It reminded us that he is a person who does not like to see misfortune, and that many of our “enemies” are like that. What I thought was most interesting was when we asked him mundane questions like the weather and what there is to do on the weekends. As I was sitting in Soc 119 in State College, I pictured Basum in his home in the 26 degree Celsius weather with thunderstorms. He mentioned that he worries for his son on the weekends, not unlike our own parents do. His appearance from the picture definitely looked like an Iraqi, but I would not be surprised if someone that looked like him moved in next door to me. Overall, I was really happy to be able to connect with someone so far away and gain a new perspective on the issue in Iraq.

Personally, I think speaking to Basum was the coolest thing we have done this semester. There are so few chances to actually speak to an average Iraqi. Most people will never get the chance to ask someone like Basum any questions, especially people who follow the war closely. I thought his responses were extremely insightful, although most answers were simple. If you really take the time to think about it, most of his answers were obvious. We asked about how he felt about Americans and the war and he answered truthfully that they did not mind Americans, but asked us how we would feel if someone came into our own backyards and started messing with us. It was important for us to hear his perspective because we usually can not be connected to people like him. Sam’s lecture about viewing the war from an Iraqi perspective definitely opened my mind and had me thinking in a different way, but hearing the words from someone sitting in their home in Iraq makes much more of an impact. I was not necessarily surprised by Basum’s answers, but I appreciated all he had to share with us. In respect to the war and how he views Americans, he obviously has a very open mind. Having lived and studied in America, he knows Americans on a different level than many Iraqis. Therefore, he can be a little more even-keeled when thinking about it. If I were in his position, I do not know if I would be as understanding. I took into consideration what he had to say about the media, because that is definitely a huge influence in our world today. No one wants to be misinterpreted, and in our societies today the interpretation of the media is one of the driving factors of national relations. I know I cringe when I see manipulated stories being distributed and people believing them, often causing issues. It was also interesting to hear how devastated he was on 9/11

Would a gay man be fired for that same job? Its not about being attracted to these people whatsoever. Its a weird an awkward situation to begin with, and finding a good employee who can get the job done is all that anyone really needs to worry about. Sexual harassment is a big part of the corporate world, and I believe that extends to crossing all lines of being inappropriate. In this case, Mr. Devoureau’s boss asked him about physical operations to change his sexuality. Mr. Devoureau should not have to explain himself every single time someone finds out about his life. I’m sure he would just like to live as an individual and not have to constantly be reminded that his life is complicated. He has chosen who he wants to be. It is not a fluke where someone is on the fence about their identity. Mr. Devoureau is regarded male in his name. at the Motor Vehicle Commission, at the Social Security office, at home and at job interviews. So why is it questioned while performing the job? Unless he was fired for being a poor employee, I feel that this is unfair to Mr. Devoureau.

In regards to this article alone, I believe that being a transgender is not a reason to fire Mr. Devoureau. I do not know if there were further circumstances to Mr. Devoureau’s termination, but based solely on his gender, I believe he was wrongfully fired. First and foremost, the person hired for his job must be a professional. Man or woman, his job was what many would consider awkward, but necessary. The person hired for the position, again either male or female, must approach it as a professional for it is necessary to help those recovering from addictions stay clean. In my opinion, gender does not matter at all in this case. As far as anyone is concerned, Mr. Devoureau is a male. That is as far as it has to go in this position, and further questions about his anatomy or sexuality are not relevant as long as he is a good employee and approaches his job professionally. In a business setting, everyone deserves to be treated as a human being, whether male or female. Nothing sexual or implicit should be occurring, so why his sex vs. his gender allows him to be fired is something I do not understand. He is trying to be a parent and support himself and his child, which is not unlike any other male or female in the world today. I believe it is right that Mr. Devoureau guards his privacy, for it reiterates the fact that personal things should not crossover into a professional world. Just as I am regarded as a woman, Mr. Devoureau is regarded as a man, and no employer needs to know much more about that.

But then, I understood his point that not every Middle Easterner is Muslim or radical. Sam was trying to show that it is annoying to have people assume something about you just because of where you are from or what people around you act like. Many in the Middle East, Muslim or not, are not the radical terrorists who we are fighting. By putting that in terms that I related too, it was much more enlightening for me to understand the mindset of someone else. I thought that through this lecture my mind didn’t necessarily change, but it was opened to much more to understand that our “enemies” are more similar in mindset than we think.

These fundamental ideas begin to explain the absolute terror that has been occurring. I am not simply implying that media coverage is the sole reason for war, but it is useful to keep in mind both sides of the same issue. I think if more people thought in terms of the other side, some of these issues may be avoided.

Most of what I took from this lecture was less about religion and more about perspective. When Sam brought up Americans praying before battle, army men reading Bibles, etc, I once again opened my mind the thought that our society is not as different from that of the Middle Easterners. The execution of our religious practices is completely different, but the base of prayer intertwined with culture is prevalent for both sides. The thing in regards to religion I took from this lecture was the “clumping” of people with religion and negativity. At first, as someone who is not a Christian, I was annoyed. I didn’t like how he kept clumping everyone in with one particular religion.

I definitely think that the lecture on terrorism opened my mind to understand the mindset of Middle Easterners. It’s easy to see Middle Easterners, from our perspective, as “the enemy.” When we watch the news, see videos, or hear of instances of interaction with them, they are usually the worst of the worst. The people who make the news here are those who are most extreme, radical, and dangerous. By pointing out a simple fact, Sam made me think. If we are exposed to the worst of the Middle Easterners in regards to this war, what do you that they are seeing in their media as well? Those videos of American soldiers running over a taxi drivers car with their tank or pushing another car off the side of the road would certainly make me angry if that was what I was exposed too. It’s easy from our perspective to think that we are doing a good thing or that we are justified, but those people feel the same as we do.

My point in this is that religion has already changed so much in our short run as a species, and it does not surprise me in the least that it is changing once again. The more mysteries we solve about our existence, the less we need to rely on a higher power. We know how rain is formed, how bad weather comes about, why wars are started, etc. No longer do we think of rain as a God’s tears, or a tsunami as a God’s spite. In a thousand years from now, what will our future generations know and believe?
Another thing is that I find it ridiculous when people try to measure emotions and feelings into statistics. Religion is the deepest part of a person, and while I do not have very religious emotions, I am envious of those who do. We cannot project numbers for religion. What people will believe in the future is entirely unknown. Perhaps a new form of religion will spring up that we cannot even fathom to think of now. I am sure the Ancient Egyptians who worshiped the Sun God in a Pyramid could never imagine a Catholic worshipping only one true God in a Cathedral. We do not what the future holds for any situation, least of all religion.

First of all, I have always been extremely interested in religion. I was raised in a religious school and practiced my religion every week. However, I also wondered about people who were a different religion than I was, and how if they as surely believed as I did, who was wrong? Someone must be wrong if there is only one true answer, but yet we believe so many different things. Not only do I find that interesting in a modern sense, but I think back to history. Our earliest ancestors believed in so many different religions that were so different to what we believe today. We went from being a polytheistic species to mostly monotheistic in a few thousand years. From remnants of the earliest civilizations we find sculptures, paintings and relics of religious practices. What makes our religions of today more sophisticated or more accurate from those of the dawn of civilization?

I was really interested in this article, both in how it fascinates me and how it makes me feel like it is ridiculous. I was raised religious, but honestly have no idea what I believe now, leaning towards believing in nothing at all. Therefore, I do not really have a bias against these people who say that religion is withering away in the sense that I am an extremely religious person. I say that it is ridiculous because I find it amusing that news is reporting on statistical numbers that reflect a person’s beliefs.