Crash

Detective Graham Waters, played by Don Cheadle, says "It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something."

This opening statement from the movie "Crash" explains much of the problems we have in our daily lives. Ka, from "Snow," had to go to a place like Kars to feel alive again since Frankfurt was a place where someone like him can live in splendid isolation. Within the U.S., we remain isolated from the rest of the world behind our computers and TV screens. Everything we discover about other nations comes through the amazingly biased media outlets and it is very uncommon for regular viewers to question such absurdities.

The problem surfaces when the people on both sides of the screen meet. The stereotypes and prejudices are suddenly traded in for the human face. Travel is becoming increasingly easy, and although I do encourage it, I do not believe it is the only way to understand others. The beauty of America is that you can find people from every background. I spent the entire day walking around Washington, D.C. and I was amazed who this county has brought together. I met a Japanese American and as we passed memorials in city, he explained unbelievable facts about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. It seems that loyalty is questioned whenever a person has anything in common with those on the other side.

As the world slowly becomes a global village, I envision a time where background isn't how a person is identified, but that each person is given a chance. You may call me overly optimistic, but I just don't see any other possibility. Borders are fading whether we put up concrete walls here or in the occupied territories in Palestine. We will "crash into each other" and we will find that the only way to survive is to accept each other.

It is time...

The topics brought up during class are grand realizations that cannot end with the clock ticking to 6:45. These realizations open up minds and deepen understanding. There is so much running through my head as I walk out the double doors of MSB that I can hardly drive myself home. Others may not see it, but to me it creates a huge burden. As issues of my faith are brought up in fantastical, unfounded ways I see how much Muslims have to go before people can take them as they truly are. The pressure is on and it makes me happy to see the majority of everyone in the class transform into people who can decipher the differences between "orientalism" and reality. Some came in that way and they have generously helped the rest of us reach their level. We have come a long way and it keeps on getting better and better.

This blog will serve as a venue to share with the rest the ideas that fill my mind like miners trapped behind a pile of rubble. The only way to stay alive is to find a way out. I have found a way out and here it is. Welcome to my world.

Valley of the Kings in Egypt