veiled4allah: Imagine the America you want to live in #5 veiled4allah: Imagine the America you want to live in #5All comments are copyright their authors
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Subject: Re: Imagine the America you want to live in #5
I think that one of the main things that needs healing in our society is how we seem to becoming so fearful. Fearful of amorphous threats, fearful of "the other". People who are fearful tend to withdraw into themselves and put up barriers to keep others away. This is what I see slowly happening in America. Step by step we seem to be developing this idea that we should have only one mission now and that is to protect ourselves. There is so much more that we could be doing.We need to remember that we are not only the land of the free but also the home of the brave. The American character shouldn't be one that is fearful.
I think the best way to overcome this is through reaching out and seeking to learn more. People who are different may still share common values with us and common experiences. As we learn this, we can see that they are our friends and we do not have to regard them fearfully or think that we have to protect ourselves against them. If we do have a dispute with them we can try to work it out through mutual consultation.
Subject: Re: Imagine the America you want to live in #5
I think that part of the problem is a lack of common ground. One of the defining experiences of my life is my military service, not only because of the discipline of boot camp but because it brought me into contact with people from all over the country. Before I went away for basic training, I had many of the standard New York regional prejudices (e.g., Southerners are racist rednecks) but meeting people from other walks of life changed my mind. The process worked both ways - I was the first Jew that many of the other recruits had met, and knowing me helped some of them overcome their stereotypical ideas.Americans (like people in other countries) often tend to associate with others of their own social, educational and economic background, and this trend has arguably accelerated with the growth of gated communities and the middle class' increasing abandonment of the public schools. It might be a good idea to make a year of national service mandatory in order to restore some common ground and expose young adults to the breadth and diversity of their country. Such service need not be military - the country would probably benefit more from civilian service programs such as inner-city teaching, assisting in hospitals and/or infrastructure maintenance. It would be something that both the senator's son and the inner-city kid would do together and, at least in some cases, it might provide a broader perspective for later in life.
Subject: Re: Imagine the America you want to live in #5
Jonathan, I really like your idea about community service. It should be added to all high school graduation requirements. Not only would it give kids a broader view of the community they live in, but for some of them may actually be the first time they do something concrete in their lives, whatever their background.As for healing, I think in a funny way this is already taking place. The churches are falling and will have to reinvent themselves to survive. Corporations are falling and will have to reinvent themselves to survive. Soldiers are blogging questioning the war they are involved in. People just don't wake up one day and decide to change institutions for the better. They have to reach a crisis point to be open to change. There has to be some sort of intent to change, a movement toward something. It seems to me that most of our modern society has been built on dividing things into separate parts. In the process we also managed to cleave off the very idea of spirituality and regard for living things.
I have always thought that religion did not belong in school. The past few years I've had a rethink on that subject. I think it would be appropriate to teach grade school children about all the world's religions, with emphasis on no particular one. It's time to look at the world as it is and acknowledge that spirituality is an essential part of being human.
As for fear, after seeing Bowling for Columbine, I know why I don't watch television any more, particularly the news. All it does is generate fear that something terrible might happen to you.
......b
Subject: Re: Imagine the America you want to live in #5
I think that Americans need to learn to be tolerant of each other. Too much anger and hate is directed at people who are of a different faith or race. I also think that we must accept these differences not try to force our opinions on others with different values, beliefs and so on. This is easier said than done. Too much blood has been spilled in the name of relgion. Too much blood has been spilled because someone has a different skin color. We must learn to get along in the face of our differences or the world will never be safe and there will always be death and destruction.Subject: Re: Imagine the America you want to live in #5
Jonathan and Jessica, thank you for sharing your thoughts on this issue. It's too bad nobody else did but I hope that everybody who read this gained something from it, inshallah.