Being from America, i tend to look at the war from the perspective of an American. Although I like to think that I can understand both sides, this simply is not true at all. The fact is that The United States never gets invaded because we are too busy invading other countries. A country as powerful as ours doesn't have to worry about being invaded. For this reason, we will never really know what it is like to be invaded. Countries in the Middle East, such as Iraq, have to worry for their lives every day whether they are on our side or not. I don't know about you, but if some unwanted country came into my land and killed my family, I would feel very hostile towards that country. This act would incline many to become suicide bombers, because their hate for that country has become so intense. When I think about innocent families dying because of us, my perspective changes a little. Many Americans express their hate for Middle Eastern people for different reasons, but sometimes we don't realize that the feeling is definitely mutual. In my opinion, America has far too much power. We go in to countries we have no business invading, often times for questionable reasons. It isn't fair to allow a country to do this. It causes the death of many innocent people. I think that there are much better ways of coming to a solution than invading a country and killing thousands of innocent civilians.
Sometimes I wonder why America hasn't spent their time going into other countries, where our presence might be productive. Getting involved in countries in Africa that need our help would seem to be far more productive than invading countries in the Middle East, wouldn't it? The only thing is that Africa doesn't have oil like the Middle East does, and it seems as though that is all our country cares about. Although I had never looked at it from the perspective of those in the Middle East, I have to understand, in a way, where they are coming from. Our society's view of a terrorist is a mindless, heartless person who has no reason for being so hostile, except perhaps because of religion, which sometimes can be true. But it isn't the only reason terrorists can be so hostile towards our country. What we don't realize is that we kill the families of these "terrorists", and that many of us would act with the same sort of hate if a ruthless military came in to our country and did the same thing to us. What we need to do is look at the war from the perspective of the Middle East, and understand that these terrorists aren't completely insane for having some sort of hate against the United States.

Although I understand the anger that many people are feeling towards the census, I don't believe that it is the census' fault for angering so many peope. I think that people are just looking for trouble instead of looking at it from the perspective of the Census. No matter what, someone is always going to be unhappy with the different options that are put on the survey. It's not like the census is trying to be racist. The main purpose of this is to figure out the number if people in the population, and there is no perfect way to list each race/ethnicity. Many people also complain because the census is infamous for being a big pain. There is no doubt that the census people have done their work to make sure that they can satisfy as many people as possible, but no matter what, not everyone can be satisfied. Some Blacks will want to be referred to as African Americans, while others may want to be recognized as "negro" or black. Many hispanics could also be white. There are an endless number of conflicts that can arise because of this. What it comes down to is the fact that we cannot accurately establish race or ethnicity in this world and that someone will always be offended. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to make this better, and there are always going to be flaws. We are just going to have to realize that people will be offended no matter what, and they are just going to have to accept it.

I was honestly shock after reading this article. I was unaware that we still live in a country that allows this to happen. Having read many of the posts before mine, I have learned that my reaction is similar to the reaction of most people. I think that it is ridiculous to cancel prom for an entire school because of one gay couple. Honestly, I thought that we were past that. Ten years ago I could see this happening, but I was unaware that something this ridiculous could still actually happen. I do understand that Mississippi is no California or New York, and that their views on such issues have always been somewhat conservative, but to see this happen just shocks me. Perhaps if it was a private school, or religiously affiliated, I would understand, but to see this happen at a public school is just a little ridiculous. To me, canceling an entire prom seems a bit extreme. To ban these two individuals, although still very unnecessary, would seem to make a lot more sense. Do we seriously still live in a society that can't accept the sexual orientations of others? Every day I see articles in the news about the steps our country is taking towards being more hospitable to gay couples, but apparently not in Mississippi. To cancel the school prom, although it may not seem like a big deal, is quite an extreme action. Personally, I'm not into the whole prom thing, but many consider prom to be one of the most memorable high school events. It is a big step as a high schooler who is about to graduate. Many students look forward to prom for years, and to take it away from an entire school is bizarre. So much planning goes into prom. Think about the prices the students payed for their tuxedos and dresses, their prom tickets, etc. Think about the money the school payed for the equipment and the food and the band. Is Mississippi not aware of the steps our country has taken towards LGBT issues? I was under the influence that the concept was now accepted to a large extent. I think the school has made a huge mistake here, and I believe that they will suffer for it. Unfortunately, the students who attend the school will be the ones who are distracted and therefore prevented from focusing on school. I feel bad for these kids because their school will be all over the media because of the irresponsible choice of the school staff. For this to happen in Mississippi is not as surprising, however if this happened in my hometown, I am almost certain that there would be outrage. The government needs to step in and make sure that something is done, because in our society today, this is unacceptable.

I found this story to be very inspiring, but at the same time, somewhat saddening. Until Sam had talked about it in class the other day, I never really thought about the selectiveness of American companies and their ability to find talent. A lot of times, company's probably hire employees just to fill there positions. The only thing that might be required of a person who works in business is a college degree. I know that it is a process that works well in America, and its not like we are going to go outside our borders to find employees (especially in countries such as Haiti), but it is unfortunate to talent like Yvrose in such poor conditions. It is too bad that many people don't get the opportunity to excel the way that many of us do. This story also made me think deeply about the opportunities that I have been given. Despite the countless positive opportunities that I am given, a lot of the time I find myself not taking advantage of these opportunities. This story has helped me realize what I have, and what I should take advantage of. If a person like Yvrose were to be in my shoes, there is no doubt in my mind that she would climb the corporate ladder to the top. She would work hard and look positively on all of her fortunes. I cannot always say the same about myself, but maybe it is because I don't know any different? Someone coming from conditions like those in Haiti, thrown into conditions like ours, would undoubtably take advantage of the many new opportunities. The reality is, however unfortunate it may be, that people like Yvrose will never have these opportunity, despite their talents. Before reading this article, I never considered the number of people who had it like Yvrose. Only so many of us are presented with the opportunity to succeed and it is unfortunate to see many people, possibly even myself, unworthy of such success. Many people are so ungrateful for what is handed to them, but it is a system that involves getting lucky. Not everyone can be born into countries like the United States, where success is always possible. It inspired me to see Yvrose and what she had done with her limited resources. Maybe one day she will be recognized for her talent, however unlikely that may be. Unfortunately, we are not all equal as human beings. Luck, location, and even where you are born will always play a role in a person's ability to be successful. In America, a person could work as little as they pleased and still land a great job if they are born into a well respected family. This person might not possess any talent or skill whatsoever, but it is the system which we live in, and it is definitely unfair. It's too bad that things are unlikely to change, as we are not all given the same opportunities in life.

It's hard to really appreciate another language without exposure to these different cultures. Here in America, many of us feel that English is the only language, because it is what we speak and what we know. In addition, it's one of the most spoken languages on the planet. Many times, I find myself feeling the same way. And when I'm not speaking English, I find myself speaking other popular languages such as Spanish or German because they could possibly be beneficial to my future. Most people living in the United States will probably not come in contact with more than a dozen languages in their entire lifetime, however I think its mind blowing to consider how many languages are really spoken in our world. Although I'm sure the number of spoken languages are rapidly decreasing, which is evident in the video with the loss of the Bo language, I never really thought about the number of languages that have been developed over time and the number of different cultures and lifestyles that go along with them. It is crazy to think that each language has an entirely different history. Unfortunately, as time goes on and we our planet continues to develop technologically, the number of languages spoken will likely only decrease even further because of our decreasing need for them. I think that this is a terrible thing, but it is also something that is unavoidable. Because it is becoming increasing possible for people of different countries to travel and trade internationally, and because many people are moving towards cities, our society has lost many languages.
I think that it's scary to think that someday our language will be lost, just as the Bo language has been. I can't imagine how much history was behind the language, just as there is a lot of history behind the English language. Millions of people speak English today, and to think that someday there will only be one more person that speaks it is an intense thought. And although that time may or may not be a long way down the road, it will come nevertheless. To me, the loss of the language is more than just the loss of an entire culture. It is the loss of an entire history, full of relationships and struggles. With the loss of each language, our world loses a chunk of history. After watching the video of the Bo language, I was intrigued by the uniqueness. It didn't sound like any other language that I had heard before. It also made me wonder how many other languages like the Bo language were out there, on the verge of extinction. Many languages, once spoken by thousands, possibly millions, share the same unfortunate fate as the Bo language. It is my hope that their cultures and history won't be lost with them.

To be honest, the first time I saw the trailer for Avatar I thought it would just be another eccentric science fiction movie. After the movie came out, I began to hear good things about it, so I decided to see it against my better judgement. In actuality, the movie was pretty good. It wasn't much what I had expected. While watching it, I thought of the movie as nothing more than your typical romantic comedy with a big sci-fi twist. Even after the movie, I felt no differently - it was entertaining, which is honestly the reason that we see movies. Although I was entertained, I didn't really think much of it until I read David Brooks' article on the White Messiah.

At times I think Brooks' argument is far too in depth, and that when it comes down to it, Avatar is just a movie. I do, however, believe that his argument is reasonable. I don't think that we can criticize one movie in-particular for constantly creating this "white savior". We see this time and time again in many movies today, and Avatar is just another example of such a movie. The white hero is a very common theme in movies today. In some way or another, this white savior always beats impossible odds to save a group of people of a different race or background. I never realized this before reading Brooks' article, perhaps because I am white. Maybe in order to fully understand, I would have to have different skin color.

On the other hand, I think Brooks may be looking a little too deeply into the movie. I believe that in many movies there is a "white savior" and that's probably because the white race is viewed as superior by our society. Because Jesus was white, and because the white race rules throughout our world, we portray our heros as white instead of dark. So, yes there is some truth to Brooks article. However, it's not like there aren't movies with different races portrayed as the savior as well. For example, I saw The Book of Eli in theaters a few weeks ago, and in it, Denzel Washington plays the role of a prophet who has to save the last bible. In this movie, the savior is black. You could list the number of movies with "white saviors", and I'm sure you would find a lot more of this type of movie than not, but I think Avatar was a movie that was designed to entertain an audience, not to offend anyone.

While I do believe that there is a lot of truth to Brooks' article, I don't think it should be blamed on just one movie. It is true that many times we see this "white savior" come into a different environment to save an entirely different and inferior race. I think there are many reasons why this might happen. Possibly because the producers and directors themselves are white, or because the majority of the audience may be white, but no one knows for sure. In the end, however, people watch movies to be entertained - and lets be honest, any movie could be deeply analyzed and found guilty of the same crime that is racism.

Watching this video opened my eyes to the severity of racism that is demonstrated in European soccer. Because soccer is the premier sport in Europe, and by far the most popular sport in the world, we see racist groups like these demonstrating their hate at a stage that is bigger than any other. It is very disappointing to see racism demonstrated like this at the most popular sporting even in the world. For Americans, seeing these acts of hate are somewhat unexpected. I for one was under the impression that America was one of the leading countries in demonstrating racism, however, nothing so severe takes place in our sporting events these days.

It would be foolish to say that racism doesn't exist in Europe, but I am surprised to see that it exists on such a stage as the World Cup and has continued to go unaddressed. My thought is that most Americans believe that the severity of racism vanished after the Civil Rights movement. While this may have been the case for the United States, it seems like in Europe, racism may be on the rise. Although we did have the Civil Rights movement take place almost a half century ago, this may be due in part to the fact that so many more minorities were living within our borders. In Europe, many blacks from Africa are beginning to immigrate to Europe, something that Europeans may not be used to. If this is the case, there would be no better place to demonstrate one's opinion on the matter. Seeing such hatred is terrible, especially against a single player, and I believe that something needs to be done to stop it. Doing nothing will only allow things to escalate, and on such a large stage, it illustrates to the entire world how hateful mankind really is. To be honest, these acts are just destroying the worlds most beloved game, and it is unacceptable.

To see that these actions are still tolerated in today's world is something that many of us were previously unaware of. The cruelty that is seen in this video; to cheer against your own team, your own country because of the color of a players skin demonstrates a type of hatred that is very sad to see. FIFA claims that they have taken action against this and that it will not be tolerated, but what good will it do if the fans are not punished? It is extremely surprising for me to see that nothing is being done about it. It shows that the worlds biggest sport is tolerating extreme acts of racism. The fans are the source of the problem, and while actions are not being taken, it only allows the problem to grow. I honestly hope that these problems can be addressed soon, because players who devote their lives to play for their country are being treated inhumanely. No player would want to play for a country who's fans act this way and it should not be tolerated.

sweet

Since the moment that I was born, I was raised to believe that there was a greater power. Throughout my entire academic career, I have been lead to believe that Jesus was sacrificed for the good of mankind, that we were saved despite our sins, and that everything happens for a reason. Although we are all unaware of whether these teachings are true or not, Laurie makes a good point about sacrifice. I believe that the crucifixion of Jesus was a monumental sacrifice, but I also believe that sacrifice and crucifixion can come in many ways and forms. I think Laurie’s post gives us a chance to reflect on the events that took place in Haiti.

Geographically, Haiti is a country that isn’t considered to be “safe”, by any means, from a natural disaster such as an earthquake. So theoretically, and most probably, it was just a coincidence that this massive earthquake took place at all. The most powerful countries like the United States never seem to have disasters so monumental, and the disaster that Katrina created is just a fraction of what the earthquake in Haiti has induced. So it just seems wrong to inflict so much pain on an already hurting country. Although we can debate why the earthquake took place in Haiti, and not in a country that some would consider more deserving, the truth is that it did take place there, and no one will ever know why.

When Jesus was sacrificed, it was said that he saved the human race. Today, many of us are so focused on materialistic things that we believe are “necessary” to live. Laurie talks about self importance and the realization of this disaster. After she talks to her Haitian friend, she describes that she no longer needs her possessions and her hopes. Perhaps this disaster was meant inform us that we are all too concerned with our own well-being, and this sacrifice was meant to better our own souls. Perhaps no higher power was involved in this disaster, but either way, the earthquake will benefit the rest of man-kind in that it will help us realize that some things are unexplainable in terms of their reason and their magnitude. I believe that the suffering of the nation of Haiti will help us all realize that there are more important things in our lives then our own possessions and dreams, as Laurie does. I do believe that it will pull us away from our own sins that are greed, jealousy, and desire and a list of traits that goes on and on.

In the end, I don’t necessarily believe that this earthquake was caused by God. No one will ever know. The suffering in Haiti is monumental, and maybe, hopefully, mankind will sacrifice some of their greatest desires, which are their greatest sins, to help aid this suffering country. Maybe the human race will learn from this terrible disaster, if nothing else. Disaster of this proportion may be hard to fathom and reason, but it is something we can all help relieve no matter who summoned this monstrous disaster.

Since the moment that I was born, I was raised to believe that there was a greater power. Throughout my entire academic career, I have been lead to believe that Jesus was sacrificed for the good of mankind, that we were saved despite our sins, and that everything happens for a reason. Although we are all unaware of whether these teachings are true or not, Laurie makes a good point about sacrifice. I believe that the crucifixion of Jesus was a monumental sacrifice, but I also believe that sacrifice and crucifixion can come in many ways and forms. I think Laurie’s post gives us a chance to reflect on the events that took place in Haiti.
Geographically, Haiti is a country that isn’t considered to be “safe”, by any means, from a natural disaster such as an earthquake. So theoretically, and most probably, it was just a coincidence that this massive earthquake took place at all. The most powerful countries like the United States never seem to have disasters so monumental, and the disaster that Katrina created is just a fraction of what the earthquake in Haiti has induced. So it just seems wrong to inflict so much pain on an already hurting country. Although we can debate why the earthquake took place in Haiti, and not in a country that some would consider more deserving, the truth is that it did take place there, and no one will ever know why.
When Jesus was sacrificed, it was said that he saved the human race. Today, many of us are so focused on materialistic things that we believe are “necessary” to live. Laurie talks about self importance and the realization of this disaster. After she talks to her Haitian friend, she describes that she no longer needs her possessions and her hopes. Perhaps this disaster was meant inform us that we are all too concerned with our own well-being, and this sacrifice was meant to better our own souls. Perhaps no higher power was involved in this disaster, but either way, the earthquake will benefit the rest of man-kind in that it will help us realize that some things are unexplainable in terms of their reason and their magnitude. I believe that the suffering of the nation of Haiti will help us all realize that there are more important things in our lives then our own possessions and dreams, as Laurie does. I do believe that it will pull us away from our own sins that are greed, jealousy, and desire and a list of traits that goes on and on.
In the end, I don’t necessarily believe that this earthquake was caused by God. No one will ever know. The suffering in Haiti is monumental, and maybe, hopefully, mankind will sacrifice some of their greatest desires, which are their greatest sins, to help aid this suffering country. Maybe the human race will learn from this terrible disaster, if nothing else. Disaster of this proportion may be hard to fathom and reason, but it is something we can all help relieve no matter who summoned this monstrous disaster.