Op Ed

Unfortunately, we live in a country where those who control a great deal of access to all important information would prefer that the average American citizen be completely misinformed about history, politics, and current issues here in the states and all over the world as well. For the citizens who do not know much about their country, I honestly do not think it is their fault.  We have numerous institutions and every major mainstream media outlet out there basically telling you what to think about and how to think about it. Who would not want to stay away from that?

We are living in a world that is becoming increasingly connected globally.  Globalization is nothing new, but the world as a whole is becoming a smaller place. Not only is it becoming a smaller place, but also people are taking less and less time to research the subject and form their own opinion about it.  We have social networking like Facebook and Twitter that release incomplete information and people quickly form an incorrect opinion about.  For example, we have the issue concerning President Obama supposedly being born outside the U.S.  Many heard just this phrase and went crazy wanting to take our President out of office.  It was a small rumor that started and nobody took the time to read reliable article and interviews saying they have Obama’s birth certificate on file. 

            Citizens should definitely be concerned about what is going on, because whether they recognize it or not, they have the power to bring about change.  We can effect what is happening is our communities.  It is hard to listen to the new and read information about politics, regardless of the country, without it being biased nowadays. When it is biased, it is hard to determine truth from fiction.  This is where the citizen’s duty to actually take time to read into reliable sources and listen to reliable people comes in handy.  I think it is vital now to be informed, because a majority of people do not see how relations with other countries can ultimately affect each individual.  Again, I cannot really blame those who don’t want to be informed because it is hard to believe the information that is provided to us by the media and the government.

            The most recent example of this problem is the death of Osama bin Ladin.  The entire nation of the U.S. was in shock when we heard the news.  However the happiness did not last long when half of American citizens believed that this information was false and that we did not actually kill him.  I respect the people who stood out to speak their opinion because they had wondered how come all of a sudden he has been caught and killed.  On the flipside, the fact that most registered voters who were under the age of 30 did not even vote in the last mid term elections.  I just think this goes to show even more how our young and growing population wants and knows little about the United States and what is going on in the world.

            Politics in general is a dog- eat- dog process, I believe.  It could cause emotions very high and also very divisive and does more damage many times than it solves any problems.  I feel as though if everyone took the time to understand what is going on, we would form much more educated and right decisions regarding what to do to keep our country performing at its best. 

My goals

I think my short term goal for peace is to be more open and accepting of people around me.  I think if its even something as simple as a smile, it still makes a difference.  They say a thousand mile journey starts with a single step, so I think this would be my first step.  I think by nature I'm an independent, closed-off person, so sometimes people are quick to judge but hopefully my new goal will help  me to be more open and acknowledge people around me.  My long term goal has always been and will always be to visit South Africa and help little kids there. My dad is a doctor and he went one time with a group of doctors and I got to hear and see what happened along his journey.  It was really eye opening.  Instead of going to help them with health issues, I want to maybe supply food and just talk with them and see what they are going through.  I think it would be a really neat experience and also help me to learn that people who don't have nearly as much as we do have a much for peaceful life.

Inner Peace

I believe that the only way to reach inner peace is to simply accept what is and believe that everything happens for a reason.  Inner peace makes a person in general a happier person.  A lot of times from personal experience, I know its hard to find our inner peace.  There are obstacles that happen in our everyday life that disrupt our inner peace.  Whenever this happens to me, instead of over thinking the situation and getting frustrated over it, I try to think of alternative ways to get over it and again, accept that fact that everything happens for a reason.  When one door closes, a window opens is what I always keep in mind.  If you have the will to do something there is a way.  But to accomplish anything you have to find your inner peace and be confident in who you are.

Homophobic Bullying

Homophobia is a problem all across the U.S. Many people are scared to express how they feel because they are so scared they might get made fun of.  I don't think gays should be bullied because you can't help how you feel for someone, even someone of the same sex. However, I do think it's a problem when the relationship is being taken to the next step, such as, when gays or lesbians go to get married because I feel as though marriage should be between a man and a women. I also think it tends to be a problem when these couples wants to have a baby.  I think that complicates the babies life and just puts their child in a very uncomfortable situation as they grow older. I don't think it should be allowed because it puts the child in a situation where they are most likely to get made fun of or bullied because they have 2 dads or 2 moms which is not the norm. Again, I have no problem with gays and lesbians seeing each other and they by no means should be bullied because of it.  They have a freedom of rights too and shouldn't be looked down upon because of it.  That's how God created them and they can't change or help that. I only see it as a problem when its being taken to the next level.  Again, I think everything should be done to not let bullying happen to these kids.  Bullying in general can lead to very harmful and sometimes fatal situations and with no doubt needs to come to an end. 

Egypt

Egypt has been under reign of Husni Mubarak for about 3 decades now.  Despite of what Egyptians want, he has kind of just been ruling the country on his own without acknowledging what his people want.  Everything changed recently when Egyptians actually started to rebel from their own leadership.  It all started from social networks like Facebook and Twitter. To think that social networks could spark something to go down in history is pretty amazing. Egyptians started from social networks and gathered followers and started their riots and protests in the streets of Egypt. Many were injured but it was important for Egyptians to fight for freedom. I mean who wants a ruler that listens to nothing his people want? After 18 days of the Egyptians putting up their best fight, Mubarak finally decides to step down.  Tears of joy spread all across the country as the Egyptians finally felt "free."
I think it was so surprising to see such a dedicated group of people fight for what they want.  Even when their government tried to hurt them and block internet social networking websites, they always found a way to fight back. They never gave up which to me just shows such a great bunch of people who truly just want the best for Egyptians as a whole. Thirty years of being ruled by someone who doesn't really care for the country to me is sad. I don't think any country should have to deal with such an unfair ruler.  Just like how it is in the United States, I believe it should be majority rules.  Something else that I don't like is that they are thinking about putting Mubarak's son up for election despite the fact that his son does not want to run for election. I think that if they elect his son the Egyptians would be making a huge mistake because he may potentially just make the same mistakes his father had been making for 3 decades of ruling.

Oasis of Peace Memo

To: 1311 Students                                                                                                                          

 From: Sarah Alhatib                                                                                                                                                                    Date: February 14, 2011                                                                                                                                                          Subject: The Oasis of Peace                                                                                                                                                       Overview                                                                                                                                 

Oasis of Peace, Neve Shalom or Wahat al-Salam, is an organization that brings together the Palestinian Arab and Jewish that live in Israel.  These two groups will engage in work that will allow them to understand the opposite group and work together to establish peace.  There is a “School of Peace” that was established in 1979 in the middle of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The school really teaches students how to coexist and how to compromise even though they come with totally different views about many issues they have in common.  There are other organizations such as the “Creativity for Peace,” which also helps the coexistence of Palestinians and Jews.                                                            

 Communication                                                                                                                                                                    It communicates with the community by having an up and running website. The website gives updated information on what activities and programs are going on now.  On the website, itself, there are videos of what kinds of topics that are talked about when all the girls join together.  There is room to blog or write comments on the website on any question, concern or comment you might have! The website is very nicely formatted that you could reach all the information that you wish to know in a few short clicks. It is very simplified for the convenience of the audience. This organization also allows many people to come visit them in person. On the website, it tells you all about the wonderful activities and programs that they offer visitors.  They even have a hotel that the visitors can stay in for easy access to all events around them.  Another way they spread the word is by the school that they established. “School of Peace” brings Palestinians and Jews together at an early age to learn and accept the other religion.  I believe the more they inform these kids of what’s going in their countries early on, it will give these kids a chance to grow up and change how things are in their country.  We hope that we can make these kids the future leaders of the country.                                                                                                                      

Solves a Problem                                                                                                                                                                        The problem that this organization solves is violence and hate between two groups of people who are similar in so many ways. It gives them the opportunity to express how they feel in an appropriate way that can lead to discussion about the issue. They are so accustomed to hating the other side, but when they get together they see that there are so many ways that the issue their countries have been fighting for years about can be resolved. They see the good in the other group and we hope that more and more people like them come together and solve problems in a civil manner rather than fighting about it.  I believe if these kids follow through and stay strong together they could grow up and solve this ongoing problem.  Just from the videos and what the girls say afterwards, they seem like they have a really strong feeling about being able to make a difference. 

Building Peace

I think educating women is just as important as educating men. I believe if we had more people like Greg Mortinson, many of our underdeveloped countries would be on the right road to educating their women and kids. These kids aren’t getting the chance to reach their full potential as individuals. It’s sort of unfair to the kids because they don’t have the resources to be all they can be.  If we pushed them in the right direction, I’m sure their living environment as a whole would be different.  I don’t think being girl or boy matters.  Honestly girls have the same potential as men, so putting men first in education is unfair. I believe they do this just because its sort of become tradition in these countries to put men before women.  This is something I just don’t agree with and definitely would be a reason why I, personally, would choose to help these underdeveloped countries.

Another issue I have besides education is the health issue.  I think its so sad that kids under the age of five are actually dying because they don’t have clean water to drink.  Living in such a powerful country, you really take just having clean water for granted. Personally, I don’t really take having clean water as something big or something to be thankful for. After watching this film segment, you really start to think about your life and how you are living it compared to the less fortunate.  For example, going to school could be the hardest thing we have to do.  We complain so much about getting up early and going to our big nice schools. However, in the other countries people look forward to education and really want it to do good in life.