Post #20: As You Move Into the Next Phase of Your Life, How Will You Try to Affect Change in the World Regarding the Issues Studied in this Course?

Moving into the next phase of my life I plan to incorporate the passion and knowledge I've gained throughout this course by continuing to play an active part in the well being of my community, wherever that may be. In fact, in my case, giving back to the community is a condition that I must meet in order to maintain my scholarship next year. For this reason, I feel that I can guarantee that I will continue to participate in communal charities and fundraisers in order to actively work towards a change. In addition to this, one goal I have for my future is to participate in a Me to We or Free the Children trip to a developing nation in order to gain real-world experience and obtain connectedness on an entirely new level. I personally think that I will always feel passionately about giving back to those less fortunate, and will always advocate for the reversal of the cycle of poverty. I feel wholeheartedly that it is our right, as members of a developed nation, to assist others who are not as fortunate as we happen to be, in obtaining a more sustainable lifestyle. Thus, I will try to affect change in the world regarding issues studied in this course by staying aware, raising awareness, and actively working towards a change.

Post #19: What is the Most Important Skill That You've Learned Through Your Participation in this Course, and How Will You Use it as You Move on With Your Life?

I feel that through this course I have learned two extremely important skills. First, I feel that I've learned the skill of connectedness. I have learned the importance of remaining aware of and connected with the world around me. This important skill will play a significant part in my later life, as a have learned to have an opinion on all matters, since sitting on the fence equates to inaction. Remaining aware and opinionated will lead to passion and an increased incentive to take action upon areas of interest around the world, in my opinion. Second, I feel that I've learned the skill of presentation. Regardless of what I decide to go on to do, public speaking is always a much needed skill. Having the ability to represent yourself well in situations such as job interviews, as well as presentations being made in future schooling, is essential. World issues has made me more comfortable and confident with presentations and public speaking. Both of these skills will more than likely play a significant part in my future, so I feel that I can rightly say that through taking the course world issues, I find myself more prepared for what may lie ahead.

Post #18: What Was the Central Theme for This Course? Why? How Does Your Choice Relate to...?

I believe that the central theme for this course is inspiration. Whether it's through studying poverty, wealth disparity, lack of water, globalization, or the Arab Israeli Conflict, I believe that each student in the class of world issues has felt inspired. This could mean inspired to make a change and take action, as we were throughout the world issues conference hosted at Hillfield Strathallan College, or inspired to look at an issue differently than you may have without the knowledge of this course. I know that this course has changed my perspective in terms of several world issues, such as, globalization, disparity, and even pornography and the sexualization of society. This course opened my eyes to issues I may have otherwise been ignorant to, and exposed me to the harsh reality of the real world. While this has come with several alarming realizations, it has also inevitably altered the way I view the world around me and has inspired me to find a specific issue that I'm passionate about. For me, I was instantly intrigued by a statistic that I heard during one of the first world issues classes- "It would take 5-7 Earths to sustain everyone on the planet if everyone were to live the way we do." I have found myself, since learning this, questioning why we're the fortunate ones- why do we get the privilege of living the way we do, while ignorantly and selfishly leaving others behind? I've found my interests in matters of disparity and the way that individuals assess what makes them happy in their lives. For others, their areas of interest may be war, conflict and international affairs involving politics and they, too, would undoubtedly feel inspired throughout this course. Regardless of who you are or what you're interested in, I feel that world issues has centred around the theme of inspiration because feeling inspired is unavoidable when learning about such interesting, emotionally-stimulating, and influential issues.

Post #17: If You Lived in America Today, Where Would You Be on the Gun Issue? Consider the 5th Amendment Right to Carry Arms and Discuss Why You Think There Should or Should Not be Restrictions Placed on Gun Ownership in America.

If I lived in America today I would be strongly advocating for stricter restrictions on gun ownership laws. The current gun laws have proved to be a danger for society throughout the several school shootings and gun-related mishaps over the past few years. President Barack Obama plans to employ stricter gun laws after 26 American children and teachers were killed in the Connecticut shooting. As a supporter of President Obama, I agree with him wholeheartedly on this issue. In addition to this, murders involving the use of handguns in the US in 2010 totalled 6,009 with another 1,939 murders with unknown firearm type. These facts in themselves make it evident that gun laws should be harshened as the privilege to bear arms is being abused. I feel that citizens would not feel as though they need to bear arms for protection if gang related violence wasn't so common. Thus, the current loose gun laws are fuelling a violent cycle- people feel they need guns for protection (making them in opposition of stricter gun laws) due to the fear of being shot by individuals who can receive guns as a result of their easy accessibility.

Post #16: What Are the Factors That Contribute to the 'Creation' of the Modern 'Terrorist'? What Can Be Done By Human Civilization to Mitigate These Factors?

I believe that most acts of terrorism occur as a result of perceived social or political injustice. In addition to this, terrorism occurs when the perpetrator feels that turning to violence is the only way to bring about a change. In order for human civilization to mitigate these factors we must treat everyone as equals to ensure that no one feels an injustice upon themselves or their religion or culture. By being accepting of and providing equal opportunity for all of society, particular groups will not feel the need to turn to violence. In these two factors I mentioned "perceived" injustices, in other words, an injustice may not exist but if people are perceiving one to be existent the same negative results will occur. Thus, messages in the media must be censored so that faulty information does not fall into the wrong hands.

Post #15: Does Religion, or Religious Principles/Ethics/Morals, Have Any Place in Government? Should Government Create Laws Based on These Norms?

Religious principles should not make way into government because of the wide range of religious beliefs existence throughout society. For a nation to be governed by one specific religion would be undeniably biased and unjust to those who do not conform to these beliefs. According to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, we have the freedom to our own beliefs and by imposing views onto society, such as the belief that homosexuality is a sin, suppresses this right. Thus, to fairly govern a nation in its entirety, religion must not play a part in law making processes. Having said this, I feel that one’s beliefs and morals, whether religious or otherwise, will inevitably impact the decisions that are made. Therefore, religious values in government will always play a part, regardless of the negative impact it may have on minorities within society. 

Post #14: What is Food Dumping and How Does it Contribute to the Cycle of Poverty and Dependence Among the World’s Poorest People?

Food dumping is when food aid is given, when not for emergency relief, in the form of free, subsidized, or cheap food below market price. Food dumping contributes to the cycle of poverty because famers are forced to sell their products for extremely cheap prices, which, while aiding towards feeding those less fortunate, destroys the farmers market and drives many into poverty in the more fortunate areas of the world. Also, this act of “support” leads to dependence among the world’s poorest people. By simply sending over food products, we provide momentary relief to those in need; however, these people are still faced with starvation and now rely on the wealthy nations of the world to feed them. If developing countries were given access to land, industrial tools, and protection from cheap imports these nations could learn to obtain food for themselves and, therefore, the issue of famine could be improved in the long term.  Also, by the United States dumping food that is below market price in developing nations, the agriculture producers in these developing nations will face significant declines in their business, since their customers are receiving cheap imports from those who are trying to help. In effect, the economy of these agriculture dependent nations will suffer greatly due to efforts to provide aid. In fact, some instances of food dumping have proved to force farmers off their land and into sweatshops in the desperate attempt to make money, leaving these societies worse off than ever. The worst part is the United States publicizes this food dumping as if it is in the benefit of those receiving the “aid”; however, this food is sometimes given with the result of a loan that must be paid off and the United States taking over the agriculture fields in developing nations. I think this quotation by Anuradha Mittal is an appropriate summarization of these points, "Far from ending hunger and promoting the economic interests of small famers, agricultural liberalization has created a global food system that is structured to suit the interests of the powerful, to the detriment of poor farmers around the world." 

Post #13: What Does the Recent Arrest of Two People who are Suspected of Planning a Terrorist Attack on Canadian Soil Mean to You? What Impact Does it Have on Canada? What Impact Does it Have on how People Think About Islam? What Motivates People to Turn to Terrorism in Canada?

The recent arrest of two people who are suspected of planning a terrorist attack on Canadian soil has evoked a great deal of fear in society, since this is the first known Al Qaeda-planned attack in Canada. As much as this event is fearful, I don’t believe that Canadians should be overly worried due to the efficiency of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. This Canadian security organization had been tracking the two suspects for over a year, which proves that Canada had these attacks under control and was not prepared to let innocent Canadians get hurt. I feel that, in comparison to the Boston bombing, Canada is equipped and prepared to protect its people at all costs. In the recent American terrorist attack, the Boston bombing, there were suspicions and warnings; however, the United States did not act upon any of this information and as a result, many Americans were injured and few were killed. Ironically, this event makes me feel more secure, rather than scared, since I now know how effectively Canada deals with attacks such as this one. I think the implications on Canada, are that we have viewed our country as being immune to attacks of this nature and will now be more aware and on guard since this is evidently not the case. In regards to the effect on Islamic people, I think that, despite the fact that this attack was lead by Islamics, Canadians will not develop harsh feelings towards this generalized population. The attacks became known and thus, preventable, as a result of the Canadian Muslim community sharing this information with Canadian officials. Without this inquiry the attack would most likely have been carried out, which would cause major implications for Canada. I think that terrorism is about making an impact and causing a disruption, and therefore, could happen anywhere. On top of this, I feel that terrorism can be sparked in Canada because religion fanatics do not approve of our culture. Finally, Canada may be susceptible to these attacks due to our close proximity to the United States. 

Post #12: What Long-Term Impact Will the Terror Attacks at the Boston Marathon Have on Western Civilization?

I believe that the deadly Boston Marathon, which has collected a vast amount of news coverage over the past two weeks, will have a long lasting effect on society. First of all, whenever a horrific and violent event such as this one occurs, society is left fearful and paranoid, awaiting and expecting another attack. As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, I believe that whenever people set out to kill others in their community, the rest of society looses faith in humanity. This lost faith in humanity may target and discriminate against those similar to the perpetrator of these events. Since the bombers in the Boston Marathon were Muslim I feel that this will further develop the harsh stereotype against their religion.  I hope that this event will lead to beneficial security changes in order to prevent another attack. I think this may also have an affect on security at sporting events, for instance, having to search bags thoroughly before entering the area in which events are occurring. Also, immigrant reform may be affected seeing as the perpetrators were not originally from the United States. Finally, the United States received warning from Russia prior to the attack which could have prevented this event from occurring, so perhaps, in the future, warnings will be taken more seriously and acted upon immediately.

Post #11: US Drone Strikes: What's the big deal? Good idea or bad? Why?

My personal standing on US Drone Strikes is that they are an unnecessary form of violence, which should be stopped. According to statistics, fifty civilians are killed for every one terrorist. This in itself shows the flawed concept of drone strikes, since they are evidently missing the target a majority of the time. I think a level of respect is involved with war, which is eliminated through using drone strikes instead of sending troops and using arms. War should be a conflict where both countries fight for a specific goal, and by simply sending drones overseas to destroy the competition without actual conflict, it cannot be considered a fair “win.” If it’s terrorists that the United States aims to destroy through their drones strikes then I believe that they are being entirely hypocritical, considering the fact that through these exact strikes, which aim at destroying anyone who spontaneously kills innocent individuals, they are, themselves, killing innocent individuals.