Response to Danielles Final Presentation

Danielle did a great job with her presentation and captured a lot of the points that I was trying to make in my own. She uses powerful words to push people to think past their own issues and realize the importance of the one she is presenting, such as; “Stop hating, start tolerating!” Her position, about how a lot of this religious tension is our own fault, is strongly represented in the images she used about how some limitations apply. She exemplifies the issues between different religions but also that everyone is entitled to their beliefs. It is not one religions fault, in order to have religious unity and tolerance there must be cooperation from all people from all different religions. The characters unite video makes a very important and strong impact. The quote “you can use your differences to make a difference” is a great point and very meaningful. She did a great job of making me think and giving me a different perspective than my own. This presentation pushes you to see each other without our eyes and prejudgments, but with our common bond and unity. Her idea of coexistence plays very well with the point she is trying to make about Americans and their level of tolerance toward other Americans of different religions. Overall a great presentation and good information.

Response to Chris' Final Presentation

Before watching Chris’s Finals PowerPoint I knew almost nothing about Native Americans other than what I had learned in history classes. Through his use of the painting of Manifest Destiny he shows the hardships that Native Americans have gone through and how they were viewed and treated by Americans in the past. He does a good job displaying the superiority Americans believed they had over native Americans and their culture, religion, and overall way of life. He also uses literature affectively in showing how much the lives of Native Americans were changed so that they were north Americanized. They barely knew their own mother and could not relate to their own rich Native American culture. Ayah talked to her son in the native language, but "when he tried to answer her, he could not seem to remember and he spoke English words mixed with Navajo."(Silko). He describes how difficult it is in modern day to keep up with their heritage, avoid poverty, and avoid drug involvement. He shows this through a news broadcast that displays current life as a Native American and how hard it is because of the pull between modern times and holding onto their ancestry. He truly captures this issue successfully from several different views and allows me to see the regret and hardships they are currently experiencing.

Response to Jill's Final Presentation

Music is something very important to me because it’s able to change my mood so instantly and there is so much passion involved, but I had never thought of it in terms of how it came to be or how it evolved. The song that Jill used towards the beginning of the PowerPoint (Buckshot Lefonque) describes the way jazz and other types of music evolved and it got me thinking that all variety of music I listen to originated from different times people and places. I loved the videos that Jill used about Haiti and the Tribute to Michael Jackson because they were visual and emotional examples of how all different types of people can come together to celebrate a talented and music changing artist. Jill did a good job showing rather than telling how important music, or the arts, is to freedom of expression in America, and how they have changed America in many different ways. They lyrics she uses are very powerful and meaningful and they back up the points she is trying to make. Especially with rap, she did a good job trying to see both ends of the spectrum and how different people like different music but over all it can unite or separate us for our tastes. Jill did a great job telling the story of music and how it’s related to America and she made it interesting by using great examples of videos, lyrics, and quotes, all of which backed her points. “Why am I fighting to live, if I'm just living to fight Why am I trying to see, when there aint nothing in sight Why am I trying to give, when no one gives me a try Why am I dying to live, if I'm just living to die? Someone tell me why”-- Tupac Shakur. This is one of the many examples of this and how she relates what it means to be an American to music, she shows an American trying to express his struggles and passion through music.

Literary

In the short story Redemption by John Gardener the theme of religion play a huge role in that a boy and his family who are very religious suffer a huge tragedy and must find their own way to cope with their misfortune; each person reacts differently toward their God after this accident. The main character, Jack, completely turns away from his religion and bury’s himself in the grief of his brother. His father, religious and kind man, blames God for his pain and what happened and he rebels against God and does things completely against his character . Eventually he breaks down and discovers that no matter how hard he tried he could not continue to avoid God. He truly has unconditional faith and accepts that he cannot live his life without his faith. His mother, extremely caring but emotional, is a wreck but seems to maintain her faith and even rely on it more. Jack’s little sister who is holding on to maintaining her innocence, is insisting on God and praying a lot because she needs to know that God had a reason and that he is still there. Through playing the French horn and meeting his teacher who had also been through a very big tragedy and found redemption through music, Jack realizes that God had been there the whole time and that whatever he had put him through he took him through. The French horn was his way out and he was able to finally forgive himself and move on with a new found faith. This story suggests that religion requires an enormous amount of faith and that one must be patient and allow themselves to trust and deal with things over time, and not to immediately lose faith after tragedy but to trust that what you have invested your faith in will come through. Having read this short story and analyzing the role of religion in it rather than just reading about religion, it adds to the definition in that people need to be able to make their own choice in their own time, one can force you. “Jack his sister said, did you want to say grace? Not really, he said and he glanced at her. He saw her face in alarm, her mouth slightly opened, her eyes wide, growing wider, and though he did not know why, his heart gave a jump. I already said it, he mumbled. Just not out loud. Oh, she said then smiled.” His sister having turned to God after such a tragedy wanted so much for him to do the same because it was helping to heal her and she knew he needed healing. He needed to go back to trusting his religion on his own terms and time, when people need their religion others must be tolerant and allow them to do it for themselves, but in return they must be willing to be tolerant of what they place their faith in and give it time to act as well. Every type of religion; judaism, christianity, budhism, etc calls for some sort of trust in what you believe, when misfortunes happen people blame it on what they beleive in just as they worship when something great happens to thank who or what they believe in. If one feels strongly enough about a religion to live their life by it, than they should be able to stick with it not only through the good part of life but the dark ones as well.

Backround Information

My topic is religion and it is one of the most highly controversial and debated topics there are, but there is a reason why there are very few big disputes over it in America. Freedom of religion is one of the best laws in the United States because although we have certain disputes and intolerance's, America is very tolerant for such a controversial subject. Religion is everywhere even places it is not supposed to be such as schools and the government. Religion can be found in many places in the government such as courts, when one is sworn in with the bible to tell the truth, or in the Declaration of independence there are many inferences to a God or a supreme being, or even in the constitution where it is stated, "the year of our lord,". Although it is spotted in the certain places the founders of our country went to a far extent to see that our religious freedoms were protected. These attempts can be shown in the first amendment in the first provision prohibits Congress from passing laws leading to "an establishment of religion." The second provision restrains Congress from "prohibiting the free exercise thereof." When the law was made to allow freedom of religion and protection from it as well, they meant to keep one religion from dominating society and to allow equal influence of other religions as well. This is exhibited by an analogy that Thomas Jefferson made where he referred to a "wall of separation of church and state,". The government also saw it only fitting to keep religion out of schools because it is impossible to teach every religion and equally represent all of them without separating students, yet evolution is being taught; which is an alternate belief but still in description a religion. Laws were made to keep religion out of schools such as the first amendment, and there have been many court cases discussing the legality of certain religious exceptions and situations in schools like in Engel v. Vitale (1962) where a standard prayer was made for all students non specific yet it was struck down because it forces those who do not believe in a religion at all to pray or it may have favored one religion over another putting students who were unfamiliar with it into a unfair position. Whenever evolution is brought up creationism comes along with it, therefore religion being intertwined with a lot of things that students learn. The government is very particular as to what they allow to be taught in schools in terms of religion."In 1925, the legislature of Tennessee passed a law making it illegal to teach evolution in schools in that state. In the nationally publicized Scopes trial, a schoolteacher named John T. Scopes was found guilty of breaking that law and fined $100." Religion is also unavoidably in government because many of the morals that America is built off of are morals of certain religions, those that in turn will be favored by the government having influence over its people, such as do not steal, or do not kill (from the ten commandments). The very framework of America is based on quotes like these “one nation under God” making a religion-free government practically impossible. Even with theses factors, this statement "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” allows for the government to have no say as to what people believe, only to how they are governed. The factors of religion that make it so important are that in American we are all able to decide our own, they are many times what people base their values and live their lives upon, and much of the time religion determines right and wrong. To be tolerant to others who have different religions is to accept that America is home to a great diversity of people who have the awareness and longing to be one regardless of differences and this is what makes America one of the happiest countries on earth. Although it is known that religion is somewhat involved in places where in theory it shouldn't’t be, schools and government, it is these faults that make us tolerant of minorities and less ignorant creating a country where people can feel comfortable with their beliefs. To the core religion is what each holds to be personally true, and living in a country where we are allowed and set up to do so makes it much easier to be happy and see the other side as well.

Current Events

The current events that I found, that related to religion, all related back to one theme; religious tolerance. I have found that in each of these articles there are cases in which the religion or faith of one person is being challenged, criticized, or silenced for fairness. All of these have to do with religious tolerance or the ability to understand that something is different but accept it and understand that all people are entitled to accept as true what they choose. For example in the article Doubt, “He asked me all sorts of wild questions I had never thought about before, like, ''Well, why do you believe that?'' Everything I said that year, Frank would ask me that question. Then I started asking myself that question about every thought I had.” When this person was challenged by someone else to defend their belief he began to doubt himself, if this person had just accepted and respected those beliefs than he wouldn’t feel this unsettling doubt about something he has believed in for so long. This is not the only form of religious tolerance but there are many, such as tolerating all religions in school rather than none, if evolution is allowed to be taught in curriculums than religion should be too it is unfair to represent one view of how the earth came to be and not the other. If the government believed that Americans were able to tolerate religion in schools, more kids would be raised with better morals, and a greater sense of self and faith. Not one religion is school but the teaching of many, and not forcing kids to believe but to learn so they are able to accept differences. Many people in America are ignorant and are not willing to see things differently than their own way. An example of this is after the 9/11 attacks people immediately associate Muslims with terrorists and this is completely false and the way they are viewed and treated here is unjust. “Why are only Muslims required to defend the horrendous acts of co-religionists? Why is it that Christians aren’t asked the same questions when one of their own commits the same?” This means that if Muslims are judged by the wrong doings of those with the same religion than Christians should be judged by all wrongdoings of all Christians. Tolerance starts with accepting a different perspective, not agreeing with it, but accepting it. The reasons behind all this intolerance is that because religion is such a powerful force in our world those who are intolerant feel the need to defend their own religion by putting down other ones. Others reasons for intolerance are protecting rights, although it is important to protect the rights of American citizens doesn’t it limit them by forbidding religion is schools? Some people are unwilling to accept any religion and therefore feel the need to challenge and probe at people who do because they need to prove a point. Religion appears everywhere today and that is why it is important for Americans to be able to recognize that tolerance is different that agreement, that freedom of religion in schools is different than forcing kids into religion, and that not all people are the same therefore many will have different beliefs.

Opposing Viewpoints: Doubt

Junkert, Dustin. "Doubt.(Education Life Supplement)(GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY)(Photograph)." The New York Times. 158. 54748 (July 26, 2009): 21(L). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 10 Feb. 2010 http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=OVRC&docId=A204446344&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=deer63488&version=1.0.

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This article is probably the most important one I have read throughout my research because it so many people especially teenagers go through this as they try to figure out who they are and what they believe in. Almost every person in their life time will be challenged to prove or explain what they believe in and very few know that it is ok to doubt it sometimes, that not knowing all the answers is part of being human. Personally I believe the best way for faith to grow is to struggle, but to struggle well and come out of your doubt understanding why you believe what you do and even though the reasons may not make sense to anyone else they make sense to me. The best part of religion is having something else that no ones else should be able to touch, something that you decide and only you should effect. Everyone chooses their own religion as true, its true because you choose to believe it, its as simple as that.