Growing up I went to church every Sunday and attended weekly religious classes until I received my conformation. Even though the older I got the more I strayed away from actually practicing my religion I still hold the same values and beliefs. The question, do you believe your Christian God supports the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is not a hard one for me to answer. I believe whole heartedly that God would not support these wars. Killing people is a sin plain and simple and that one simple fact makes it hard to think that good would support something that takes away so many lives especially something that takes away so many innocent civilian lives. Another central theme taught from an early age is love your neighbor which also goes against the concept of war and would be another reason that “our” God would not be in support of actions taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In my opinion to say that your religion supports this war or any war is just a way of trying to justify the situation. Wars with religious purposes or justifications date back centuries. At no point in time when I was attending church or my religious classes am I able to remember anyone saying that God was the reason for any of these forms of violence or that he would be in support of any of these extreme forms of violence. On the contrary we are taught that our God is loving, gracious, and forgiving. We are taught to pray for our loved ones and offer support. And it is this concept that I believe may bring up some confusion. As a Christian yes I do support our troops I pray for them and my church regularly has fun raisers, food drives, and other means to support troops. In our community we do many things to help give support to the people fighting, however that does not mean I support the reason they are fighting the war.
In this country we pride our selves on our freedoms and rights that many other people in other parts of the world are denied. One of those coveted freedoms is freedom of religion. Therefore it was frustrating for me to hear Sam say that it is the Christian’s fighting the war. I believe that religion and war are two completely different matters and one does not justify the other nor should they be connected or viewed as interdependent. Everyone fighting in the war has different reasons for doing so and while their may be some extremist whose sole purpose may be to spread Christianity that is not the case for the majority of the troops. So while there may be a good number of Christian troops fighting in the war that does not make it a Christian war supported by “our” God.

I was astounded when we did the example in class that really put into perspective how many people are victims of abuse. Fortunately for me I have never been a victim of sexual abuse or any type of abuse for that matter. Nor have I had a close friend or family member who has gone through this type of traumatic event, at least that I know of. Each person’s experience is unique and there are many different factors that could be keeping them quiet. Like we said in class a victim may be scared that speaking out will tear apart their family, fear that speaking out will bring more harm than good, and then on the more extreme side there are those that fear for their lives if they were to come forward. Having not gone through a traumatic event like this all I can do is imagine how difficult it must be to endure abuse let alone trying to speak out after being silenced.
There are many different factors that would influence if I would speak out or not. Circumstance would be a huge factor in my decision. It would be much easier for me to speak out if I had been attacked or victimized by a random person or someone not in my family. If I was related to the person who was my abuser, especially if they were in my immediate family, that would be almost as hard to deal with as physically suffering the abuse. When being abused by a family member I would imagine that there would be a lot of guilt involved in speaking out because once you do your very foundation will be rocked to it’s core and there is no way your life can go back to the way it was.
Like we talked about Tuesday in class support can mean many different things but the central theme was for victims to feel like there are people to be there for them in their time of need. Having a solid support team, I believe, is very important to someone deciding to break their silence. When going through a hard time it is always to have someone by your side, even if they have no idea what your going through sometimes just having the comfort of another person is enough. If I were to speak out I would need the complete support of my family and friends. For me this would mean them never doubting my experience no matter who it involved. Not only would I want to have family and friends to talk to but I think being able to join a support group of some sort would help me to come to terms with what had happened and be more comfortable in telling my story. Most importantly I would just want them to be there for me offering a shoulder to lean on.

Do you really think the amount of money you make has nothing to do with how happy you are, and if so why? I would have to say that money is connected to how happy a person is. Unfortunately in our society the idea of having a lot of money and being happy have become synonymous. However the amount of money needed to make a person happy is relative, what makes one person happy does not make another person feel the same way. I do believe that you do need some level of substantial income or amount of money to be happy. By this I mean enough income to cover necessary cost like bills as well as providing for your family. Being able to cover these bases eradicates the need to worry about security. After this is covered it truly becomes a matter of personal preference concerning the amount of money needed to make a person happy. There are some people who can not be happy unless they have excessive amounts of money to spare on luxury items such as cars, clothes, and vacations. And then there are those who just need enough to get by and are content to be living in a small house with out all of the lavish extra items.
Although money is important it is not the only thing that contributes to a persons happiness. What you do to make your money plays a major role in a persons happiness as well. Those people who earn extraneous amounts of income are often in careers that take up a lot of time, which in turn takes away from their personal lives with family. These people have to make a lot of sacrifices in order to keep up their life style, and for some that just is not worth it. The point I am trying to make is that the type of job people do regardless of the amount of money they makes is a big factor in their happiness. If you are going to a job you hate everyday, despite the fact that you could be making seven figures or more, it does not matter how much money you are making because you are not happy.
Personally money does not matter all that much to me. During the summer I live at my beach house which is obviously a very relaxed lifestyle unaffected by the need of material items and this is always when I am at my happiest. Because of the way I was raised it has always been my dream to at some point in my life live down the shore open a surf shop with my brother and just live the simple life, and that not money is what would truly make me happy.

I personally do not have a problem with people around me speaking another language. My feelings about this issue have a lot to do with how I was raised. My mother came to America from Denmark in her mid twenties and has been here ever since. With the rest of her family living in Denmark when she had my siblings and I it was a priority of hers to keep her heritage alive. I became fluent in Danish at a young age and to keep my up to speed with the language my mother would often randomly break out in Danish to keep us on our toes, and often times it would be in a public place. It is because of this background that I am more desensitized to people around me speaking another language. However I do from a young age remember sometimes getting looks from people when not speaking English.
I can understand why some people may have a problem or be wary of people they can not understand for more simple reasons. It is human nature to be curious about what other people are saying especially when you do not understand the language they are speaking. And with that curiosity also comes a sense of uncertainty, people often find themselves becoming self conscious assuming the conversation is about them when it is just as likely that it pertains to the weather. In situations like these I can understand why people may be uncomfortable. Unfortunately I do believe that there are those who do take it more offensively. With current tensions surrounding immigration I think many people are quick to judge when they hear those around them speaking another language. Many times people come to the conclusion that these people are ignorant because they won’t embrace the language of the country they are living in and chose not to learn it. But there is a unique circumstance for every person. While some may not know English there are those who do and choose not to use it. When coming to a knew country there are many things to adjust to. Keeping some aspects of a previous home land and culture is an important and comforting aspect to a lot of people. Speaking their native language is one of those ways for people to hold on to their cultures. Not only that it is also comforting to hear those around you speaking a language that you are familiar with. Instead of being uncomfortable I think it gives people a certain bond. When ever I see or hear someone speaking Danish in the America I feel instantly connected to them since there are not many people from Denmark living in the United States.

American’s like to think that their country was built on the hard work, freedom, and the American Dream. What most of us either fail to notice or choose to ignore is one of our country’s most important building block, the genocide of the indigenous peoples. High school education only grazes the tip of the iceberg on this topic and unless people seek further education on the subject they will most likely never understand how horrific this country’s treatment of the indigenous people really was. Last year I took English 135, a course dedicated to the history of the Native American people and the tragedies they have suffered in the construction of America. To say this class opened my eyes to what really happened through out history and what continues to happen today is an understatement.
That being said I completely agree with Sam when he said that there is no easy solution to this problem. When the matter only concerns one or two generations its easy to say that we should give the land back. It was clearly taken without any due cause from the indigenous people and they have every right to reclaim their land. The problem becomes only more complicated as time goes on. Should a whole family be displaced from their home because 4 or 5 generations ago one of their family members stole the land from some one else. This only creates more problems, because even though the descendants of the original Native American are mostly likely living in poverty giving them back their land could potentially drive another family into the same situation. So while I sympathize with what the indigenous people have had to endure I feel that giving them back their land and displacing millions of other families will do more harm than good.
Therefore I believe helping the indigenous people re-establish themselves is more realistic as well as beneficial. There are little things that can be done to help re-establishment take place. The use of Native American mascots is has been in debate for years and the Native American people are adamantly pushing for it to stop. All of these mascots are extremely offensive and racist. The Atlanta Braves for example have an red faced Indian for their mascot. The term “red” is much more offensive then most people realize. It derived from colonial times when bounty’s were put on Native Americans and trappers would bring their scalps for money, and the term for the scalp of an Indian and then broadened to describe all Native Americans.
It is clear that the indigenous people have suffered a great deal and continue to suffer at the hands of America and it’s government. What needs to be done to re-establish them will certainly not be easy nor is it clear, but what is clear is that retributions need to be made.

However there is one instance in high school where I got a taste of what it would be like to have a seat at that table. I played basketball all throughout high school and while on varsity there were two twin sisters a grade above me that were of African American decent. Despite our differences in race there was a group of us that were all very close including the twins. One weekend they invited us over their house; it was a bunch of girls from the team and then some of their guy friends who also happened to be black. When I first arrived I didn’t think anything of it. As the night went on there were constantly comments being made by the twins friends like “oh you girls are so much more fun than most white people,” and things of that nature. After they left me and my friends mentioned it to them and briefly laughed about it and then never mentioned it again. Looking back I wish I had taken the time to discuss the matter in more detail and actually sit down at the race table.

I don’t think that racism with in a society can ever be totally eradicated but there are things we can all do to make strides towards a world of more understanding. Like I said I have never sat at the race table and had an outright debate about racism and how it affects everyone differently.

I think one of the biggest reasons for the different forms of racism is due to our country’s history with slavery and racism. Many white people feel that they have to over compensate for what happened in the past. Therefore for white people to show any form of racism towards black people is completely and utterly unacceptable. And in the same sense, due to the course of history, it is understandable why people of color choose to be more upfront in terms of racism. That is not to say that all white people are always consciously and subconsciously thinking about race as well as black people constantly talking poorly on white people, it just explains why these two very different types of racism are in existence.

I am from an area of New Jersey that is predominantly white. Even though it is a predominantly white area there are still a variety of races living in the area. And although I have personally sat at the race table where I grew up has given me insight into the different worlds of racism. Therefore I would have to agree that latent racism is more affluent throughout the white community opposed to the black community where it is more racism is more out in the open. I would just like to point out now that anything I’m commenting on is just through my observation and perception of events surrounding me. Nothing I am staying is necessarily true or what I firmly believe in, it is just what I have picked up on.

The story of Abby and Brittany is an extremely unique and inspiring story. I am truly astounded at the internal strength that these two poses. For these girls everyday has the potential to be a struggle. Despite their two separate brains and control of opposite sides of their body they have learned to work and function as essentially one fully functioning body. Even though for the time being their lives are running smoothly there are many things they will have to address in both the long and near future. In the near future they will have to face questions like, can we date, how will it work when and if dating other people, and how will sex work? In the more distant future they will have to worry about things like how will they decide on a college, how will they pursue their own careers, will they be paid as individuals? These are just some of the difficult things they are going to have to figure out as they go.
Freedom and determinism play a big part in Abby’s and Brittany’s lives. Determinism has played a very clear and dominant role in the girls lives. Since they have no choice but to share a body, they would die without each other, they have become physically limited in a number of ways. In this sense their biology has determined that they will always be together and forced to live shared lives. This has forced them to lead a life driven by understanding and consideration for their other half.
However freewill has played an equally large part in Abby’s and Brittany’s lives. They could have become depressed at their situation and chose to live their life in sorrow and anger. Instead they have choose to live the life of a normal teenager. In order to strive to be as “normal” as possible they made the video to show everyone how they cope and to get a final word in. Although they are physically impaired from a lot of things they have made the choice to work hard and battle through it as much as they can. Their hard work has allowed them to over come their hurdles and be able to learn how to drive and even clap simultaneously.
Although aspects of their lives were determined for them and continue to be the driving force of what they can and cannot do they have used their free will to make the best of their situation. They or their family do not owe the world anything and buy making this video they have given enough insight for people to begin to understand how they have decided to make the best of their situation and that the rest of the world needs to respect their decisions and allow them to live their lives.