The basic lesson the world will take away from the Charlie attack will be one of hatred, revenge, and suspicion for one's neighbors. However, this can be combated, even reversed if we as a human society remember that we walk a fine line between freedom and fear, that when we do things with the best of intentions they can have the worst of consequences. It has been agreed almost universally that the cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo this past year have been, for Muslims, extremely offensive. But is also important to remember that the magazine retains the right to free speech and to publish whatever it wants. Charlie Hebdo has offended almost every group or religion at some point, as have many other satires, yet we only now hear about how a satirical cartoon can produce the response of senseless murder. The logical conclusion is that it was Islamic extremists acting in the name of God and Islam, who the vast majority of Muslims reject, that committed this atrocity, and that they are outliers and should be treated as such. Despite this, many will walk away from this similarly to how they walked away from September 11th, 2001, with the image of terrorism and fear when the word Islam is spoken. It is, illogically, the very satire that triggered these attacks and others like it that can be a solution to blind hate. The human ability to make fun of ourselves and laugh about very serious topics has served us well over the course of history, holding people together when law and force could not.
From the point of a satirist: Obviously, since Islamic extremism and terrorism is in France now, the United States military has to go to France. Now, this isn't an "invasion", why would we invade an ally? No, this is a divine intervention on behalf of the French government. Operation Croissant Moon will be the latest in a long line of ops by the U.S.A. to defend its brave citizens from the evils of terrorism, tyranny, and free universities.
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I chose to research the Ferguson case. Basically what happened is that there was an altercation between a cop (Darren Wilson) and a man (Mike Brown). Mike Brown was shot in the head twice by WIlson and killed. He was not indicted. I've done a lot of research, but every article I have read tells the story differently. This situation has affected America as a whole. There have been a lot of uprisings and protests. Many people believe (myself included) that the police handed the situation horribly. There is no justice here. Wilson clearly defied Police code, he shouldn't have killed an innocent man, there are many things he should have done before pulling out his gun. Nobody seems to be acknowledging the fact that he broke protocol. The only punishment he got was that he was on paid leave, and that's it. A man is dead, and he is back at work. While this is a frustrating and horrific story, it opened peoples eyes. Our police system is incredibly flawed and needs to be fixed. Obama has funded putting video cameras on every cop and revise their training methods. This affects me because it will affect the cops in my area, so I will live with this. Hopefully this will make the streets a little safer. I wonder what the real story is in Ferguson. What eyewitnesses say. Like I said, every article is different, so there's really no way to know what happened that night. I also wonder what other steps we will take as a country to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
I have chosen to follow multiple stories about the current political and civil crisis in Thailand, namely the article on newsELA entitled "'Hunger Games' salute now banned by Thailand's military leaders". The essential background to the events in Thailand must be understood chronologically; a coup was staged by the Thai military in May of this year against the decidedly corrupt government which had been elected some years ago. Waves of protests, mostly peaceful, followed from two camps. The first is in favor of the elected government and wants the military to surrender power and allow the Prime Minister and his government to resume control. The anti-government camp opposes the Prime Minister and states that the government is authoritarian, corrupt, and abusive of its power and demands free elections be held. Both groups, however, detest the military leadership that has turned Thailand into an overt authoritarian state and continue to protest the military, who say that they intend to hold elections at an unspecified date and time to replace the old government. This three-sided struggle has already killed numerous Thai citizens and prompted the unjust assaults and arrests of many more. The fine details of these events, however, are far closer to home in a stable, wealthy part of the world. Many protesters have been arrested for giving the salute popularized by Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, in which the revolutionary citizens of post-apocalyptic Panem hold three fingers together, press them to their lips, and hold the salute in the air en masse. Rumors have even surfaced that citizens have been killed in a manner similar to an old man in the trilogy's second book - dragged form the crowd onto a stage/visible place and publicly shot to death. This impacts myself and others living in relative freedom because so many millions of young adults have read these books, and to see their principles of fighting for freedom and what one believes in is an opportunity not had in recent history. Over the past decade revolutions have swept the globe to tear down tyrannical governments, and while they have not always been successful it is their spirit of the sacrifice made for liberty that has been renewed for young people today. In Thailand and even in the United States, in light of the recent shooting deaths involving police officers, Mockingjay bird images have been scrawled on walls with Katniss Everdeen's furious line "If we burn, you burn with us!" This begs the question and leaves me personally wondering "What happens next?" In the next five years, how will this revolutionary spirit have taken root elsewhere, and to what extent?
My Sisters Keeper, is about dealing with cancer and how this family is coping with this situation. This story is obviously not about me but, this story is really touching and makes me thankful for what i have. The events don't just impact the characters but they touch the reader also. The reader is either relating or having new thoughts about this topic. The topic cancer is huge. This girl having cancer in this book is making the whole family realize what they need to be thankful for and what they need to do to cope. I feel the same way. If this was happening with one of my siblings or even parents, just from this book, i am learning ways to help and cope with this problem. I still wonder what the actual thoughts these characters are having. This process is probably the hardest thing a family could deal with.The book I am currently reading is unlike any book I've ever read before. The books I usually read are happy, adventurous books. This book, "The Book Thief" is far from that. Not that it is a bad book, it's actually a very good book, it's just a little bit out of my comfort zone. The book takes place in Germany during World War 2. The main character, Liesel, is a little girl who gets put into a foster home after her brothers sudden death at a very young age. She lives with a man and a woman. The woman, who she calls Mama, is a very special character who has a little bit of an anger problem. Liesel's relationship with her is based on fear. However, the man, who she calls Papa, has an incredible relationship with Liesel. He’s a gentle man who gets up in the middle of the night every night and teaches Liesel how to read and write. Over time they create this bond that cannot be broken.He gives Liesel a type of love and confidence that is very special. There's also a part in the story where Liesel is getting picked on at school due to how young she is and the fact that she isnt as smart as the other kids. I can relate this situation to my own life because when I was little I was always the odd one out. I was awkward and tall and not that smart. I could feel Liesel's pain as the little bratty kids teased her.
I just started this book so I'm not very far into the story, but as far as I can tell, the theme is very sorrowful. All of these bad things keep on happening to Liesel, it doesn’t seem like there will be a happy ending. However, through all of this sadness, there seems to be a little bit of hope. Even after all of the troubles Liesel has faced, she still finds happiness. Whether it be in reading with her Papa, or playing soccer on the street with her friends. The reader can sense just a little hint of happiness. I look forward to continuing the story. |