QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
How does Perkins narrative help you to understand the 20th Century history of Panama, a country that the American media did not want you to learn about? Do you recall reading about any of the information that Perkins offers about Panama in High School? Did you every read about anything other than the Panama Canal in High School having to do with Panama?
Bring up some ideas from the readings that shed new light on this corner of the world.
FOR THOSE WHO CHOSE TO WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY (OPTIONAL)
As I’ve said, watching the documentary called The Panama Invasion is a good idea because it fills in some of the blanks from the readings with a strong narrative about what happened in the US invasion of Panama. Watching to documentary is optional, but it can really help with the writing of Essay Two if you seem stumped on which topic to chose. Panama is one topic that is hard to mess up because all of the cards are on the table. You can really see in the documentary how the US media distorted and even lied about the invasion and what really happened.
Regardless of whether you are old enough to remember the invasion personally, the documentary is certainly an eye-opening experience. Do you feel its coverage and reporting was fair and open, or biased to the point of being “un-American.” Is it unpatriotic to investigate and consider things that our government has done, which were unethical and counter to the wishes of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution? Was there anything overtly unconstitutional about America’s invasion? If so, what?
**TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: The minimum word count for this assignment is 350 words. I recommend composing in MS-Word, where you can spell and grammar check your work. You should attempt to make your entry “essay quality.” This is not a blog or a casual email. It is the chance to develop your writing skills. So give it your best shot. As my old drum set teacher used to say, “Perfect Practice Makes Perfect!” After you finish crafting a polished entry in MS-Word, cut and paste it into the text box that will appear when you click on the “create message” button below. After you cut and paste your work, take care that all of your formatting commands are not lost. Formatting is just as important as spelling and grammar. Without it, all of your hard work becomes just some giant uncouth blob, which is very unappetizing visually. I like to think of text without any formatting like a giant dead whale that has washed up on our cybernetic beach.
