Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
R4 Midterm
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Friday, January 9, 2015
Je Suis Charlie
Dear Mother and Father,
Bonjour! Not to worry, I am currently writing you from my lovely apartment in Paris. I am sure you have heard about the horrific situation that occurred Wednesday, January 7th, concerning the shooting lead by two Muslim extremists at the headquarters of the popular French satire magazine called "Charlie Hebdo", as a result of the publishing of cartoons feature critical commentary about the current Islamic state. You have nothing to fear for I was far away, safe in my little apartment, when the incident occurred. There has been so much buzz concerning the issue and there are excellent arguments on all sides involving the rights and actions of both parties. After having some excellent debates with my friends here in Paris and exploring the issue a little more, such as looking at the shocking cartoons, I feel comfortable with my opinion on the issue. It is unarguable that the actions taken by the Muslim extremist were completely wrong from both a judicial and religious perspective. In no religion, government, or culture is it acceptable to kill, no matter what the cause. I feel that the writers did have the right to express that opinion. Everyone has a right to the freedom of speech, and how they chose to exercise it. No opinion can be judged "right or wrong" and that has what has allowed us to battle social injustices for so many years. The world opinion of "right and wrong" is constantly changing and it wasn't that long ago that is was believed that women did not have the same rights as a man. In a culture that is consistently shifting, you can't just label something so balatantly, no matter how unpopular or "crude" it maybe. However, I think it does bring to light how important it is that as a human culture that we remember what it means to respect each other. I'm not saying the images weren't just or fair, but as a practicing Christian who has witnessed a lot of critisim towards my religion, it is crucial we remember that we all have to exsisit on this planet together, making it all the more important that we treat these moments where we can make a strong statement with caution. We, a people that has a right to these freedoms, must do our best to exercise them in a way that is effective, not so much from a black and white perspective but from a perspective that there are all kinds of people in this world and we owe it to each other, and to ourselves to try to get along. I do not disagree with the actions of the writers at "Charlie Hebdo" but I truly hope that the good outweighs the bad in this horrific situation. Whether or not something is titled "right or wrong" in history is if the positive changes outweigh the destruction. I can only hope that the writers felt they had to make this statement and it will bring a new tone to how we handle the topic of religion so that we can better our world. My biggest conflicts with this issue are internal, a question of who I would want to be as a person and how I can remember that I am a memeber of a community in every sense. I can also relate to this from a religious perspective because there is a lot of commercial and first hand critisim of the Christian faith. As someone who has been subjected to this, I hope the extremist can take that strong faith and will, and use it to serve their faith in a more effective way, instead of trying to silence those who oppose it. It's important that people with such strong beliefs look within themselves to confirm what they believe in and what they know, and not fall into the cycle of fighting things you know in your heart are not true and are not what you believe in. Despite of all of this seperation amongst people, I still believe that we survive better together, as a world.
I hope I have comforted you and launched a discussion for you so we can turn this horrible, controversial tragedy into something positive, out of respect for the writers, the followers of Islam, and our society as a whole. I love and miss you!
Sincerely,
Mackenzie
Bonjour! Not to worry, I am currently writing you from my lovely apartment in Paris. I am sure you have heard about the horrific situation that occurred Wednesday, January 7th, concerning the shooting lead by two Muslim extremists at the headquarters of the popular French satire magazine called "Charlie Hebdo", as a result of the publishing of cartoons feature critical commentary about the current Islamic state. You have nothing to fear for I was far away, safe in my little apartment, when the incident occurred. There has been so much buzz concerning the issue and there are excellent arguments on all sides involving the rights and actions of both parties. After having some excellent debates with my friends here in Paris and exploring the issue a little more, such as looking at the shocking cartoons, I feel comfortable with my opinion on the issue. It is unarguable that the actions taken by the Muslim extremist were completely wrong from both a judicial and religious perspective. In no religion, government, or culture is it acceptable to kill, no matter what the cause. I feel that the writers did have the right to express that opinion. Everyone has a right to the freedom of speech, and how they chose to exercise it. No opinion can be judged "right or wrong" and that has what has allowed us to battle social injustices for so many years. The world opinion of "right and wrong" is constantly changing and it wasn't that long ago that is was believed that women did not have the same rights as a man. In a culture that is consistently shifting, you can't just label something so balatantly, no matter how unpopular or "crude" it maybe. However, I think it does bring to light how important it is that as a human culture that we remember what it means to respect each other. I'm not saying the images weren't just or fair, but as a practicing Christian who has witnessed a lot of critisim towards my religion, it is crucial we remember that we all have to exsisit on this planet together, making it all the more important that we treat these moments where we can make a strong statement with caution. We, a people that has a right to these freedoms, must do our best to exercise them in a way that is effective, not so much from a black and white perspective but from a perspective that there are all kinds of people in this world and we owe it to each other, and to ourselves to try to get along. I do not disagree with the actions of the writers at "Charlie Hebdo" but I truly hope that the good outweighs the bad in this horrific situation. Whether or not something is titled "right or wrong" in history is if the positive changes outweigh the destruction. I can only hope that the writers felt they had to make this statement and it will bring a new tone to how we handle the topic of religion so that we can better our world. My biggest conflicts with this issue are internal, a question of who I would want to be as a person and how I can remember that I am a memeber of a community in every sense. I can also relate to this from a religious perspective because there is a lot of commercial and first hand critisim of the Christian faith. As someone who has been subjected to this, I hope the extremist can take that strong faith and will, and use it to serve their faith in a more effective way, instead of trying to silence those who oppose it. It's important that people with such strong beliefs look within themselves to confirm what they believe in and what they know, and not fall into the cycle of fighting things you know in your heart are not true and are not what you believe in. Despite of all of this seperation amongst people, I still believe that we survive better together, as a world.
I hope I have comforted you and launched a discussion for you so we can turn this horrible, controversial tragedy into something positive, out of respect for the writers, the followers of Islam, and our society as a whole. I love and miss you!
Sincerely,
Mackenzie
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