This week’s reading in PHUS, made me think of a couple things, especially in the midst of the recent election. I found it interesting that the 2000 election was so similar to this year’s election in the sense that the last few states were very close calls. However, it is interesting to see the views on the issues when party lines are switched. The common narrative lately is that President Trump is unfairly pushing for a recount and that he is unwilling to concede the race. However, according to this reading, it seems like that is almost exactly what the Democratic party did, as the case went to the supreme court. On the flip side, Republicans in 2000 seem to have taken steps to avoid a recount. Democrats in 2000 argued that “the court did not have the right to interfere with Florida’s Supreme court interpretation of the law. It is so interesting to me to see how dead set both parties can be on their opinions of this issue today, yet 20 years ago they were entirely flipped. It makes me question the intentions of the parties. If they can’t be consistent on their opinions, it makes them both look self centered and narcissistic.<\/p>\n
In terms of the war on terrorism, this different perspective gave me a new lens. I was not old enough to remember 9\/11 or its immediate effects, but I hear stories of the way that this catastrophe brought our country together closer than almost any time before. I understand that this event made people proud to be an American because they all had gone through something together. However, I didn’t really think about the Muslim population’s viewpoint. I agree with president Bush’s statement that there needs to be a distinction between the dangerous Muslim terrorist group and Muslims that have no connection to it at all. Otherwise, there is widespread discrimination against an entire religion. To hear the stories of Muslims that were affected by the United States aggressive response to the bombings gave me a new perspective to think about.<\/p>\n
The last quote from Robert Bowman is very important to consider at all times. He says “We should do good instead of evil. Who would try to stop us? Who would hate us? who would want to bomb us? That is the truth the American people need to hear” (Zinn p. 682). I think it is an important point not only from a national standpoint, but also in our day to day interactions with others across all areas of race, ethnicity, and religion. Doing good to others, often returns in mutual feelings of respect and appreciation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This week’s reading in PHUS, made me think of a couple things, especially in the midst of the recent election. I found it interesting that…<\/p>\n