Religion

Today in class, we talked about the right to practice religion.  Ever since the controversy of establishing a mosque 6 blocks away from where the twin towers were attacked, religion has become a major issue in the  post 9/11 era. In the State of the First Amendment Survey, what surprised me the most was that 23% of Americans believe that it is very important to vote for the candidate with a specific religious affiliation.  I believe this case to elect a new leader of our country was a big deal because Americans want to be careful who to trust to lead our country.  Ever since President Obama was elected as president, the stereotype was that he is a terrorist due to his middle initial called, Hussein.  It is a reference to the late dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein.  Americans do not want a terrorist to lead America in to turmoil. 
Later, I went on to read the overview of the First Amendment right to repractice religion.  One of the cases I read about was bringing a Bible to school.  In the case that i have read, it is legal to respect everyone with religions or no religions.  And the curriculum includes study of religion because its a part of a complete education.  In other words, it is legal to bring a Bible but for educational purposes only.  Many educators agree to this offer because students would have the privilege to learn the literature and history of the Bible and knowledge of its stories and concepts.  This leads to the understanding of literature, history, law,  art, and contemporary society.

7 days after 9/11

This week, I watched the documentary, 7 Days After September, the story about the twin tower attacks and what did the citizens of New York do about it.  Looking back on 9/11, the most memorable moment of the film I saw was the creation of stereotypes of other terrorists living in America.  The stereotypes of dynamites strapped to their chest, bombs, and hostage crisises in many of the buildings.  All of these took place a couple of days after the attack.  It was telling me that everything was on chaos.  Because now America has the notion that every muslim in America is a terrorist and that the country is vulnerable to killers from Al Qaeda.  It was time for Americans to react to this outrage of fighting back. 
Now that the attack took place, Americans will be prepared and ready because its America and they come back strong.  The terrorists believed that they can take down America.  They did it once, but not twice.

Speech Codes

Last Friday in Issues, we worked on Speech Codes.  Speech Codes are limitations to the right to speech  when it comes to fight words words, racial slur, and verbal abuse.  Most colleges in America believe that having speech codes is perfect for their environment so there will be no disruptions and chaos.  It also protects students from danger.  However, there are people who oppose it because they believe that it loses the right for people to say whatever they want. 
In class, we saw a slideshow of teenagers coloring their face with Black make up to imitate African Americans and post it on the web.  The teenagers also posted a teenager with black make up and being lynched.  I believed those images were an outrage because it gave no respect to African Americans.  Not only was it an outrage, it was also discriminating African Americans by reliving the tragedies of the Civil Rights era.
Also, we checked out colleges that have red, yellow, and green lights.  Red light means that they have speech codes, yellow lights means not a lot of speech codes, and green light has only a couple of speech codes.  I was happy that the college, harvard university, was a red light school.  It influenced me because if I ever wanted to go their, I will not be offended by any racial slurs and I will be protected from fight words, harassment, and misconduct.   The speech codes are legal.
The organization that looks at colleges with speech codes is really good on spreadintg the awareness of speech codes in colleges.  The organization gave me the opportunity to which collge I can go to and and be safe at.  I agree with its perspectivesand what constitutes as speech codes.  The codes protect students like me.
There is a difference between fighting words, verbal abuse, and racial slurs from expressing your beliefs and opinions respectfully.