I believe that making a fair argument for or against using money on foreign aid as opposed to the native americans is a tough one. I say this because we do not know all the underlying facts that the government does about the situations that we give aid to. We also do not know the governments reasoning for the decisions that they make. They may be more interested on foreign relations than on helping the Native Americans. The benefit, if any, of foreign aid towards another country may outweigh that of the Native Americans. WIth that being said, I believe delegating money towards the homeland to strengthen the nation should always be priority number one. And this does involve helping the Native Americans to a certain extent. I do not know to what extent the benefits towards the Native Americans is, but from seeing the way they are living and struggling to get by, none the less survive, the benefits they are receiving just do not seem to be great enough. Now, I do not think that the government should just hand over a bunch of money to the Native Americans and let them have a field day with that money, but I do think that the United States government could put some money into the Native American business, school system, and other organizations that will benefit the Native American society. The reason I say you can not just hand Native American households money is because i dont know if we can trust the Native Americans with a large influx of money. I think a good mixture of benefits and cash being invested into the Native American economy would be a good place to start.
Now lets take Haiti for an example of what I think is good foreign aid. After Haiti, one of the poorest countries, was stricken by the earthquakes the United States aid was needed. Without aid from the United States and other countries the disaster could have been even worse. Many more people would have suffered from the earthquake if it was not for the medical attention from the United States aid and the quick response from the government.
Although, slightly off topic but in relation to Haiti, selling rice in Haiti for a lower price than the local farmers are able to sell their own rice for is truly tragic. Families can hardly survive because they are being put out of work from not enough demand for their product. To have this happen to a country that is in dire need of economic stimulation just is not right. All in all i believe a good balance of both domestic and foreign aid is needed for more reasons that we may even know.

Regarding the issue discussed in class about "white" names receiving more job callbacks than any other type of name, this is a very pressing issue in our society. Overall, it doesn't necessarily matter if it is racism, nationalism or anything else the bottom line is that it is unfair discrimination. The fact that someone is judged solely on their nationality (or name) to the point where they are not even considered for a callback to a job interview is ridiculous. The only way a person should be judged for an interview is off their experience, qualifications, education, personality, ambitions etc. However this is not always the case and unfortunately never will be. Many people claim that this is just human nature and that a white person will hire a white person over someone with a different nationality just because they feel "more comfortable". The bottom line is that it is blasphemous if a hirer picked someone of less qualification simply because that person's race is similar to their's and the other person's was not. At work and as a someone who hires employees, to actually hire someone that is less qualified just because of their race not only hurts their business, and the person who should have had the job but hope for everyone that is affected by this problem. This is something that has to change in our society but unfortunately, most likely never will. We see these statistics in numbers but will never know the exact thought process of the people that were responsible for contributing to this problem. As a result of this, we cannot say for sure if this is nationalism or racism, but we can definitely say that this is unfair discrimination and is something that needs to change for the better of our society. This is one of the biggest issues we have and there is really no way to completely fix it through any type of law or bill being passed. It just has to be the mindset of not only these hirers but all people.

To reiterate my opinion, nothing in this world should be decided based on race. You should be judged by the person you are and not by the color of your skin, or the sound of your last name. The biggest problem in the history of mankind is accepting people's differences. If we as a society want any type of discrimination to stop at all, issues like this need to be resolved. The basis of war is not accepting differences of others and if we want something as significant as that to ever be resolved, then we need these comparatively smaller problems to be fixed. This is imperative for us as people not only in the workforce but for mankind.

People tend to associate themselves with with certain racial groups for a few reasons. First and foremost, people tend to join racial groups of their same race, that part is obvious. I believe they do this to feel a sense of comfort. Its kind of like a safety netting. People seem to be attracted to racial groups of the same race because of common attractions. People of the same race tend to be interested and have a liking towards the same thing. Common attractions will bring people together no matter what race, but it seems that when the races match up the acceptance of that racial group seems to increase.
Secondly, more often than not people of a certain race have most likely grown up around people of the same race as them. So the attraction seems to start at a young age. Its something they have known their whole life and have a sense of comfort.
I also think that society plays a part in the racial grouping. Its not to often that your going to see an arab hanging out with someone from Israel, for example. Your more likely to see people of the same race and interest together. The presence of racism in todays society, although diminished, makes people uncomfortable. This discomfort causes people to find comfort in some sort of way and one of the easiest ways is to be with people of the same race. You won't have that feeling of at any time someone could discriminate you or be racist towards you. So I think comfort is a huge reason people tend to vere towards their same race. Its tragic that race and racial issues are still prevalent in this day and age, but it is something that is still around.
Also, i believe that interests play a huge roll in racial groups. Its natural for people of the same race to have interest in the same things. So if people of the same race are interested in the same things it gives them no incentive of trying to make friends or join another racial group. It is harder to be accepted into a racial group of another race than to be accepted in the one of your own race.
There could also be a fear of rejection from other racial groups that keeps people of other races from joining a certain racial group. No one likes the feeling of rejection and trying to join a racial group of another race comes with the possibility of being rejected. When joining a racial group of your own race the fear of rejection is almost non existent and the chances of being accepted are much much greater.

I come to ask myself many times if I do or do not believe in a god. I find it even tougher when I really don't affiliate with any sort of religion. My mom is christian and my dad is Jewish. I ended up being brought up Jewish, but my religious affiliation does not have much sway in my belief a god. The thing that has the most prominent affect on my stance on weather there is a god or not would be science. I guess I would say that I believe more in facts and proof than I do beliefs. Having said that if there were to be proof of a god then it would definitely change my life drastically. I would have no reason to not believe in a god. It would change my views of religions immensely. I find religion to be somewhat fake and unbelievable. But something with the significance of the actuality of there being a god would have to change my views and give a lot credibility towards religion. It would most likely make me want to affiliate myself with some sort of religion. Its not that I look down upon religions and their myths and mysteries but it is just that there are so many myths and mysteries that I can bring myself to believing in a religion. And that is why if there was proof of a god out there than I would have to tell myself that I was wrong about most things regarding religion and I would start believing the teachings of religions and most likely take part in one. If I were to join a religion it would most likely change my lifestyle. I have never lived my life based off of an religious teachings, considering I've never really focused on religious teachings or ways of life.
Considering I do not currently believe in a physical god if there were to be proof of their definitively not being one than my life would really not change. It would just reinforce my belief in in science and would just prove to me that religions are fairly far fetched. The people who would be most affected by the news of there not being a god would be those who do believe in one. If you think about it, most of the world believes in some sort of god. Now were talking about the majority of people living in the world finding out that something they have been believing in for the majority or entirety of their lives is not real. I wouldn't even be able to predict what would happen. Other than that I do not see much of an impact on the judgement of the existence of a god, other than religion.

It was very neat to talk to our Iranian friend. Firstly, I though that Maziar was very informative in the responses that he gave us from our questions. At the beginning of talk with Maziar, Sam asked a clicker question on wether you are scared of Iran. Prior to hearing Maziar speak about his native country I had selected that I am a little bit scared of Iran. But then again why shouldn't I be. From everything you hear on the news, Iran is depicted in a very evil manner. Iran is perceived as hating the United States and its people. All I ever hear of Iran is how they are close to developing a nuclear weapon and so on and so forth. All the news out of Iran alway seems to be something negative about it. But that is what media will do to you. When its the only sort of information of its kind is out there one is more than likely to develop biases.
Now, after hearing and listening to our friend Maziar speak my opinion on Iran has totally changed. Maziar did a great job comparing when answering the questions that were posed to him. I enjoyed how he made a lot of comparisons to the United States. It made it easier to understand what the Iranian culture is like and put things into perspective. We as Americans always preach, freedom and liberty, and Iran definitely shares those qualities.
Now if I had to answer the same question after listening to Maziar of wether I am scared of Iran or not, my answer would not change. But that does not mean that the meter did not swing towards not being scared. The only reason I have my worries is because of the government that is in place under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And I guess the media has a lot to do with my decision because most of the information to come out about Iran usually has to do with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This man just seems like pure evil. He hates the west and wants to rid us from the world. Now am I the only person who would be a little worried from that, I think not. Other than that I think Maziar did a great job describing what his culture was like. Ive traveled to the Middle East before and the hospitality there is second to none so I was not that surprised when he was talking about the people in Iran and their friendliness. Like I said before Maziar did help me see through a different perspective and gave me a different outlook on Iran. But I wont feel safe until the threats of nuclear war are put to rest and there are not extremists like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running a country that wants to decimate the United States.

When I ask myself if I would join the military and fight for my country I want to say that I would, but my gut reaction is to say that I wouldn't. Now, don't get me wrong, I love our country and if my time ever came to protect this country I would do anything to defend the rights and liberties that makes the United States of America so great. But to ask myself, would I be willing to put my life in immediate risk, I would most certainly say no, I wouldn't. My unwillingness to join the military only increases my respect for the men and women who are putting there lives at risk to defend our country, and to them I want to say thank you. I do not have as much courage as those men and women who go out there every day and night.
Another reason is my parents. My parents would be devastated if I joined the military. It would make my mother go crazy to know that her son is putting his life in danger every second of the day. I don't think I would be able to be deployed for extended period of time without getting home sick or missing the people who mean so much to me in life.
I also believe that most people who join the army do so for the money and aid that they receive. Personally, my family is financially stable and able to support me. Others may not be as fortunate and they have no option but to join the army.
Additionally, I can't help but recall stories of people who have returned home but do not return home the same way they left. Going to war and being in the war can have a drastic effect on your life and the lifestyle you would live post deployment. I would not want to risk myself acquiring Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, or losing a limb, or even developing friendships only to see them get killed next to you in battle. The physiological effect it would have on me, I believe, would be way to significant.
In conclusion, I am very satisfied where my life is now and the direction it is going in. I have goals set for myself and a path im going down that I would like to continue. If I were to join the army it would derail me fromt he path that im going down. It may not seem like the popular decision to not join the army and just put the burden on other people, but I would choose to not join. Again I highly respect the people that serve our country day in and day out and wish them all the best.

Is atheism a bad thing? My answer to this is no its not. I come from a family where my mother is christian and my father is jewish. I was brought up to be jewish, I was put through hebrew school, I had my Bar Mitzvah, and when it was all said and done I felt no strong connection to the religion of judaism. I have almost no clue what I am reciting when we recite prayers at my grandparents house for the jewish holidays. I dont know the meaning of what I am saying and really don't have any desire to learn. On the other hand I found myself to look at religion logically and scientifically. Most people practice a certain religion for its values and beliefs and to have a faith. I always ask myself why there is such a strong following for christianity and jesus when no one has ever met the man and only know him through stories. Yet people worship him to their death. I am not able to fathom the stories and legends of religion as some things are so ridiculous they are just to hard to believe and believe in. I think it is unfortunate that most peoples religion is predetermined by the religious beliefs of their parents. Atheism can be considered a religion and im sure there are many people who are atheist in the world. Just because there is no greater power to worship and no text to go to the name of atheism does not mean atheism should be frowned upon. It is a persons choice to believe in a god or not, its a persons choice to believe in whatever they want, and if atheism is what they choose then so be it. These people should not be scrutinized for there beliefs.
Now, would I allow my child to marry and atheist? I most certainly would allow my child to marry someone who is atheist or any religion. If it would make my child happy I wouldn't be able to say no. Personally, as I don't practice any certain type of religion, I would hardly take religion into account when judging my child's significant other. If the man or woman is a well grounded and is a respectable person I would have no way of saying no. I don't think a person should be judged by their religion. Now don't get me wrong there are people out there who think religion is everything and would not like their child to marry an atheist, but I think that it should be a mute point. Its very similar to judging a person on their race and if you think racism is wrong then judging one by their religion is wrong as well.