What wounds deserve

the Purple Heart

Author : Nguyen Thuy Hien
Words that need explanations

 1. Purple Heart:
 a decoration for members of the armed forces wounded or killed in action,
established in 1782 and re-established in 1932.
 2. Pentagon
 The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of
Defense.
 3. Aristotle’s theory of justice
 Justice means giving people what they deserve
 4. economic arrangement
 Eliminates barriers to the free movement of goods, services between nations.
What type of injuries did veterans get
during the war?

psychological injuries physical injuries

 After several years serving in the  Veterans who had bleeding wounds
army, many people suffered from or disabled because of the war
traumatic stress and depression such as broken limb.
 Symptoms:
 Recurring nightmares
 Severe depression
 Suicide
Dispute over what wounds deserve the Purple Heart
The Pentagon in 2009 announced that the Purple Heart would be reserved for soldiers
with physical injuries and this had created a disagreement among people in the society

Advocates for psychological wounds being Advocates for only physically wounded
eligible for this award. veterans being eligible for the Purple Heart

 Psychological wounds can be at  Traumatic stress disorders are not

least as debilitating as physical
ones.
 Veterans suffering long-term
trauma and severe depression had
sacrificed for their countries as
surely and as honorably as those
who’d lost the limb
intentionally caused by enemy
action.
 Difficult to diagnose objectively.
 View post-traumatic stress as a
kind of weakness.
 Conclusion
the dispute over Purple Heart illustrate the moral logic of Aristotle’s theory of
justice .
 - We can’t determine who deserves a military medal without asking what
virtues the media honors. In this case, we have to assess the conceptions of
character and sacrifice.
 Focus more on honor and virtue
 However, in this day, our arguments about justice are about how to distribute
the fruits of prosperity , or the burdens of hard times and how to define the
basic rights of citizens.
 Focus more on welfare and freedom
Bailout outrage
Words that need explanations
1.Housing bubble burst:
A housing bubble happens when the price of homes and real estate properties
experiences a hike as the demand surpasses supply.
2. Wall Street
the US financial center and stock exchange in New York City (used to refer to
the business that is done there)
3. non-complex investment
An insurance-based investment product shall be considered as non-complex for
the purposes of [ COBS 10A.4.1R] where it satisfies all of the following criteria:
(a) it includes a contractually guaranteed minimum maturity value which is at
least the amount paid by the customer after deduction of legitimate costs
4. Congress
the name of the group of people who are elected to make laws, in the US
consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives
 SITUATION
1. Reasons
+ finacial crisis between 2008 and 2009
+ housing bubble burst
2. Consequencies
-Wall Street firms teered on the edge of collapse.
- Stock market tanked.
- Affected investors and elderly whose retirement accounts lost much its value.
- Total wealth of AMERICAN families fell by 11 dollars.
3. Government’s resolution.
- Asking the Congress for 700 dollars to bail out Wall Streets firms=> let citizens to foot
the bill. No one believe banks and investment deserved the money. However, they are
too big to fail, and their failure might affect the economy of the whole nation
=> The case where the welfare of the economy as a whole seemed to outweigh
considerations of fairness.
Conflicts among people of how to spend
the assisting money.
 It is revealed that many companies using public dole to award their
executives. Eg American International Group.
 This set off a firestorm of public protest, as citizens believe those who
brought the financial system near meltdown did not deserve the lavish
reward.
 INJUSTICE ALERT
 Why executives didn’t deserve them ?. They still received rewards when times
were flush, so why they couldn’t now.
REASONINGS OF BOTH SIDES OF THE
DISAGREEMENT
TAXPAYERS
 People believe these executives
are greedy and don’t deserve
reward.
 Want them to accept responsibility
for their failure, to show
contrition, and to offer a public
apology.
COMPANIES AND EXECUTIVES
 but is there any guarantee that the
recipients of bailout bonuses are any
greedier now than they were a few
years ago, when they were riding high
and reaping even greater rewards?
 that they were victims “of a financial
tsunami” beyond their control, and
their failure was due to larger
economic forces, not their own
decisions.
 The pursuit of financial gain is only
what they do for a living.
Conclusion

 Americans are harder on failure than on greed.

In market-driven societies, ambitious people are expected to pursue their interests
vigorously, and the line between self-interest and greed often blurs. But the line
between success and failure is etched more sharply.
People disagreed because they have to pay the bill, while the bonuses paid in good
times come from company earnings.
A sense of injustice
=> This can also raise the question of failure and success. If big, systemic economic
forces account for the disastrous loses , couldn’t it be argued that they also account for
the dazzling gains of earlier years? If the weather is to blame for the bad years, how
can it be that the talent, wisdom, and hard work of bankers, traders, and Wall Street
executives are responsible for the stupendous returns that occurred when the sun was
shining?