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Reflection I really enjoyed Humanities, surprisingly. My favorite topics were learning about all of the different religions. I liked it because, now that I have knowledge of their beliefs and some rituals, I wont be lost when religion is brought up in any sort of conversation. For example, I did not know that Jewish people only thought of Jesus Christ as a prophet. Truth is, I saw Passion of The Christ and saw that they worshipped him, well some. I wish I did read more into the Islam chapter because a friend told me that Muslims go by the ten commandments, but the ten commandments are from the bible. I liked seeing that Islams, Jews, and Christians believe in the same concept. Very similar and interesting. I think this project came together nicely for me, thank goodness. I had the advantage of having friends and family to interview to get reasonable opinions and stories of how they felt about freedom. Thinking back on it now, I wish I had interviewed my grandma’s boyfriend whose insides are severely damaged from age and orange. I never really understood what it was other than that it is from the bomb that were dropped during the Vietnam War. He stays highly medicated all day long because of pain. Even if I did the interview over the phone, it would be something interesting to learn and a different perspective since he is damaged from the war. There were scenes from the patriot that I wanted to put on my eportfolio, but I couldn’t find the right clip. I hope my paper doesn’t come off as one sided. I just have not yet met anyone who hates that we have freedom in the United States. Although I knew to appreciate the freedom we are given, I can’t help but think of how good it is to live in our country where we are not killed because of beliefs. The Jewish people were treated badly and killed for what, being a religion and supposedly thinking they were better? That made me think of how I still put people into a stereotype when I really shouldn’t. I really enjoyed learning new things about places and people around the world. My research could have gone above and beyond, but I wanted to enjoy my friends’ and family’s stories. I think they are the most interesting Freedom In our stories and texts read for class, one topic that absolutely stood out to me was the topic of freedom. I am very proud of the country I live in and appreciate all that our ancestors have done to make sure we have it. We live in a country of many opportunities and freedom unlike any other country. Many take advantage of the fact that we have so many options and freedoms, but our country tries their best to what is right for our people. I like this subject because I enjoy when people have pride in our country. Our troops work hard and risk their lives every day, for us to get where we are now, and it really means a lot to me. Without them risking their lives overseas, who knows what more terrorists’ attacks could happen. It is a tough job putting your life on the line each and every day, while we are here in the U.S., thinking that life is had for us because we are broke or in a rut, anything but perfect. We do not think about the freedoms and work that is put in to making us have this comfort and right. Because this topic hit me as something I am actually interested in, I researched the difference in people’s perception of freedom, how they feel about it and what it means to them, if it means anything at all. I was able to get the chance of interviewing a close family friend named who was in the army, Peter Escalante. He is 24 years old. Peter returned from Afghanistan six months ago and recently left his base in Tennessee to live in Utah with his family. It was a great experience talking with him about his tour in Afghanistan, what he learned, how he felt, and stories I wish I hadn’t told. Peter is full Mexican. He was raised Mexican, speaks Spanish and is very proud of his heritage. That being said, he is still has great pride for our country in the U.S. Peter grew up in poor areas of California and moved to West Valley, Utah when he was six. He went over seas to defend our safety and knows that’s what he owed his country. He doesn’t speak too much on politics but he talks of poor choices made by our present president and the choices he has made for the troops. Peter compared freedom and respect as being very similar. When you have something you are fighting for, you have pride, and anyone who can think less of that dedication is disrespectful. Peter is amazed by peace rallies. He says, “If only they knew”. I myself thought of peace, peace, peace. Peter told me it is disrespectful to flaunt what you supposedly want without actually working for it. What he meant was that, people think peace rally will bring peace. But it won’t. It is your actions. Peter did not fight people in Afghanistan unless they threatened him or his fellow troops. They were their to help. Peter says, “Anyone who is against the army and how we are open to enrolling or how we run, simply closed minded”. Him saying that made me even more appreciative and made sense. I never thought how these troops would feel about peace rallies and peace supporters. I guess they really just do not understand. He and his fellow mates in the army take pride in what we do. Not appreciating their work is a huge insult. Peter was very open throughout the whole interview and although he is not allowed to tell too much, I think he shared just the amount I needed. He told me about his experience from beginning to end. One of the first stories he told me was about he and his girlfriend. Being together long term before the army would never be the same when he returned. At first he missed her and wrote to her of marriage. After a year, the idea and act of getting married was just no longer something he wanted. He didn’t even remember he promised her a wedding. His state of mind changed while being out there. He went from extremely lonely and writing his love letters, to being a tough soldier just ready for war. I share this story because it shows a sacrifice that troops have to go through when admitting themselves to be involved in a war. He was in a short marriage that ended because he and his wife were different in more ways than they realized. Peter was changed forever. He says he has changed for the best no matter what anyone says, although they cannot disagree. Next on my interview list was my husband. My husband is 21 years old, a student, and sales consultant. Born in Hawaii and raised in Utah. He always lived in the city. As he was growing up, he didn’t even know just how much he was taking advantage of freedom. He got in trouble with the law and got fines and community service. In other countries penalties for teens were not as easy. You are jailed for petty mistakes, limbs cut, hurt badly by cops like it’s nothing, or rightfully killed because the rule an eye for an eye. Now as he is older he sees things differently now that his brother went to Iraq when he joined the marines. He explains, “ It was like all of sudden I had pride like it was my favorite football team”. I think many think of it the same when they have friends or family who serve in a war. Before he could have never been bugged by little remarks people made to pick at troops until his brother was a troop. Josh reminded of the time when President Obama was running for president, but would not wear his flag pin on his suit. Yes it is just a small pin. But why would he not want to represent his country in a small subtle way as most previous presidents did. Josh drew a picture in my mind of the photograph showing the troops in war, struggling to lift our flag during or after combat. Great picture. It’s as if the flag is a symbol of remembrance to the troops that worked hard for our freedom and to get our country to where it is now. As I compared the two interviews I saw that as these two men have grown through the years, their pride of their country has become stronger as well as their appreciation of our country‘s freedom. Peter even told me how he doesn’t like when Hispanics put up their Mexican flag on the 4th of July. It’s rude. I guess I tied freedom and pride together. We are very blessed or lucky to live in such a country with the freedom that we have. When you think of the holocaust, those people weren’t as able and lucky. Freedom for them was so easily taken away because of a great speaker. Could that happen again because of convincing others that it’s a good idea to be prejudice to a certain race. It is happening still with out us even knowing when it happens. It is our responsibility to avoid these stereotypes. Don’t take advantage of freedoms because you would not want them taken away. Simple freedoms such as dress and speech are easily taken advantage of, but we know we could not live without them. Appreciate our freedom in any way possible. Without our freedom we are nothing.
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