I was reading some bad news yesterday, mostly about the continuing war in Afghanistan. It is a sad and terrible thing that, by now, we have not resolved anything, but have just made relations worse. Koran burning in a pile of trash? A writer saying that, "People who consider a book more sacred than human life really aren't worth fighting for."? (The Week 10 March 2012, Controversy of the week) Marines urinating on dead Afghans (The Week)? Are you serious? This is really what we are down to after more than 10 years of fighting?
I was shocked by all of this news because I thought, out of all of the countries in the world, the US (who is famous for being the Melting Pot of cultures, beliefs, and languages) is at the head of all of these controversial problems. Where are the officers who should be reprimanding the people responsible for burning the Korans? Would we not be horrified and enraged if someone burned our bible, our flag, or a copy of our Constitution or Declaration of Independence? I know that I would be infuriated by such an act, so that is why we need to understand how great the foul up was. We should offer a bigger apology than just President Obama's. Though one man represents our nation, he is not our complete voice.
The world may be populated by one type of being, but we are all different. All cultures have evolved differently, and our world has become an interesting place because of it. My job as an exchange student is to learn about different cultures, learn why certain things are important, why some things are taboo, and respect those distinctions. Sure, seeing a group of people worshipping something that is inanimate is strange, and when it is a large group, it is scary, but we should be willing to listen and understand why they do what they do, because when we immediately shut them off, label them as dangerous, and show media coverage of the "bad" things that they do, we are denying them the chance to defend themselves and we are rejecting a chance to understand our world. We all have something worth fighting for; whether it is religion, family, or a personal belief, we fight with equal might for anyone. If someone wants to fight for a book, let them. If you fight to protect people, then fight for them. You fight for someone because you see that they are the kind of person that the world needs more of, regardless of their beliefs. Because someone's beliefs do not correlate with your own is not a good enough reason to refuse to fight for them.
And as for the Marines, that is just disrespectful. The rule, "Treat others as you wish you wish to be treated," applies directly. There would be a huge ruckus raised if the reverse happened. What kind of things happen to a person to make them think that urinating on the dead is okay? Not only is this un-civil to the victims, it is insubordinate to what our military stands for. Do we really wish to be viewed as a world giant that does whatever it likes just because it has the power to fight off an repercussions? That is ridiculous. There is a code of respect that we all should follow, and pissing on the dead goes against such code. Those Marines, and anyone that engages in acts similar to it, should face consequences that are in proportion to their crime. How disgraceful.
Our world was created for us. To appreciate all that we have, we should all be willing to understand one another. The Rotary International President's motto this year is, "Reach from within to embrace humanity." I believe that this exemplifies what we, as exchange students, are doing. We all gave a year, just a single year of our life, to travel abroad, and learn about a culture completely different from our own, all with an open heart. We, at our young ages, already understand how important it is to get out of our comfort zone and expand our horizons, all so that we can help make the world a better place. I truly believe that the world would be a better place if every student went on exchange to somewhere in the world, for a month, a semester, or even a year. Our world is gigantic, so why stay in just a tiny part all of your life?
Despite our differences, were are Humanity. We owe it to each other to give everyone a chance.
I was shocked by all of this news because I thought, out of all of the countries in the world, the US (who is famous for being the Melting Pot of cultures, beliefs, and languages) is at the head of all of these controversial problems. Where are the officers who should be reprimanding the people responsible for burning the Korans? Would we not be horrified and enraged if someone burned our bible, our flag, or a copy of our Constitution or Declaration of Independence? I know that I would be infuriated by such an act, so that is why we need to understand how great the foul up was. We should offer a bigger apology than just President Obama's. Though one man represents our nation, he is not our complete voice.
The world may be populated by one type of being, but we are all different. All cultures have evolved differently, and our world has become an interesting place because of it. My job as an exchange student is to learn about different cultures, learn why certain things are important, why some things are taboo, and respect those distinctions. Sure, seeing a group of people worshipping something that is inanimate is strange, and when it is a large group, it is scary, but we should be willing to listen and understand why they do what they do, because when we immediately shut them off, label them as dangerous, and show media coverage of the "bad" things that they do, we are denying them the chance to defend themselves and we are rejecting a chance to understand our world. We all have something worth fighting for; whether it is religion, family, or a personal belief, we fight with equal might for anyone. If someone wants to fight for a book, let them. If you fight to protect people, then fight for them. You fight for someone because you see that they are the kind of person that the world needs more of, regardless of their beliefs. Because someone's beliefs do not correlate with your own is not a good enough reason to refuse to fight for them.
And as for the Marines, that is just disrespectful. The rule, "Treat others as you wish you wish to be treated," applies directly. There would be a huge ruckus raised if the reverse happened. What kind of things happen to a person to make them think that urinating on the dead is okay? Not only is this un-civil to the victims, it is insubordinate to what our military stands for. Do we really wish to be viewed as a world giant that does whatever it likes just because it has the power to fight off an repercussions? That is ridiculous. There is a code of respect that we all should follow, and pissing on the dead goes against such code. Those Marines, and anyone that engages in acts similar to it, should face consequences that are in proportion to their crime. How disgraceful.
Our world was created for us. To appreciate all that we have, we should all be willing to understand one another. The Rotary International President's motto this year is, "Reach from within to embrace humanity." I believe that this exemplifies what we, as exchange students, are doing. We all gave a year, just a single year of our life, to travel abroad, and learn about a culture completely different from our own, all with an open heart. We, at our young ages, already understand how important it is to get out of our comfort zone and expand our horizons, all so that we can help make the world a better place. I truly believe that the world would be a better place if every student went on exchange to somewhere in the world, for a month, a semester, or even a year. Our world is gigantic, so why stay in just a tiny part all of your life?
Despite our differences, were are Humanity. We owe it to each other to give everyone a chance.