en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3548731 Comments by DevinFlynn http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/29/voices-from-the-classroom-83/#IDComment231414620 My personal views after seeing the videos that dealt with our United States Army overseas have not been changed. My views dealing with this situation were changed a couple years ago actually when a friend of a friend returned from serving his time in the military. We sat down and asked him how it was over there to understand a first hand experience explained to us in person. He was trained and served as a controller of a tank, and he went on to tell us how they have been trained to literally kill anything or anyone who looks as if they are posing a threat to the tank so as to maintain there safety. A person could simply be throwing a rock, but thought to be throwing a grenade because they are not allowed to be too cautious. It was very disturbing to me because the man even talked about doing these things as if it happened everyday and was never thought twice about. I would not say they are “brainwashed”, but they are definitely not thinking straight minded. I have and always will view our troops fighting for our country as the main reason they are over there. I also do believe that a few people become a little too trigger happy, and they abuse their power and strength. Obviously, not all of our soldiers feel and act this way or else we would not be considered an army. There is a thick line between fighting for your country and just plain fighting out of spite. For example, the video of the tank rolling over the same car more than once was completely unnecessary and is a perfect sight to see how people get out of control over there. This type of situation just makes you sit back and realize that everything is not always what it seems to be. Of course this type of behavior would never be publicized on t.v so America would have no way of knowing. The overall view is that everyone who puts on that United States Army uniform is a hero, but many are just people who had nowhere else to go but the Army. It is extremely sad to say, but reality should be noticed. When it comes to my views on supporting our troops; those will always remain the same. Regardless of how harsh they may act, which should never ever happen, they are still risking their lives for the good of our country. That alone deserves my respect, and I could not agree with that any more. My views that changed the most were about how I used to generalize all Middle Easterners. They are fearing for their lives everyday, and I couldn’t feel any worse for those people over there who are just trying to live their regular lives. Fri, 2 Dec 2011 01:30:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/29/voices-from-the-classroom-83/#IDComment231414620 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-78/#IDComment225450616 The scandal surrounding Penn State these past few weeks is one of the most disturbing situations I have ever heard of or have been involved in in my life. I have taken away some important life lessons from this entire situation as well though. For instance, regardless of what Joe Paterno did, whenever I am faced with a situation that needs dealing with, it needs to be dealt with then and now. Nothing of any importance should ever be put on hold. It will only get worse with more time as we can plainly see happened with the Sandusky example. I can make a promise to myself to always be proactive in these types of situations, so I can be the main stopper to problems that may arise. I also realized through this tough time how under the radar sexual abused victims are. This problem needs to be brought to the attention of the public more often. In my eyes, sexual abuse should be realized as much as race issues or any other major topic. Thousands of people who have been abused at some point in their life live their lives in silence because of the shame or embarrassment they may feel. They need more support than we realize on a regular basis because people simply overlook this topic of discussion. This is awful, but it is reality. Throughout my life I could live with more awareness for these victims by showing my support in different ways. For example, if I were to ever come across a victim; I would always be open to talking to them if they needed a friend. These people do not deserve to be treated differently or ridiculed that they were violated against their will. This type of treatment causes them to hold in their emotions and stories of what happened in their lives. More damage is done to the person by holding in these secrets, even if they are not telling people by choice. Another main lesson I took away from this experience is to watch the way I talk sometimes. People drop the terms “gay”, “rape”, and other slurs on a daily basis without realizing the impact of what some of the words actually mean. I know I have done this in joking with my own friends, and this is not a funny subject. People could overhear these comments sometimes and be one of these distraught victims themselves. Who knows who is around when people say the things they do. That is why these comments are better left unsaid, which is how I will handle it when I feel the need to crack a stupid insignificant joke on one of my friends. This world could be a much better place if people just had more respect. Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:25:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-78/#IDComment225450616 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/09/voices-from-the-classroom-32/#IDComment219515632 This is a very interesting comparison to take into consideration. Does money really not coincide with living a happier life? Some people would automatically agree to this fact of course. Money takes the stress off families that are pressured to make more and survive. People feel that they can do more when they have money, and they are not restricted to things they can not afford. This will bring happiness to a lot of people out there because the world is too large of a population for that not to be the case. Sadly, there are greedy people out there who feel as if they need money to be happy. True happiness though can come to those who have absolutely nothing. What defines happiness? Good health for you and your family? Being with the one you love? Situations in life can bring more happiness that people even realize most of the time. The people who do not know about the happiness one feels from people such as their own family are the ones who never had the experience much at all growing up. Maybe they didn’t have the things in life that money can’t buy to shape their view if happiness. I can vouch for money bringing me happiness in my own life. This was because it paid for things such as vacations I went on with my friends and family and had the times of my life. Memories like those mean the most, and they have the ability to bring you happiness at any given moment. I have made memories such as these by simply hanging out at my own house with a bunch of people or at the beach on a beautiful summer day. Having friends also plays a huge role in being an overall happy person. People tend to be more depressed on top of what is already wrong in their lives when they do not have the people they can count on to be there when they need it. Money fills that gap for a lot of people, but on the inside they will always have that emptiness or loneliness. Now I know money is essential to survive in this world unless you want to live on the streets, and everybody in this world gets happiness from surviving. All I am saying is that a person can be happy before and after they get their slice of the amount of money out there in the world. My mother grew up next to broke with 3 brothers and parents who supported them enough to get by. She had a pretty basic childhood, but she probably also had one of the happiest ones because of the way her family was connected. Wed, 9 Nov 2011 21:46:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/09/voices-from-the-classroom-32/#IDComment219515632 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-59/#IDComment216082666 The only real times I ever felt out of place around people talking different languages are when they are also looking at you. I actually feel like I am learning most of the time besides those awkward glances some people may give me. Growing up I took French from about 7th grade to junior year of high school, and I became quite good at understanding. My family and I actually visited to Europe where practically everybody was speaking French around us, but we enjoyed picking up on the culture. It is an entire learning experience. This question also caught my eye because coincidentally I live with one of my best friends here at school who is bilingual. He is fluent in English and Spanish, and he talks on the phone regularly with his parents. So much, in fact, that I have learned multiple phrases this year from just living in the same apartment as him. Becoming more familiar with other languages makes it easier to go out and react when being surrounded by alternate languages in everyday life. I wish that I was able to talk in a different language and carry a full on conversion with somebody who was fluent. It is actually a very strong characteristic of a person in my eyes and is important to be able to do. Think about the students that travel here from other countries to try and learn nonetheless from teachers who speak another native language. I cringe to imagine how I would struggle if I travelled across seas to other colleges where my language was thought of as the alternative. Do we ever stop to think that maybe they feel out of place because everybody speaks English around them without even thinking about i ? In our sociology group, there is a Korean girl who refrains from talking because of her self-consciousness about speaking the right way. We all encourage her to not be shy, and we actually discovered that her English is quite clear when she speaks up. It felt good to help somebody who felt out of place at first. It must be hard to adapt, and I know I would appreciate assistance if I could not speak or understand the local language. I can easily see where discomfort would come in in certain situations. I used to be a bus boy at a couple restaurants where people would ask certain things in English, but then also discuss amongst themselves in their own tongue. I would always assume they were talking about me and how slow I was moving or if I had screwed up in any way. Not saying I did ever, but the change in speech definitely made me wonder a lot. Thu, 3 Nov 2011 02:41:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-59/#IDComment216082666 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/27/voices-from-the-classroom-55/#IDComment213671688 Immigration is a highly debated topic in our society today. While I believe that everyone in this world deserves the same chance, immigration is also causing many problems for our society. These include, but are certainly not limited to, our economy, drug use, the sex trade, and the over population of our country. Immigrants who enter this country illegally provide a strong work ethic for a cheaper price. While this helps the business owners, it is deteriorating our economy. Many americans who are in debt, would gladly take these jobs, however, are striped away of the opportunity because of illegal immigrants. If business owners were to give these jobs to our American citizens, they would have to pay them more. Overall the opportunity cost of illegal immigrants providing cheap labor for our business owners is increasing. Next, the drug and sex trade is a tremendous issue in illegal immigrations. Not only is sex trade a disgusting problem, but there is no end in sight. Also, the drug trade from illegal immigrants is a main source of where the illegal drugs come from. Lastly, with our country in extreme debt, we cannot afford to be over populated. Although it may seem barbaric, we must start taking care of our citizens first, then think about the other countries. For a moment lets discuss legal immigrants. They have come here and have made a personal decision to become a citizen for this country all for one reason: because America has much more promise for them than their home land. There is a huge difference between coming here legally, paying taxes, and making your own way versus sneaking behind the scenes the entire time. I believe in America being a Meritocracy. I do not believe in the re-distribution of wealth. I believe that the entire beauty of America is that any individual has the opportunity to come to this country, or even if you’re born here, to make a name for yourself. For example, my father came from nothing and now works for a major company. As for a solution, I do believe that everyone deserves a chance. America, being the melting pot that it is, provides a promising opportunity for those seeking change. I think that maybe the process to enter and become a citizen in this country is too strick and too expensive. It takes many years and sometimes those needing to escape cannot wait. For example, once I had a teacher who was form Korea. It took him over seven years to come to this country when all he was trying to do was create a name for himself. As for the drug and slave trade, I supported what Arizona was doing in asking individuals to see thier papers. I do not think that this is racial profiling, I believe its just taking the steps necessary for change. Sat, 29 Oct 2011 01:02:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/27/voices-from-the-classroom-55/#IDComment213671688 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/20/voices-from-the-classroom-51/#IDComment210692544 When it comes to categorizing somebody as a poser; certain things need to be realized about the individual themselves. What if the one white guy or black guy grew up in a town where it was predominantly the other race? What if they simply enjoyed hanging out with their friends regardless of what the skin color was? There is a major difference between these types of people and posers. In my opinion, posers are the people who are not even hanging out with the opposite race; but at the same time, try to imitate the way they do. For example, people that change the way they talk from their ordinary lingo would be considered posers to me more than people who hang out with a different clique of race. People can also portray this same style of posing through the clothes they wear or the music they listen to. I’m not creating any connection to a style of music for a particular race in this situation, but more of a person trying to take on the new music of the particular race to fit in better. If a person were indeed a poser, then I would feel like the group of opposite race that they are trying to portray would not want to even hang out with them. You can tell posers when they act the way they do because it is actually quite obvious. I grew up in a town where it was majority white, but also a lot of black people as well. I have more black friends than I can count honestly, and I have been the token white guy before in a room hanging out. Does that qualify me as a poser ? I would really hope not. I also don’t consider the black friend of mine whose there at the time when it’s me and my white friends a poser whatsoever. People can sometimes tend to gravitate towards these alternative race groups because they feel more comfortable with that race. Everybody works in different ways, and whose to judge why they feel that way. Being a poser is just a way for a socially awkward person to attempt and copy those who “cooler” or seem to have it better somehow. It is just an ironic situation when people try copying others to fit in; when in reality to everybody else, they are sticking out the most and most of the time making a fool of themselves. Doing what comes naturally is how people should live their lives, and people who hang out with opposite races may just be doing what comes naturally. They do not deserve the label of being a poser because they are just trying to hang out. Fri, 21 Oct 2011 22:29:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/20/voices-from-the-classroom-51/#IDComment210692544 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/13/voices-from-the-classroom-45/#IDComment207558419 I do not feel that my race completely shapes my view of the world. I see everyone as equals until somebody physically does something to make others think otherwise of them. Everyone deserves an equal chance in our world, but are unable to because of how we have been structured throughout the past. The only thing that comes to my mind when being asked if my race shaped my view of the world would be my subcontious feeling of race. Obviously through past events such as terrorist attacks and riots, my perceptions on certain races have immediate judgements. For example, the most common feeling between all Americans I feel would be the negative view we have on muslim people. I am not saying this feeling is right and should be upheld as true, but reality needs to be faced when talking about the reaction people get towards this particular race. People also get this feeling towards black people. From events in the past concerning riots in northern New Jersey ( because that is where I am from) to my own mother being mugged by a black man, sometimes my point of view gets a bit skewed. Do not get me wrong though because some of my best friends back home are black, and I have grown up always being friends and not discriminating against them. The only black guy that I would say I have a serious hatred for would be the man that had the nerve to touch my mother and rob her. And the biggest point of this event involving my mom is that she was holding me as a baby the entire time, and the man who mugged her offered to steal her pocket book or else he would take me instead. After hearing this story as I grew up and could comprehend what actually happened; how could I not feel differently towards their race ? But as I grew up I also learned that one person does not define a whole population of people. As I stated before, everybody deserves their fair share of respect until they of course do something to lose all reason to trust them. This feeling was also reinforced by my readings that I did in shadowboxing with race. The text described situations where people with races such as Indian, Latino/a, and black were all subjected to categorization, even from their own races as well. Overall, I would just like to be noted as a person who sees everybody as equals. People say white is powerful and dominant, but it’s not the deciding factor in how I view the world. I view the world as it is, and not what people think it should be. Fri, 14 Oct 2011 20:26:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/13/voices-from-the-classroom-45/#IDComment207558419 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/06/voices-from-the-classroom-40/#IDComment204508167 I think that it is completely the girls’ choice on how to dress when it comes to going out for the night on a weekend. On nights when it is literally 0 degrees outside; there is no need whatsoever for girls to dress the way they do. Do not get me wrong when I say this because I absolutely love the way they dress. That is just natural though; they should be dressing in a way that gives them the most comfort. Girls do get a certain satisfaction though from getting all dialed up to look sexier. They go shopping and buy certain outfits because it is a fun hobby for them to do. Clothe shopping is important to men as well, but it obviously means more to a woman. Men don’t sacrifice all of their comfort, but we do wear nice shirts that may be thinner than the usual ones we wear. It does get frigid out, but we also are not going to throw on a pair of shorts and kill ourselves. It just does not make sense to anybody when you think about it. Girls are always trying to look to their best though. It might either be because of trying to impress guys or to even show up other girls to show that they look better. It becomes a competition between them I feel like. Guys really do not compete in the “who looks better” way completely, but more of the “who gets noticed” way. You do not have to be dressed in clothing that sacrifices comfort to meet and talk to people. One main difference in the way girls sacrifice comfort would have to be their high heeled shoes. Why would you walk in those heels when it is icy and freezing out ? I am sure girls love heels personally and the way they look in them, but sometimes guys could care less with what you are wearing on your feet. Girls would probably have more fun when they went out by dressing more comfortable. They probably only wear heels when they go out on weekends too, so they are not even used to wearing them often. They are just making it harder to be comfortable around the new guys they meet that night. Guys need to be comfortable to be able to talk to girls, and this is done by not dressing casually, but a nice mature comfortable wardrobe. It is not that we are not trying. If that was the case, then I would walk to a party in blue jeans, some sneakers, and a Billabong tee shirt. But that is not the case; I actually enjoy throwing on a nice outfit to go and talk to some girls. And yes, I do freeze my ass off as well sometimes. Fri, 7 Oct 2011 20:52:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/06/voices-from-the-classroom-40/#IDComment204508167 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-22/#IDComment200447486 I would not say that race effects “our” view of criminals as a whole, but race definitely effects a certain percentage of people out there in the world today. Past generations and their dealings with crime have left impressions on today’s generations. I live right next to New York City; and by the way some people talk about it, you would think every black man walking down the street is a criminal. People also forget how many white people also get arrested for crimes in the city. They just are overlooked by the stereotyped black man because that is who people have been hearing about for years causing crimes. For example, think back to the video clip we watched in class last week dealing with the white man, black man, and white woman all attempting to steal the bike in the middle of the day at the park while people keep walking by. The black man was obviously pestered more by pedestrians than the white man. They even went as far as calling the cops on him! Meanwhile, the white actor stealing the bike is being offered help even though the people do not know the bike is not his. People tend to make generalizations once they have had one experience with someone of a certain race. Once this initial interaction takes place, they tend to think of everyone from that race as the same. This is such an awful way of thinking because when you look at reality, there are some white people who are more similar to black people in the way they act than some other black people even are. I’ve had black friends who have been treated differently by others right in front of me while hanging out with our group of friends. Sometimes you need to get to know the real person before making such a rash judgement. Now I am sure there are people that you can judge by the look of them and be completely right as well, but this obviously can not be done for everybody. This also reminds me of the example showed in class with the guys of 3 different races going for the same job interview. The statistic that a white male with a criminal record could still get the job over the black man without a criminal record blew my mind completely. This shows that in society, more trust is found with the white male, even if his has a record, than the black male, just because of the chance that he might cause trouble. This goes for other races obviously besides just white and black. Mexicans and Native Americans are also stereotyped in certain situations when dealing with crime. People just need to learn the actual person before making claims about them. Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:32:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-22/#IDComment200447486 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197698909 It saddens me very much to watch some of the videos and realize how worse off the Haitians really are. It also saddens me to see how used they are to their lifestyles. This just means that not much has been done for them throughout the years to impact their lifestyles, and they are used to it. One of the entrepreneurs that caught my eye was Figaro Louis. She manages to operate a baking business with only one oven, one fridge, and one small wooden box for storing supplies. She makes her food from scratch because she has no electronic supplies whatsoever. In order for her business to prosper like she wants to; she will need more employees. One idea that comes into my head when learning about her situation is the opportunity to send volunteer workers or hire people to go down and work with Figaro. These extra hands could really boost her production and increase sales. This could go on until more money has been made for her to sustain her own new employees. Donations are also always a great and quick idea to help other people. One of the other entrepreneurs that could really use our assistance is Clorene Blaise. She has so much talent at her craft of stitching and printing, but is denied the proper necessities to prosper as well. For instance, something as simple as being able to create her own tag is one of the many differences she deals with, and is still trying to compete, against other manufacturers. She also needs a new printer instead of her silk-screening methods which causes the ink to run after a few washes. Embroidering is also a technique that Clorene would love to use in her works. She has her own ways of doing it now, but needs better methods to keep up with the competition. Since her biggest obstacle to face is obtaining raw materials; people should think of ways to get them down there easier. For instance, maybe they can set up specific trips down to Haiti to bring these raw materials and have them paid back over time. Payment plans could easily be set up to make this all possible; all it takes is people who are willing to make the sacrifice for the good of other people. These types of trips can also be sponsored by companies to make it more publicized and maybe even more beneficial throughout other peoples’ donations. Anything is possible; all it takes is somebody to start the movement and big things could happen for these less fortunate people. Donations could be used in all sorts of categories such as the medical field for their hospitals as well. Anything is better than what they have now, so why not give it to them ? Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:19:40 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197698909 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/15/voices-from-the-classroom-15/#IDComment193934631 As stated in class, I believe that free will and determinism both play an equal role in determining people path’s of life. Of course people have been weened by their parents throughout time. For example, I was sent to an all boy catholic high school for all 4 years of high school by my parents. Do you think I wanted to look at all guys for my entire high school career? Absolutely not! As time went by though, if I was given the choice to leave or continue at this school, I would never have left if you paid me. I made some of my best friends there and eventually, through my free will, I decided to suck it up and stay. In addition, the picture of the child wearing the KKK hat brought up an important point dealing with free will and determinism. In that case, the child was obviously controlled by determinism in seeing how he was about 4 years old and had no idea about anything besides being in the KKK. Every member of the KKK though has not been controlled by determinism. There have been straight up racists that also have chosen to live this lifestyle because they believe in segregation. The KKK started one day from a group of people that did not want to see other certain groups continue. They didn’t have anyone else forcing those beliefs onto them. They used their own free will to bring misery upon other races and led to the determinism brought on to the younger generations. For certain situations, free will and determinism can easily be separated; but when looked at an entire lifetime, they both play important roles in the outcomes of people’s choices. Today’s class changed my point of view completely. Free will was my automatic first choice for how peoples’ lives are shaped, but today made me think in an entire new light. As determinism happens; you do not even realize it because it is just normal to you. As stated earlier, I have lived the role of determinism with my high school choice. In my situation, the determinism from my parents led to me making my own personal free will choice which happened to be the same choice. In the end, you will obviously make more free will choices (or let’s hope you do) for yourself and not let people like mommy and daddy decide your future. College is also a perfect example. My parent’s always pumped going to college into my brian, so eventually I went because it was the normal thing to do. While at college though, nobody is here to tell me to go to class. I make my own personal free will choice to not miss class and do the best I can. Life is no doubt a mix of both free will and determinism. Fri, 16 Sep 2011 02:45:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/15/voices-from-the-classroom-15/#IDComment193934631 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/07/questions-from-the-classroom-2/#IDComment191672361 I’ve never been asked to classify myself before; but now that I think about it, there are many terms that I could use to do so. I guess when it comes down to it, I could be classified as a 19 year old male. I am a human being. That had to be mentioned to separate me from animals. Yes, I am also a white 19 year old male, but throughout my family timeline there have been different bloods mixed. So who honestly knows what I’m made of these days? I have blood tracing my ethnicity back to Ireland and Germany when I look at my great-grandparents. I also have a grandmother who was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, so there is another ethnic trace for myself. My father actually submitted DNA for a test and had our ancestry traced all the way back to Northern France and Ethiopia, Africa. Over time, my blood line has traveled some distance. Most people think I’m Italian when they meet me which is very surprising because I am not Italian at all. My skin is somewhat tanner and gets even darker in the summer time than most white kids my age I guess because of my german heritage, or my Ethiopian blood showing through! There are also physical classifications such as short, stocky, blue eyes, etc. I could also say that I am athletic at sports such as football, baseball, and basketball. There are many different classifications that I could make so the question would really have to be more precise in asking how I would classify myself. I can also be classified as a Catholic. I have followed christianity my entire life as long as I can recall. I’m baptized, made my communion, and made my confirmation at the proper ages. I even attended a catholic high school, Christian Brothers Academy. One big problem in this world is that people look at other people and automatically judge. They classify people as other things than what they really are. These conflicts lead to things such as racism and categorizing people in bad ways. When we do the pictures in front of the class of people of different races and ethnicities; I always choose the wrong answer when asked to decipher between who belongs to what category. This shows how easy it is to misinterpret somebody from who they actually are. Make sure you know what your talking about before somebody takes offense to it. Our race and ethnicity really do not mean much though because I have plenty of black and jewish friends who have different ethnicities and races, but when it comes to being people, we are all the same. That’s why we are friends in the first place. Fri, 9 Sep 2011 22:37:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/07/questions-from-the-classroom-2/#IDComment191672361 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/30/why-your-religion/#IDComment188569295 I am a follower of Christianity, and I have been my entire life. There is no doubt I originally started following this religion because of my family since I’ve been born. But as I grew older and became able to make my own decisions, I learned that Christianity is a religion which accepts all people. Now people may say the religion excludes homosexual people, but the correct wording would be that they do not accept homosexual acts. The Father at my local parish, St. Anselm’s, actually came out of the closet when I still lived at home and was continued to be accepted by everybody. I also attended a catholic high school, Christian Brothers Academy, where I attended masses regularly when they were scheduled. Another reason why I would continue to follow my religion is the relief that I have felt through acts such as prayer. Praying to me has gotten me through some hard times, and it gives me a safe feeling once I’m done. I feel as if I actually am communicating with the Lord and my relatives who have passed away. I know other religions practice the same belief, but this form of prayer gives me a great amount of comfort. So much comfort in fact, that I would never ever change my religion. Also, throughout my entire life of praying; a couple things have actually came through that have solidified my beliefs even more so. My main memory of a prayer coming true is most definitely when I prayed to have a dream where I could have the chance to talk to my deceased grandpa. That night it happened, and we literally talked about my life. My beliefs could never be set more in stone after that night. I’m not saying that other religions are wrong by my decision. I want to make that perfectly clear. Other people have every right to believe in what they want to believe in. Who has the absolute right to say that their religion is wrong ? Or false? For example, the story of the Shaman given in class is a perfect example. Though it may not be a religion, the way a shaman goes about their business may seem a bit strange and out of the ordinary to other people as some religions may seem to other people. After seeing the results of his handy-work on Sam’s ankle, it is kind of hard to say that their line of work is unreal. Some people look at people practicing other religions and sometimes say, “what are they doing?” when seeing somebody pray in a certain way or dress a certain way. Everybody has their own way of doing things, and nobody has the right to say they should do this over the other. Thu, 1 Sep 2011 01:07:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/30/why-your-religion/#IDComment188569295