Genocide

I am currently reading this book called A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. It's about the author as boy when he lived in Africa. At the time, there was a civil war in his country. The "rebels" (the enemy) attacked his village and he was eventually forced to join them. You see, these rebels would invade a village and force innocent young men to become a rebel themselves. If they refused, they were killed. These boys were obligated to kill their family and friends and destroy their town. Can you imagine being in their position? You have to travel from village to village, pointing your gun at a trembling, tear-faced person, a friend maybe.

This book takes place in 1993. That was 16 years ago. And it still happens today. I read a book similar to this one a year ago. It's called An Ordinary Man: The True Story Behind 'Hotel Rwanda'. Although it is not about a boy becoming an enemy soldier, it shows the perspective of a genocide hero. He saved about 1,200 people from being slaughtered by negotiating with the enemies. The Hutu (enemy) wanted to slaughter the Tutsi population. If you were a Tutsi, you were obviously killed. If you tried to help the Tutsi or showed that you were on their side, you were also killed. This happened 1999, ten years from now.

In these books, especially 'Hotel Rwanda', it seems that the United Nation did every little to get involved. I wish that the United States would help out, but at the same time, I don't want them to. We have our own nation to save. It's sad really. In the movie Hotel Rwanda, an American film reporter says, "I have people at home that say, 'Oh my god, that's terrible', and then go own eating their dinners."

Sad. I can't believe that people could be heated up enough to actually start a war like these. I can't believe that there are holocausts abroad. Only everyone is blinded to it. We all know about Hitler and the Jews. That was huge! I feel that these genocides should also be recognized like it was during World War II.

I have a theory. Why are we in Iraq? Oil. They have something that we need, so we help them out. What does Africa have? Nothing. So why are our services needed? We were in Europe because our economy was depending on them. Sad.

Pushers

• The 2008 Election
  
• Abortion

• Religion
  
• Homosexuality
  

These are four of the most heated topics that are discussed by my classmates. And it's more than discussion. It should be more considered as a fight because most of the people at my school are SO ignorant. "If you are pro Obama you are stupid because EVERYONE knows that he is going to drive this country to the WORLD'S GREATEST DEPRESSION."

"If you are pro choice, you are GOING TO HELL."

"If you are Atheist, you are going to hell and everything you do is WRONG."

"If you are pro gay marriage, well...that's just IMMORAL and ABSOLUTELY REPULSING."

I have heard these comments too many times to count. And according to them, I am stupid, I am going to hell, everything I do is wrong, and my beliefs are immoral and repulsing. This kind of puts a damper to my day.

Now I can understand that people have different view than me. I respect that. To me, opinions are a very important thing to have. No matter what they are. But the issue here isn't people having different views than me. It's people PUSHING their views on me. I am quick to pull my middle finger out to anyone who calls me STUPID for what I believe in. Don't get me wrong. I love to hear the other side just as much as I love to hear mine. I'll even tell people my views. But one thing I will NOT do, it unleash all these nasty comments on someone for having another opinion than mine. I won't even try to persuade.

Today my friend was showing me a essay that she did (it was anti-Obama...big time). She was telling me about how this one girl in one of her classes was calling her beliefs stupid and eventually walked out of the classroom because...well...my friend wasn't going to take her crap. While reading this paper, I said "I don't believe in most of the things that you are saying, but I won't cut you down for them either."

Most of the time, I will get heated myself from listening to my friends agree on something I don't, but I also respect them for having them. I just hope they respect me for mine, too.