Response to: Iyanatul Islam - Islamic Fundamentalism, Concerned Muslims & Anti-Americanism

            In the chapter "Islamic Fundamentalism and Anti-Americanism: Comprehending Casualty" the author states, "There is a deeply embedded view in Western discourse that Islamic fundamentalists are innately anti-American. They range from the naive - such as 'they hate us because of who we are' - to the sophisticated, such as the notion of the 'political enemy of hatred'...” So I must ask, where does intellect play into either scenario? Why shall we form barriers apart from other nations, when the ocean is already enough separation? It seems as though a Great Wall, like the one in China will be built, to further isolate us.
             How often do we hear, or make, uneducated and unnecessary comments? To narrow this question down even more, how often do we hear, or make, uneducated and unnecessary comments about Eastern civilizations (the Middle East to be exact)? Many times, I have seen my peers ridicule and mock their culture. They find it nothing less than humorous to wrap a towel around their head, and pretend it's a turban. For Halloween even, they take joy in dressing in the native clothing of Middle Eastern countries such as Afghanistan, trying to portray themselves as "terrorists". I find this nothing less than repulsive to put it lightly.
             Since when did common courtesy and human compassion die? When did it become okay, or even expected, to make fun of God, Jehovah, Buddha, Hari, or Allah etc.?  We not only need to asses this particular situation, but all that exist. Instead of taking Charles Darwin's idea "Survival of the fittest" and applying it usefully to everyday life, it has turned into "Survival of the races", or "Survival of the beliefs". There have always been those that are bias against or racist against those that do not fit into their "tier". We need not be categorized by our race, our religious beliefs, or sexual orientation, but by the simple principle that we are human, and we shall and will look out for each other. So much time is spent on hate, because ignorance is glamorized. Society sets an ideal, and those that do not fit the accepted mold are discriminated against.
            How do we change such a stubborn world? How do we show such stubborn people, there is another way? Certain dreamers, such as Martin Luther King Jr. have said it before me, and have said it best. When will we make their dream come true, if ever, and live in the world as one? When can we set down all the negativity we've heard, and disregard it? When can we live in peace and harmony, like the birds in the sky, the forests, and the vast oceans that divide us?

Response to: Michael O' Keefe - US Military Bases & Anti-Americanism

         "In 1997 Richard Haas described the US as a 'reluctant sheriff' who’s military was simultaneously viewed as the world's policemen as well as an imperial force." Why is the United States military viewed in such a negative way? It's as if anti-Americanism spread like an infectious virus, and the most powerful country in the world is now viewed as a contagious disease. "Stay away" outsiders of the US say, you can hear them clamor. They don't want to catch whatever it is we're spreading around. To be honest, I'm not sure I'd want to either.
            My brother and I thrive on conspiracy theory movies. I do not always believe them - but they are interesting nonetheless. I was brought up in an American-Brazilian household, which was based upon both cultures. My mother is very conservative, and my father is also conservative, but slightly more liberal. Neither will watch them with us, but we do for a reason. We don't want to be blinded by the corruption existing in this world; we want to open our eyes, when the United States government wishes so strongly we'd shut them. What is there to hide? Why haven't all of the government's activities been exposed? Don't the people of this country have a right to know?
              There was a polygamous group living in Waco, Texas an extremely conservative town in the south. Interracial relationships were forming, and the community was growing. They were a religious group of people called the "Branch Davidians: Students of the Seven Seals". There was has never been any knowledge of any wrongdoing, or that the group was harmful in any way. So why, did the military act in such a violent way? They said it was an accident; they even tried to change their story, but they couldn't. I watched as a branch of the United States military shot and killed innocent civilians - consisting not only of adults, but the worst kind of slaughter, children. Why did they do this? They committed this unfathomable sin because they did not agree with the way these people were living their life. The US Military appears to do anything when it comes down to the sacrifice of the way they think life in this country should be lived.
                The country in which we live is complex; one is not able to comprehend its monstrous power by taking but a fleeting glimpse; one cannot digest the benefits of life here, as well as the downfalls of life as a citizen of the United States of America. Our military force is one of the strongest in the world. We are one of the biggest threats to other countries. We not only have the power to destroy what they know and love in times of war, but we also have the power to try and change the way they carry out their lives. What if your life is not seen as proper or acceptable in the eyes of our government? What happens then?

Response to : Natalia Ginzburg - He and I

            "If I remind him of that walk along the Via Nazionale he says he remembers it, but I know he is lying and that he remembers nothing; and I sometimes ask myself if it was us, these two people, almost twenty years ago on the Via Nazionale, two people who conversed so politely, so urbanely, as the sun was setting; who chatted a little about everything perhaps and about nothing; two friends talking, two young intellectuals out for a walk; so young, so educated, so uninvolved, so ready to judge one another with kind impartiality; so ready to say goodbye to one another for ever, as the sun set, at the corner of the street."
             How it must feel, for one to love another so unconditionally, yet to have grown in different directions. The seeds fell, different and beautiful, and began to bud around the same time. They grew in the same garden, and when matured, their stems intertwined. Their soft plush petals pushed against each other, and together, they were radiant and ethereal. The soil began to dry up though, and the rain didn't come for some time. The sun wasn't as strong as usual, and the efflorescence felt they couldn't thrive synchronically. One, pointed up to the sky, the other, down to the earth, not knowing if their method of survival would work. It worked, but they would never be harmonious again. Something that was true but that could not be said. Remnants that would be hidden among the shrubs, in which you must dig aimlessly to discover.
            Most people are worried they will never find their true love. They search day by day, night by night, trying to stumble upon the one person on this planet who understand them completely and love them wholly, without omission. Do we ever worry, once he have found our true love, if found at all, that we will only have them for some time? That this is not forever, and that all must come to an end? Even if we feel confident in our relationships, do we ever ponder thoughts of quandary, hoping our significant other doesn't rise from bed one day, feeling different? Is it true that once you finally get the one thing you want most, you realize it really isn't what you wanted at all?
             Everything is a wish, and this life is but a dream. It appears sometimes vivid and all colors and all things in this word seem right and just. Other times it's arid and unwelcoming, the cup always seems to by half empty, and the clock on the wall ticks just a little too loudly. Everything is unpredictable, especially love, the most unnerving thing over all. We must take those walks, those journeys into someone else's universe, and explore them. We must risk all for that which is felt in matters of the heart. And love, if only fleeting - if only there for a moment, we must tend it forever, in hopes it will return to us someday. We may be able to watch it grow and blossom, into an entity so large that even the sun and earth cannot deflect the feeling.

Response to: Reagan's Recession

            History. It's what defines us as a people. From the earliest walks of life, we've had a history. A history of doing well in means to survive. A history of working our way from the bottom to the top. We're an intellectual species, that has created the world we know and live in today. We have moved mountains, and built institutions, in order to further our knowledge of this life. Yet, our history is not always beneficial. Sometimes, we don't learn from our past, and our future gets lost among the ruins. It's been said, that history has a way of repeating itself.
             Our economy entered the recession we are currently in during December 2008. Unemployment rates skyrocketed, and the people that were hit hardest were the middle class. People were not only worried about unemployment increasing more severely, but also rising budget deficits. A recession also occurred during Ronald Reagan's reign of presidency in the 1980's. So many circumstances surrounding the two crisis’s have quite shocking similarities. Why wasn't a change made - a detour taken - or a road block set up, in order to avoid such a large pile of confusion and distress?
               Had we opened our eyes wider, had we thoroughly examined the steps that led us blindly down the path of no return, would we be in a different situation right now? Had we tediously analyzed the exploits of our past, our history, we could have changed our position in the global economy today. What had we been more invested in? What was more important that our security, financially speaking. Could most people in this country be enjoying family vacations, and well-deserved leisure time, instead of scraping at the bottom of their purses for a few spare coins in order to purchase food?
               Universally asserting, we make mistakes as a whole. We also make mistakes individually. When did we forget that the key to evade making those faults again, was to learn from them? For such a perceptive species, we have lost the old pages of our book, because we are too busy writing new ones. The pages have been untouched for so long, that the words begin to fade away, and lose their meaning. Their edges are beginning to crumple, and become soiled in shades of yellow and brown. We need to save them, not rewrite them. We can't bury our past, we must cultivate it. It is what allows our future to thrive.

Response to : Erion - South Park & The Open Society

            "Perhaps extremists receive such unflattering portrayals on South Park because of the threat that they can sometimes pose to the very free expression that makes the show possible." p. 296, Erion, G.J., Curtis, D.V. Why do such extreme personalities and opinions cause such a fear in us all? Are we not only afraid of change, but domination? Do we recognize this fear without recognizing we are part of the severely opinionated?
              It has always been said that our ideas and our beliefs shape the world around us. Sometimes they cradle us, like a womb, and other times they destroy us, like a knife against virgin flesh. Other times, we sit untainted in the gray, avoiding the sovereigns of black and white. When we don't necessarily agree with an idea, opinion, or belief, we may come to the realization of anxiety. What if this sentiment is widely accepted? What if change occurs, and it does not support my own personal morals and values?
             Many people are scared of change. After all, we face change every day, all day, throughout our lives. Some change isn't so bad - the sun rises, the sun sets. Although, some change is devastating - the loss of a loved one. Change is inevitable. Everything is constantly moving, people are constantly thinking, and new ideas and viewpoints are born. Change can be beneficial or harmful to not only one, but many. Change can be such a scary thing to some, because we are never sure in which way it will occur, and when. It can strike at any moment, like a viscous bolt of lightning, unpredictable. And the most difficult segment of change is that you cannot always tell if it's deadly or not. You just have to wait and see. The hardest part of change is that you may not always have control.
             Some people find South Park offensive for its put-downs and crude humor. Yet, I agree with Erion and Curtis. I feel there is a democratic political philosophy buried in it all. In South Park, the characters express their constitutional right to freedom of speech, something that has made this country flourish the way it so rapidly has, with ever changing ideas. I don't mean to say The United States is the best example of a working society or economy, I mean to say I feel the attributes of The United States have proven effective when applied appropriately. We face diversity in a multitude of ways, and the fact that we have such diversity, is a beautiful thing.