
and Kristen’s family’s own struggle to conceal an increasingly fractious
household. Moreover in the Epilogue it is evident that with regards to Rocky
Flats that a satisfactory resolution may never be fully realized. Indeed
according to Kristen, “The controversy over land surrounding Rocky Flats
continues as well. Government agencies claim that the Rocky Flats National
Wildlife Refuge is safe and nearby areas are fine for homes, businesses, and
recreation (342). Yet the same can be said of Kristen’s estrangement with her
father, a rift which may never be completely assuaged. Finally there is also a
discernible pessimism in the Epilogue which is illustrated that nuclear
disasters are not merely confined to Rocky Flats or the United States even. I
found this ending fitting considering Kristen’s style of writing. Rather than
tenderly reassuring us that Rocky Flats is nuclear aberration, Kristen assails
us with startling facts and statistics which compel the reader close the book
with grim uncertainty.”
Comparisons to Parable
Mike G.: "In both the Parable of Sower and Full
Body Burden, the main character is part of a community which ignores the
dangers that are present and worsening. Everyone in Lauren’s community, except
Lauren, refuses to accept the possibility that the community might be overrun
and forced to relocate. Since Lauren is the only person who doesn't ignore the
true facts, I think the author used Lauren in order to make this theme
more noticeable. In the Parable of
the Sower, ignorance got the best of the whole town. [In Iversen’s memoir]
everybody believed the government when they said that Rocky Flats was
safe. Scientists and other educated people began to try to educate the public
that Rocky Flats was very dangerous to the community. People started to look
into it, and knew that it probably wasn't right, but stayed in the town and
were too passive about it… preparing for certain things can make a huge
difference."
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