I consider myself a Christian but it is people like Pat Robertson that make me ashamed to be associated with the same religious group. I mean, honestly, “a pact with the devil”? I can’t believe that someone would not only think something like this but would also publicly and openly present it as a legitimate explanation of a tragic event. Upon hearing this religious rationale for the Haitian earthquake, I immediately thought back to the tsunami that occurred in 2004. I remember people claiming that this too was an act of God, a way of punishing the “pagans” in Indonesia. People pointed to the fact that this tragedy occurred the day after Christmas and that a natural disaster of such magnitude could only come from the mighty hand of God. Similarities to the Biblical story of Noah’s ark were even drawn. However, I strongly doubt that God would “punish” people so drastically- even those that do not believe in Him. As Christians- and even as just human beings with hearts- we should simply see others in need- not their religious affiliations, not their nationalities, not their social views.
What I love about the people of my generation is that the vast majority is very open-minded, but there is still room for improvement. Prejudice still occurs. If you walk through the dining halls here at Penn State, you can see a clear separation of races and cultural backgrounds. I was shocked to see this when I first arrived at school because I grew up in a very diverse area with people of all colors and creeds. I thrive on diversity. All of us sat the lunch tables together- Hispanics with whites with blacks with Asians with Indians. We didn’t have the racial divisions that Penn State has.
So often we see hatred and prejudice rise up between people because of a lack of understanding. I believe that if we surround our children with other children of other races, cultures, and socioeconomic levels, we will do our children a great service. Younger children tend to be very accepting; thus, if they grow up with children that are different than they are, they will befriend these children and these friendships will hopefully last through the years. The friendship bond will cause them to overlook the physical and cultural differences between them; they will understand that they are all human beings with the same heart.
We should all strive every day to take down the wall of prejudices that we have built up around ourselves. Take a moment to talk to someone you wouldn’t usually talk to; get to know them. What do they like to do? What kind of beliefs do they have? What do they want to do with their life? Trust me- talking to people is a great way to learn about the world- and a great way to break down prejudice and make our world a better place.

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I consider myself a Christian but it is people like Pat Robertson that make me ashamed to be associated with the same religious group. I mean, honestly, a pact with the devil? I cant believe that someone would not only think something like this but would also publicly and openly present it as a legitimate explanation of a tragic event. Upon hearing this religious rationale for the Haitian earthquake, I immediately thought back to the tsunami that occurred in 2004. I remember people claiming that this too was an act of God, a way of punishing the pagans in Indonesia. People pointed to the fact that this tragedy occurred the day after Christmas and that a natural disaster of such magnitude could only come from the mighty hand of God. Similarities to the Biblical story of Noahs ark were even drawn. However, I strongly doubt that God would punish people so drastically- even those that do not believe in Him. As Christians- and even as just human beings with hearts- we should simply see others in need- not their religious affiliations, not their nationalities, not their social views.