Chapter 3 Analysis
In Iroquois society, women would choose leaders known as "Sachems" who would lead in peaceful times. However, once war broke out, masculine wartime leaders would take center stage who only cared about the tribe's survival. This leans into the idea of gender roles (the reactionary heroics of males vs the moral heroism that women would display), and the concept of of survival time leaders vs emotion al leaders that was discussed in chapter 2. In addition, the idea of having different leaders during times of war can be tied into the argument that modern society alienates soldiers compared to the Native American lifestyle. Wartime trauma in Native warriors healed much faster than in the modern soldier due to the entire native society undergoing the trauma with the warriors while American soldiers are put on a pedestal they don't wish to be upon. On page 84, Junger discuses how, "decade after decade and war after war, American combat deaths have generally dropped while disability claims have risen' which indicates a dramatic rise in PTSD in soldiers. I personally believe this is due to a lack of adversity in American Society. According to Matthew Friedman, 54% of psychiatric patients during WWII met criteria for PTSD (Friedman, et al. 267) which is high, but not as high and post 9/11 rates. A 2020 survey done by Cumberland Heights, a recovery center in Nashville, TN, found found that 83% of all US veterans & active duty service personnel have experienced PTSD-like symptoms since 9/11, "as a result of their military service." (Cumberland Heights). In WWII times everyone made a war effort as it was in order to protect American values and domestic tranquility while in the modern day, society goes on even while we're at war.
Friedman, Matthew J, et al. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder In The Military Veteran.” https://doi.org/https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/articles/article-pdf/id12012.pdf.
"PTSD Statistics | How Many Veterans Have PTSD?". Cumberland Heights, 2021, https://www.cumberlandheights.org/blogs/ptsd-statistics-veterans/.