en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2451431 Comments by Broprah Winfrey http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/12/voices-from-the-classroom-148/#IDComment338596252 Whenever im talking to a friend or someone i know, there are alot of different factors that come into play when they are telling a story and whether or not i believe them. if the person i know has a history of exaggerating and lying, then im more likely to question their authority and say things like, where did you hear that? And just like Sam said, if we're friends with the person who is telling the story, or if we agree with them on whatever the subject is, then im more likely to just accept and believe what theyre telling me. Another thing that is a factor is whether or not how normal or obscure the story is. If i hear a story about something that isnt too crazy or isnt too far fetched, then it is so much more easy to believe, because why would someone exaggerate or lie about a story that isnt interesting? But if i hear a story that just sounds ridiculous right away then yes no matter who it is im going to question where they heard that or who gave them that information. Something that i try to catch myself doing and fix it is selective hearing. If i only hear what i want to hear and tune out everything else, then i wont learn new information. Especially when its a topic that has two clear sides to it, its important to me to listen and understand the other side to an argument, rather than just listening to people who just agree with whatever i have to say. But at the same time, if im discussing with someone who holds an opposing view of mine, then i know in my head im more likely to think of how valid this information is. Rather than just agreeing with what they have to say, its important to understand where the info comes from and if its valid or not. Also age has to do with questioning a story or information, because if a 5 year old tells me something ridiculous i know im going to question it, as opposed to a person older than me i would assume that they know better than me. That probably has to do with being brought up with the notion of respecting elders, because it would be rude to question what they have to say to you. Also kids have a tendency to make up stories just for effect or to get attention, so i know im more likely to question their authority, rather than say something that my parents or another elder tells me. But when it comes to peers, it comes down to more of whether they have a history of being credible or if they have sufficient information to back up whatever they say. Sat, 14 Apr 2012 03:17:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/12/voices-from-the-classroom-148/#IDComment338596252 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-140/#IDComment333534040 As someone who was raised Roman Catholic, i agree with what the student in the video has to say about God. I think it is totally possible to have a close personal relationship with God, without the help of others. If you can speak to God directly, then there is nothing wrong with that in my opinion. Growing up i went to church every sunday and never really questioned it, because thats all i knew. But i can understand why people are opposed to the long standing traditions and rules of the church, because some rules arent necessary in order to be close with God. The reason i go to church is to learn how to become a better person, and how to better the lives of others around me. Those values are important to me because i think if you live to be the best person you can be, then you already have a close relationship with God. When i think about all of the rules and structures on the church and being Catholic, i imagine that God is a being that didnt intend for all of these rules to happen. In my opinion, these are man made things that occurred over a long period of time, as different people try to interpret religion. Everyone is going to interpret things in a different way, so even though i go to church with my family, they might take away things from mass that i didnt. Although i use the church in order to learn how to better myself as a human being, i dont see the necessity for all of the formalities that occur during mass. I dont think God will smite me if i decide to not kneel on Sunday, i dont think he will send me to hell if i say the Our Father in my head, rather than out loud. I think the church is a great thing, but the higher powers can sometimes get in the way of having that close, personal bond with God. Once you start to form thoughts and they slowly turn into prayers, it is a direct voice to God. You dont need to get in your car and drive to the church to think these things, they can occur at any time throughout the day. So when people think that they cant make decisions or pray to God without the guidance of those in church positions, it seems just wrong to me. I attended a Catholic high school, and every day we would pray before each class. This didnt bother me, because i had been praying these prayers all of my life. But to some kids it really got them annoyed at what rules we had to follow. i understood these kids, but didnt agree with them. Theres a big difference between understanding and agreeing. So i do understand why people see the need to go to higher powers within the church in order to pray, but i do not agree with it. Sat, 7 Apr 2012 02:31:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/04/03/voices-from-the-classroom-140/#IDComment333534040 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/15/voices-from-the-classroom-120/#IDComment318029683 The Christian Invaders lecture really helped me to see another side to viewing the war in the middle east. It was a great way to see what it is like for civilians in those countries during these conditions. One good way to see what it would be like in this country had we been exploited for our natural resources was the example of China coming here for coal and making millions off of it. It would be just like what we are doing over in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. Empathy is something that is hard to come by, and it is a skill that takes time to hone. I still do not support the actions of the radical muslim people in the middle east, but i am beginning to understand why they chose to act that way. And thats exactly what empathy is. Sam did a great job explaining that you do not have to support the people that are on the other side of how you think, but if you understand their actions or beliefs, then you are practicing empathy. It takes a lot to put yourself outside of your own shoes and see what it is like for other people, so when you do that with a culture that is the complete opposite of how you live your life, empathy does not come easy. When we first invaded Iraq, i was only ten years old, so it was hard for me to understand how or why we did that. I just remember seeing every car have an american flag on it, and all of a sudden everyone was patriotic. I understood that it was important to stand together after September 11th, because it showed that under the harshest of circumstances, our country can stand together for one cause. But as i got older i understood that we weren't exactly in Iraq for the right reasons. It was a great feat to see Sadam Hussein get taken out of power, but a big reason for why we were over there was for oil. A cousin of mine was assigned to go to Iraq on a deployment for the Army, and while he was over there he seemed to question the motives of the Army. He understood that he had to take orders from his superiors, but at the same time those orders weren't always the right ones. Just like in the videos shown in class of the soldiers crushing the taxi drivers car for such a small crime shows that the US soldiers can sometimes use their power for the wrong reasons. But as critical as people can be as to why President Bush went to war, there seemed to be an immense amount of pressure on the government to take action against the enemy. If Bush did not take any action, there would be even more critics of him than if he did go to war. Sat, 17 Mar 2012 03:08:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/03/15/voices-from-the-classroom-120/#IDComment318029683 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-112/#IDComment303300933 If anything, Asian stereotyping of being intellectually superior and smarter than other people should be viewed as a positive thing. I cant imagine it having any negative effect on Asians because those types of prejudices and stereotypes are ones of placing them above others. They actually come off as compliments because if you were to assume that an Asian is better than yourself at math or another academic subject, then that should be taken as a compliment. Its almost as if Asians are being rewarded for their history of hard work and good work ethic with a stereotype of all of them being that way. To me, it seems as though Asians now are feeling the positive benefits of their hard working ancestors. Now when these stereotypes are put next to ones of black and spanish people, they look miniscule. There are far worse stereotypes and prejudices against black people than Asians. The jokes of black people being lazy, and not being able to swim, just to name a few, are far more offensive than being called "smart". I am sure that most, if not all, African Americans would much rather be called smart, than be victims to other types of verbal abuse. Now, any type of stereotyping will make it hard for people to really get to know the individual being singled out. If someone already has an idea of who someone is, before they even meet them, it obviously makes it difficult for those stereotypes to be forgotten. It makes it that much harder for people to get to know others, if they have a preconceived notion of what traits or qualities they have. There are obviously Asian Americans out there who are not smart, and who are not the stereotypical Asian. For these individuals there seems to be an added pressure, put on by our society, for them to succeed in school and academics. Since the majority of Americans do hold that stereotype in mind, when they see an Asian American that is not as smart as they expected, then there is a sense of surprise. Its not fair for those who do get that added pressure that they have to live up to a certain type of student, but the stereotype of Asians being smart is so deeply rooted in peoples minds that it is a hard one to break. Another stereotypes that Asians face is that they are not athletic. So it is great to see an individual such as Jeremy Lin break that stereotype and succeed at the highest level of his sport. Lin is different from other Asian basketball players of the past, because he is an American. Yao Ming came straight from China, knowing little to no English, so it is great to see Lin be able to continue to succeed whilst defying all odds. Lin does, however, fit into the stereotype of Asians being smart, since he graduated from Harvard. But nonetheless, his success is a great example for Asian American kids to grow up and use him as a hero of theirs. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:52:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/02/23/voices-from-the-classroom-112/#IDComment303300933 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/31/voices-from-the-classroom-93/#IDComment283406019 THe idea of accommodating to spanish speaking immigrants is one of foreign nature to me, purely based on where i grew up and where i live today. Growing up in central New Jersey means that you are not in constant contact with spanish speaking immigrants all of the time. So growing up in that environment means that i my whole life i have not been forced to speak another language in order to accommodate to my region. Having said that, I completely understand why people would want to enforce teaching spanish to Americans living in states such as Arizona, New Mexico, Southern California, and so on. One thing that was indeed forced in my school system while growing up was learning a second language. As students, we were able to choose between learning Italian, French, or Spanish in school. Spanish was the most common choice for students to pick, but i chose Italian mainly because my family is italian. If everyday life in south western states needs the spanish language in order to get by, then i can see it being necessary that a second language be enforced in those areas. It seems as though spanish is displayed almost everywhere in those states, in public areas and in places where it is heavily populated. On the flip side, it would be useless to implement Spanish on AMericans in states such as Minnesota, Idaho, and both Dakotas. Northern states are scarcely populated to begin with, and within that small population there aren't many foreigners. Also, the northern states are so far away from the Caribbean Islands, and more importantly the Mexican border, so immigrants - both illegal and legal - wouldn't be inclined to travel all of that way to live in this country. Immigrants from those countries also rarely come here with a lot of money, so travel isn't really an option at hand. The citizens opposed to Spanish being forced upon them, are usually the ones who want ENglish as the official American language. In my life time, i can never see this happening or being passed into law. Even though presidential candidates will make promises to potential voters, i doubt the house of reps and congress will ever agree upon making it an official language. This country prides itself on welcoming people of all languages and cultures, from all around the world, so why would they force their immigrants upon arrival to speak a certain language? English is already the unofficial language in this country, for it is everywhere and if something is NOT in English, it is looked upon as odd and not normal. So any presidential candidate who promises to make English the official language in this country is probably just saying that to gain some voters. Because there are so many immigrants already here that would oppose that to the fullest. Sat, 4 Feb 2012 05:00:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/31/voices-from-the-classroom-93/#IDComment283406019 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment276516638 Some things that i have learned from the last semester and this semester too is that no matter how highly you are regarded or respected, there are certain things that can make you fall from grace. I think that Joe obviously screwed up for a considerable amount of time, on more than one occasion, but i still think that the positive things he has done in his life will outweigh the Sandusky scandal. Joe has countless random acts of kindness, along with his numerous donations to both the town of State College and Penn State University alike. He and Sue have both turned Penn State from a farm town small college into the university that has the largest amount of alumni across the world. It speaks volumes about the Paterno's that they helped to turn this university into a world wide known name. Aside from his accomplishments on the football field, Joe has donated over eighty percent of his salary each year back to the school, along with donation more then ten million dollars to build a library in his name. This past year, Sue and Joe donated money to build the schools first Catholic church, but it will be named after Sue. Those actions alone outweigh the alleged things against Joe, because the amount of lives he has positively impacted cannot be counted. During the memorial service and the eulogies from numerous past and present football players, they shed light on the kind of person Joe was, and it has taught me to try to be as good of a well rounded person as Joe. One story that stood out in my opinion was the story by Jimmy Cefalo. He had said that he completed his amount of credits required to graduate by his junior year, and his senior he started to slack off with the types of classes he enrolled in. Cefalo said that during his senior year, Joe called him into his office and started to yell at him. He said that Joe was upset that Cefalo was choosing to take easy classes, and that he was better than that. This really was a good example to me about how much Joe cared about the quality of player he produced. He wanted nothing but an educated, well rounded player to come out of Penn State. Also, this past year i have learned that when legends die, their stories and values live on. I can imagine that state college will live on to carry out qualities of the "Great Experiment". Bill O'Brien has already said that he will continue the standards for Penn State University players to graduate and go to class and be excellent in the field of academics. Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:08:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/01/26/voices-from-the-classroom-92/#IDComment276516638 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment145278013 After watching this video, my opinion on muslims and the religion of Islam did not change. I have always never had a big problem with muslims, obviously after the September 11th attacks i had somewhat of a dislike towards them, but over time I realize that those attacks were done by such a small group within the Islam religion, and i realize that muslims in the United States are not like those men at all. People in the United states fear/dislike Islam because they think that it is a religion that influences people to become terrorists and kill others. When in reality, the Middle Ages were dominated by soldiers, armies, and empires killing others in the name of Christianity. Back then, the soldiers and armies were not called or considered "terrorists". That is a term used in this twenty first century and is just another word for "freedom fighters". Honestly, i havent heard the term "freedom fighter" untill Sam mentioned it in class, and his TED talk really put in a perspective of the Iraqi civilians that are just like us. His speech about what if China invaded the United States and we were in a state of terror like Iraq is in now, we would not consider our American soldiers "terrorists", we would call them by a name like "freedom fighter". Sam's speech also gave me a perspective of what it would be like for an everyday normal Iraqi citizen. This provided me with a bias-free opinion of muslims and followers of the Islam religion. The Christian Invaders lecture that Sam gave in this TED talk brought to me a completely new perspective on the war in Iraq. As Sam said, it does not give justification to all of the bombings and terroristic attacks, but it gives an understanding of where they are coming from and what it is like over there. Before watching that lecture, I didnt have a hatred or disliking for muslims, but i certainly did not understand who they were. Now I can safely say that I understand who those people are and where they are coming from in terms of religion and what type of people they are. Sat, 23 Apr 2011 02:55:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment145278013 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/the-cost-of-empire-soc-001-blog/#IDComment143258297 This video for "Cost of Empire" was very informative and educational about the United States' military stance. As Sam said in class, the United States accounts for one half, or fifty percent, of the entire worlds military spending. This shows how much this country focuses and devotes time to our military. This spending seems to not be affected by any span of time that is consumed by an economic downturn. The United States continues to spend more and more on the military and our Department of "Defense" even when the going gets tough economically for most Americans. When the current president said that he was going to increase the military budget, it seemed as a complete contradiction to the promises and policies he made during his presidential campaign. Obama also promised that he would return home most troops overseas to their families, but instead he has sent more troops to different countries in the Middle East. This video presented many shocking and enlightening statistics about the United States' military. Many of these facts arent known widely among Americans, and that is truly a terrible thing, considering these statistics have to deal with our economy and government spending. Some might say that this spending is justified, to the extent that we need oil as a country to maintain our economy, and that a military presence is needed to ensure that. Foreign oil and other resources is what this country has always cashed in on, and we are doing it now more than ever. In class today, we got to talk to an Iraqi civilian about various topics that are going on in Iraq recently. He said that he believes that if the United States were to pull out of Iraq and not have a military presence there, then the country would turn into complete chaos. Also, he said that there are other Iraqi's that want the United States to leave their home country, and believe that we are doing more harm than good. There are always going to be those people that disagree with whatever the United States military does, but some times those that are opposed have good justification for their dissatisfaction. Some might say that recently there are alot of reasons for the United States to cut back on military spending in this economic downturn. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:20:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/the-cost-of-empire-soc-001-blog/#IDComment143258297 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141135188 For years, the history of non-profit organizations and foreign aid has always entailed getting money and donations by placing pictures and photographs of young children in all of their ads. It has now become the norm for those organizations to somewhat exploit the sentimental hearts of Americans by putting these pictures in their ads, just to get money. The tricky part of this situation is that some people, like Ernso, are upset that these companies and organizations come into their countries just for the sole purpose of taking pictures of the impoverished children. The twist to that method is that Americans care for and sympathize with children in need anywhere, and that is what gets them to give money to these organizations. Something else that is not right about this situation is that the companies have nothing to do with those children. Some organizations and foreign aid groups are getting money for the country that is in need, not for those specific children. So when they put those faces on the TV commercials and throughout the media, the money that Americans send is for the country that is in need, not the children. Its not like the money one would donate goes directly to the face they show on TV, which is what most people think when they donate. There is a big process in which the money gets handled, and there are people that decide where to put the money to, and those people arent the ones on TV trying to sympathize with you. The only thing that i would suggest for Americans to do when thinking about donating to these foreign aid groups and non profit organizations, is that to really think about where your money is going, and how it will be used. People have to realize that the children that are used to get people to feel bad, are probably not going to get the money you donate. It might go to the town or village that they reside in, but in most cases it goes to the actual country of those children. Also, when donating people need to research these groups in order to get a good feeling of whether or not their money is going in the right place. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 01:28:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141135188 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/religion-in-the-future/#IDComment137627176 I feel like as long as there are people that believe in God, there are going to be Religious institutions around the world and across the United States of America. There are countries now that have gone in the direction of not having religious institutions and schools, and they are some of the most well rounded countries in the world. They are mostly free thinkers and form decisions on their own, due to not having to answer to a higher calling. When there are countries that are mainly consisted of people that are religious, they are not as free thinking and liberal as other countries. When there is a community or organization that always answers to a higher calling, they do not think completely on their own and they form decisions based on their religion or God. Speaking as a Catholic, i know that most of the decisions i make are related to what my religion would find acceptable. There are instances in which i break the so called "rules", and its because i make the decision on my own. In some countries, majority of the population makes well rounded and free thinking decisions on their own, and not based on their religion. These countries tend to be a lot more liberal than others, and the United States is somewhat headed in that direction. There are groups and organizations that are out there, consisted of atheists and agnostics, that want to take the word God out of our Pledge of Allegiance, and also take off the word God off of our coins and bills. These organizations havent made these decisions happen yet, but if our society continues in this direction, those actions might go into effect. When God is taken completely out of this country, things are going to change drastically. No longer will political and important decisions be based on religion and morals, but based on free thinking liberal ideas. Some argue that this will improve a country and society as a whole, when others thing that those decisions will ruin and destroy this country and others. Whether or not those actions will happen, i have no idea. But i think if they do happen, this country will go into a turnover like no other. Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:36:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/religion-in-the-future/#IDComment137627176 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment130760639 Heightening awareness in the United States about issues such as modern slavery is something that certainly needs to happen, but may be difficult to achieve. For many of us, being in Soc 119 (or maybe another college course) is the first genuine exposure we have had to this issue of slavery. Sure, we have heard of protest groups speaking out against Nike sweatshops or other issues of that nature, but how widespread did we actually think this was? The fact of the matter is that our media censors these issues because it makes people stop and think about their morality. As Sam said, there is no right or wrong stance on this issue because everyone’s beliefs are founded on different morals, but most American’s do not even wrangle with this issue at all in their lives. The only ways to ensure that consumers are aware of where the products they are buying come from is to promote education on modern slavery in schools (middle schools and high schools in particular), and promote transparency in our products. The media needs to take responsibility for presenting consumers with information on labor conditions around the world so that the consumers can make informed decisions about their purchases. Until this issue is made transparent on a large scale, people will not have the chance to evaluate their position on the issue. The same type of thing happens in the food industry. Many Americans are now accustomed to having meat of some sort every day. This meat is purchased in clean, neatly wrapped packages that do not at all resemble the source of this food. A commonly heard quote is “If butchering plants had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian.” This shows that if people know how animals were actually treated, many of them would reevaluate their stance on eating meat. Large meat corporations, similar to chocolate corporations, work hard to keep this information out of the public eye because they know that if the source was exposed it would be bad for business. This is exactly what is going on with modern slavery. Capitalist economies around the world, not just in the United States, encourage companies to achieve lower cost regardless of what the expense is, even if that expense is the quality of human life. It is easy for people to disconnect themselves from moral issues like this because most people would rather put it out of their mind instead of wrestling with the consequences of their actions. This is something about our society that needs to change. If awareness of these issues rises and people still want to purchase items produced by slaves, then so be it. They will at least have made an informed decision about their purchases instead of blindly traveling throughout life with no awareness of the consequences of their actions. Sat, 26 Feb 2011 04:15:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-can-we-make-people-more-aware-of-the-slavery-that-is-still-going-on-119-blog/#IDComment130760639 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/why-with-more-education-do-people-believe-that-success-is-mostly-a-result-of-hard-work-119-blog/#IDComment129017279 The thing about more education is that yes now a days people do get more of an education, but its what you make of your education. One person can be a slacker and not get anything out of their years of education, which is a direct result of not working hard. For me, there is big difference between hard work and just your basic education. Yes i agree there is more education for everyone these days, but its a big difference between the kids who work hard and the ones who dont. Once the basic levels of education are completed (elementary school and high school), thats when hard work comes into play. if you worked hard throughout high school, then you get rewarded for your hard work and get accepted to good universities. But the students throughout high school that do not work hard, they rightfully do not get into to the same universities that the hard working students do. This is when hard work pays off for those students and they reap the benefits. So people believe that success is a result of hard work because it pretty much is. Once you get into a job, basically the only way to move up in your organization or company is to work hard and be better than your employees. There is really no other explanation for moving up in a business other than your own hard work. People will argue that success and moving up in a company is a result of knowing the right people and how you conduct yourself, but also hard work plays a big part in that. It is true that no matter how hard you work, if you know the right people then you will reap those benefits as well. Another big part about success financially in life results in how you present yourself. Two people can work just as hard as the other, but if one is an outgoing, likable personality and the other has an introverted personally, then the one who has the more outgoing personality will probably get a better job opportunity. But for me personally, i believe that in order for me to get ahead in life i will need to work harder than my employees and out work my opponents. Sat, 19 Feb 2011 03:35:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/16/why-with-more-education-do-people-believe-that-success-is-mostly-a-result-of-hard-work-119-blog/#IDComment129017279 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/what-is-the-difference-between-a-colored-and-white-comedian-119-blog/#IDComment126064363 As a white person, i agree with the person in this video because it annoys me as well that a white comedian cannot make jokes about other races, when a black comedian can rip on white people all day and everyone would find it funny. As soon as a white comedian makes one black joke then he immediately gets ridiculed and gets in trouble. There are comedians like Ralphie May that do cross the line and make comments about literally every race, but he is one of a kind. Many other white comedians dont have the guts to make the jokes Ralphie makes. There are comedians such as Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle that basically make their routines based on jokes about white people. Granted, black people are generally more funny, but it annoys me when they can make fun of white people all day but when there is one comment made by a white person then everyone gets offended. One incident that sticks out in my mind is when Don Imus made the comment a few years ago about the Rutgers Womens basketball team. Now, this was over the line in my opinion, but the point im trying to make is that there are famous black people, or black people in the media that make these same caliber comments as what Don Imus said, but no actions are taken. Imus lost his job and got kicked off the radio, which was a little harsh in my mind. But the point i am trying to make is that white comedians in the past has said the same type of comments as Imus and they get in trouble as well. Honestly i think society in general is way too politcally correct and it drives me crazy in some situations, like this one. In order to fix the problem and make everyone happy, in my mind i think that both races, white and black, need to laugh at themselves every now and then and accept that the other race is going to make fun of each other when it comes to professional comedians. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 03:40:10 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/what-is-the-difference-between-a-colored-and-white-comedian-119-blog/#IDComment126064363 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/19/rise-in-national-guard-and-reserve-suicides-whats-it-all-about-soc-001-blog/#IDComment122919032 To hear this news is pretty devastating and alarming. To think that eighty percent of US Army suicides happen back home here in the States is accurately described by CNN as "heart wrenching". In order to stop or at least retard the numbers of Army suicides, I think there would have to be a system in place for when soldiers return back home to the US of A that they are required to go to a series of counseling meetings or to see a psychiatrist. If the soldier appears fine and is not a threat to themselves then they can choose to not go, but if there are soldiers that appear suicidal as they go to these meetings then they are required to stay in them. There should be mental evaluations of the soldiers returning from active duty to see if they are suicidal or not, and if they are then they should go into counseling. Another thing that was not discussed in this video was the number of doctor assisted suicides. There are soldiers that come back to the States and go to a doctor just for the sole purpose to get medicine prescribed to them. And then they willingly overdose on these meds and commit suicide. Some might argue that its a good thing that these doctors out the patient (in this case soldier) out of their misery and that it in some ways solves their problems. While others make the point that instead of willingly kill a patient, the doctor should assist the patient by helping them towards not being depressed. Instead of giving the patient a prescription that will end his or her life, the doctor could offer alternative ways out of their problems. Such as going to group therapy, surrounded by other people with the same problems or dilemmas. A relative of mine was in the Army towards the beginning of this decade, serving duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, and to this day he still has nightmares of the images he saw in the Middle East. So its understandable why these soldiers would be depressed and think about suicide, because the images that are over in the Middle East can seriously damage a persons psyche. Even veterans from wars past such as Vietnam and World War 2 had a number of suicides among soldiers that returned home, due to the chaos and destruction to other human beings that took place right before their eyes. In conclusion, there is no really definite way to stop the number of suicides all together, but there are steps that can be taken in order to slow down or retard the rates of suicides among our United States of America troops. Sat, 22 Jan 2011 04:46:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/19/rise-in-national-guard-and-reserve-suicides-whats-it-all-about-soc-001-blog/#IDComment122919032 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cd%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122889924 Soc 001 Sat, 22 Jan 2011 01:11:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cd%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122889924