Empathy in My Life as a Foreign Country, a Book by Brian Turner

Brian Turner and Empathy

War to the eyes of the public eye and mind are much different to those who have already experienced that actual events that war hides from reality. Brian Turner in his book My Life asa Foreign Country brings forward the truths that the public isn’t used to hearing about war experiences and also shows how he empathizes with the soldiers, families, and those affected by the terrors of war. Turner does a diferent way of demonstrating his empathy towards others by describing the positions of the individuals he is trying to empathize with: in a way that the media usually does not cover.

In his book, he follows a non-linear format with stories about individuals and their day-to-day lives in an active war-combat lifestyle in scattered phrasing which gives forth a bit of uncertainty of where the story is heading, with every chapter being something different from the last in a new scenario and situation. In these chapters, he shows new perspectives about those affected, in ways that only a veteran would know about; a perspective that shows the deeper insights of the experiences of war and not just the desensitised family- friendly content that appears on the outside.

Turner, a returning veteran from the Iraq war, heavily demonstrated empathy through his stories in such a successful way, that makes one ponder the realities of war that has been passed Over by new’s coverage and hOW much more there is to know about war that one should know about when living in a country that heavily supports war through social media’s without giving much insight into.

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Turner was successful in not only describing both sides of the war, but also the effects after war has ended.

During one of these times in which Turner demonstrates a moment in war, the man in question has to undergo everlasting nightmares about death to himself or his friends in the squad every time he steps into the battlefield around him. He undergoes mental torture about being the next one from his platoon to die and how “it’ll be my fault. That I’ll make a mistake.” (25). These stories that Turner makes shows a great example of how different their lives are to ours, and Turner says it in a way that makes it seem hOw he empathizes with their stories rather than attempting to forcefully bring the reader to agree with him. Having a new empathetic view on American soldiers and Iraqi families can have a positive effect on how we as a whole view and respect those at war fighting for our good at the risk of their lives.

Most individuals take the soldiers for granted, or don’t know how difficult the struggles are that most soldiers undergo on a regular basis. Turner also added a family perspective on the effects of war by describing how the individual soldiers have their own morals and how the families of those experiencing the ruthlessness of the soldiers presence as described “The soldiers enter the house…. determined and bored and searing with adrenaline, enter the house shouting and curses… say to the frightened little children, softly.” (69). Although Turner did a great job in demonstrating his empathy towards families and soldiers, he forgot to mention the afterefects that the war has on those who manage to escape and return home from it.

Tumer lacked empathy in his book on the struggles that the media covers on today about the post-traumatic terrors that the soldiers undergo which leads to them not being able to be accepted by society’s terms and being outed as outcasts by the general public. Those feelings need to be explicitly shown to the public just as how the moments during the war are shown in order to try and bring awareness to the veterans that way we can focus more on their restoration to society without them having to go through another “war” to achieve success in the social status. Another view that shouldn’t be emphasised is the view of the bomb- makers and the risks they take.

Although he shows how a man with potential children in a family home who now had to change his lifestyle to accommodate the war and has resorted to creating bombs, showing empathy to these individuals can be seen to the public eye as trying to not take the enemies for who they really are and trying to make peace with them while they build these contraptions to destroy the lives of American soldiers Empathy shown throughout the story of Brian Turner reflects upon the reader as a way to make a closer connection to what he was going through and gives us a deeper perspective on how lives of soldiers are in comparison to the daily life of someone who isn’t in that environment. It shows the contrast between one and another and gives a clearer observation than what the media covers.

Empathy also goes on to provide for those who we empathize about. We tend to give more and be more respectful towards these individuals after knowing their experiences and as we try to be considerate towards them. By being more respectful towards them, we change our views and try to aid them in their times of need. However, although we attempt to get closer to the experiences of the soldiers and families affected by it, we should try to avoid getting closer and emphasizing with the enemies who in turn cause distress in the battlefield.