Law and Orders: Captain Ragsdale '03 Compares Lit themes to Current Events

What do the classics have to do with modern life? Why not ask Captain Bobbie L. Ragsdale? He uses the skills of critical thought and reasoning that he learned at Newman in his work for the Army. A repeat veteran of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Capt. Ragsdale is shipping out soon, but he took some time to speak with two of Nat Gee’s junior English classes.

 

This was no recruitment drive, however. Ragsdale, who graduated from Newman in 2003, spoke to the classes about literature: Milton’s Paradise Lost to be exact. In the story arc, Lucifer is cast from Heaven for defying an order, but soldiers today might go to jail for following an order. It seems a paradox, but these are just such the complicated concepts that officers in the military must contend with in modern society.

 

The students and guest enjoyed a deep and thorough discussion some thorny issues such as Viet Nam’s My Lai Massacre and Iraq’s Abu Ghraib incident – incidents where the military prosecuted soldiers that obeyed orders, because the orders were illegal. This helped show the students that life’s situations are not always black and white, right and wrong. Special guests and intense use of the Socratic method to encourage critical thought are things that propel Newman graduates ahead of the pack and make them leaders – not unlike Capt. Ragsdale.