TOW #24 - Boko Haram

Boko Haram is an extremist group in Africa, with it's name translating to: "Western education is a sin". Its aim is to establish an Islamic nation and expand Sharia law across Africa. It was created fourteen years ago, and was started by Mohammed Yusuf. He was killed, and now the group is led by Abubakar Shekau. Boko Haram has bombed schools, villages, churches and mosques, committed massacres, mass kidnappings, and assassinations, and their violence and atrocities have only escalated. According to UNICEF, 1.3 million children have been displaced, thousands have been kidnapped, and more than 5,000 were separated from their families. In addition, 910 schools have been demolished, 611 teachers have been killed, and this violence and fear has caused over 19,000 teachers to flee their homes. Recently, the two year anniversary of Boko Haram kidnapping 276 girls from the Chibok Government Secondary School. Even with some attempts to save them, 219 remain missing. A video also appeared, showing a video of some of the missing Chibok girls stating that they are alive, and while this brings hope to some parents, there is still the distraught about the missing girls. The girls who were discovered or released told stories of forced marriage, sexual slavery, and being forced to work alongside the terrorists, some even as suicide bombers. Even when the girls return home, they are still faced with challenges. They return to find homes, schools, and churches destroyed, and even family members and friends dead. They also face harsh suspicion and are looked down on as possible spies and traitors. Their kidnapping sparked a 'Bring Back our Girls' movement, which begs for interference from the Nigerian government or other governments. The Chibok people have now also reached out to the EU in hopes that they will be able to help in saving the missing girls and putting a stop to Boko Haram. While the world is so fixated on ISIS, there are other groups such as Boko Haram causing great amounts of destruction, ruining lives, and terrorizing thousands. Other countries should aid in the rescue of the kidnapped children, and assist in capturing and putting down of Boko Haram.

TOW #23 - Stephen Schwartz vs. anti LGBT laws

Stephen Schwartz is widely known for composing the music for popular musicals including Wicked, Pippen, Godspell, Working, The Magic Show, and more. However, recently, North Carolina passed the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, which prevents transgender people from using bathrooms that do not match their biological gender, and also bans any legislature in North Carolina from protecting LGBT citizens. Stephen Schwartz responded to this by banning the use and performance of any of his musicals in North Carolina until they lift these laws. He took this action in hopes that others would follow, putting pressure on North Carolina to change. In a speech, he mentioned, "First of all, I think its important to remember that this is not just me, this is a collective action by a great many theatre artists, as well as those from other fields. For instance, I saw this morning that 269 authors and illustrators of children's books are declining to attend conferences and festivals in North Carolina as long as the law is in force"(Stephen Schwartz). The debate on LGBT laws has become increasingly popular in the news and media, and has aroused anger and mixed feelings. No laws should limit transgenders or any members of the LGBT community. Also, the added insult of prohibiting any assistance or protection for them is even worse. Sexual orientation should not limit rights or protection from the government. We all deserve equal treatment under the Constitution, and people are making the right move in trying to protest against this type of discrimination. Society needs to have an open mind to others differences, and not separate each other because of them.

TOW #22 - Political Cartoon-Donald Trump and the GOP

This political cartoon discusses the topic of the Trump campaign, and how it may severely damage the Republican party, Donald Trump is currently one of the top presidential candidates right now, and is likely the most controversial. Donald Trump has gained significant attention from US citizens, other candidates, the media, and the world. One famous comment from Donald Trump is: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best... They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people". It also took him 48 hours to denounce white supremacists that were supporting him, and didn't really acknowledge that white supremacy exists. He claims to not know anything about white supremacy or even the KKK. He has also been quoted several times for insulting women, calling them pigs, dogs, slobs, and animals. Statements like these are a lot of what makes Trump so well known, but not in a good way. Showing himself as being a racist and sexist person hurts the presidential candidacy to start with, but since he is at the head of the Republican campaign, Trump hurts the Republican party significantly. Since he is leading the Republican polls, he becomes the face or the head representation of the Republican party, falsely portraying the rest of the Republican candidates as sharing all of his policies. In reality, many of the Republican candidates have denounced Donald Trump, claiming him to be ineligible to become president because of his many unfair biases. However, Donald Trumps campaign, even if it doesn't end in him becoming president, will surely damage the Republican party's reputation; damage, if not handled quickly, that may not be irreversible.

TOW #21 - Brussel's reopening airports

For my TOW, I read on the reopening of Brussels airports. Recently, Brussels airports were attacked by ISIS bombers. Two bombings occurred at Zaventem, where at least 11 people were killed immediatly. Another bombing at Maelbeek metro station resulted in the death of twenty more people. Currently, the death toll is 32, with 270 injured. Two bombers have already been identified as suicide bombers at the metro station and airport. There has also been reports of a third subject, and he has been arrested. ISIS later claimed responsibility for the attacks, and threatened that they should expect more. Belgium went under national mourning, and requested that EU members meet to discuss these attacks. Belgium has now reopened some airports, but with greater security checks. Now, only passengers with tickets and ID can be in the departure hall, and all bags will be checked before entering the building. Then, they also have to go through the other usual security checks. The airport now can only be accessed using cars, and all cars are screened. The fear of ISIS is continuing to become more widespread with each attack, and security across the globe is increasing. Something needs to be done about this threat, but it needs to be done strategically. ISIS is clever, and they are using fear to control us, and they do not care about lives being lost at the expense of their success. Addressing this issue should be done quickly, and decisions should be made with care and consideration, as fully engaging in a war with ISIS could have astronomical consequences.

TOW #20 - Germanwings 9295

It has been almost a year since the crash of the Germangwings Flight 9295. On March 24, 2015, pilot Andrew Lubitz crashed the plane into the Alps, killing all of the passengers. Significant research and investigation went into trying to discover why he would intentionally crash it, and they turned up on some interesting information. Andrew Lubitz had been suffering from severe depression and anxiety, along with some unstable consciousness. He had apparently visited 41 doctors concerning his condition, some of which advised him not to fly and diagnosed him with a psychosomatic disorder. However, due to German privacy laws, his doctors were not allowed to share this information with his employers. Currently, many are protesting a change in these laws in order to prevent another instance like this from occurring. In a profession such as an air pilot, you are responsible for many things, most importantly the safety of the passengers. In an area of work where something such as a mental disorder could impact your work significantly, I believe employers should be able to access that information. Certain health and mental conditions could impact their work, so employers should be aware of these conditions in their workers in order to adjust their job if needs be. For example, someone suddenly suffering from heart problems or increasing faintness should tell this to an employer, so that they know not to give that person a task that could harm them or others. Or, someone displaying suicidal tendencies should not be allowed to fly a plane, and should be focused on helping themselves recover. With someone like Andrew Lubitz where he showed many signs of being unfit to fly a plane, his employers definitely should have been notified. Many people knew about his conditions, but nobody spoke up about it. When someone is suffering like that from depression, anxiety, or any other health or mental related problem, they should urge the  person to tell their employer, especially when they have a job with such a responsibility as flying a plane. Especially since he visited so many doctors in a short time, and some deemed him unfit to fly, it should have encouraged people who knew this information to contact his employer, and they might have put him on a short leave for his health, and the accident would have never happened. Health and privacy laws are put in order to protect a person's private information, and while this is important, it should not get in the way of the safety of others.

TOW 19- Donald Trump stumbles on David Duke, KKK

For my TOW I read the article, "Donald Trump stumbles on David Duke, KKK". This article discusses a CNN interview with Donald Trump, where Trump refuses to disavow the KKK and one of its members, David Duke. When asked, Trump claimed, "I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So I don't know. I don't know-did he endorse me, or what's going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke; I know nothing about white supremacists". Even though he claimed to 'know nothing', he actually did, as in 2000 he briefly supported the Reform Party, that David Duke was a part of. Many political candidates responded angrily to Trumps comments. Rubio said, "We cannot be the party tat nominates someone who refuses to condemn white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan...not only is that wrong, it makes him unelectable..don't tell me he doesn't know what the Klu Klux Klan is. This is serious". Donald Trump is a terrible person who should not be even considered as a presidential candidate, much less leading the Republican polls, but he is. Why? Because we put him there. Presidential candidates don't vote themselves president, we do. The public is who votes for these candidates, and this is who we have chose to represent us. A man, who wants to remove 11 million people from their homes and send them to Mexico, separating families because their children are consider citizens and they aren't. A person who wants to ban Muslims from entering our country, because he claims that they are an inherently angry people and that they are terrorists. He isn't even able to denounce the KKK and its members, a group which supports white supremacy, and murders and terrorizes African Americans, because they feel they are 'not equal'. The United States should be ashamed that we are supporting a person with these ideas to become president, a position that is supposed to represent America. Our society is so obsessed with entertainment, that we are refusing to see what people like Donald Trump really stand for. We have even let entertainment control our presidential campaign, so much so that we might actually let someone like Donald Trump become president. With the ideals of equality and proper morals that America is so proud of, Donald Trump shouldn't even be a consideration. We can't have a president that won't even properly denounce the KKK, or even admit to knowledge of them. America needs to wake up, and fast, or we will see Donald Trump become president, and witness the casualties from it.

TOW #18-Political Cartoon

This political cartoon illustrates three religious figures, Muhammad, Buddha, and Jesus. They are discussing how their followers are doing terrible things in their name, and claiming that these religions support their acts. First, there is Muhammad, a Muslim religious figure. Terrorists, such as those in ISIS, claim that their violent actions are in the name of Muhammad and the support of an Islamic nation. Buddha says how upset he is about the ethnic cleansing in Burma, where Buddhists massacred and kidnapped Muslims in an effort to 'cleanse' Burma of 'impurities'. Lastly, Jesus chimes in, overwhelmed with the concept of the Crusades and the Inquisition, where Christians led wars in 'honor' of their God. This cartoon helps to bring up the issue of how violent people can be when it comes to their religion, and how many people will try to justify their actions through their religion, even when it is not supported or condoned in any way. Some people of each religion believe that their religion is the best and the only true way, and like to prove their religion's superiority, and it leads to a great lack of tolerance and peace. Most religions have peace as one of their main ideals, yet many choose to act in the opposite way, and try to excuse their violent actions by claiming that they are doing what their religion tells them to. Why can't we live in peace, and accept each other for who they are, and not excuse foul actions in the name of a religion? This is not only a global issue, but a national one as well. One example is Donald Trump's proposals on immigration. He wants to shut out all Muslims, because he claims that most are likely to be terrorists. When in fact, in groups such as ISIS, are not only made up of Muslims, but from people across the world and of varying religions, there were even ISIS members from America. Since when was Islam a religion of violence and hate? Many Muslims denounce ISIS, saying that those who kill and terrorize others are not true to the Muslim faith, and are not Muslims, even if they claim themselves so. This separation and fighting amongst religions must come to an end, and soon. Or as John Lennon put it, "Imagine...Nothing to kill or die for/ and no religion too/ Imagine all the people/ living life in peace"(John Lennon "Imagine").

TOW #17-IRB- "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", by Maya Angelou

My IRB for this marking period is "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", by Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou is a well known author, poet, and civil rights activist. She has written a series of autobiographies, several essays, and poems. She has received many awards and 50 honorary degrees for her work. She has also won a Pulitzer Prize, was nominated for a Tony Award, won three Grammys, the Spingarn Medal, the National Medal of Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She speaks strongly for racial equality and for women's rights. In "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", she discusses her life growing up, and is one of her most well acclaimed books. It is an autobiography discussing the hardships she faced, both as an African American and a woman. I chose this book because I have been told many good things about Maya Angelou's writing, and I wanted to learn more about her. Also, the subjects she speaks on are very powerful, and it is interesting to read her ideas and opinions on these kinds of topics.

TOW #16-IRB- "The Power of Myth"

My IRB for this marking period was "The Power of Myth", by Joseph Campbell. This book is an interview by Bill Moyers. They begin by discussing the importance of mythology, and the conversation evolves. An important point Moyers asks of Campbell is why should we care about myths, and if they actually have anything to do with our actual lives. Campbell goes on to explain that people can go on and live their lives without mythology, however, mythology can greatly contribute to having a better understanding of life and literature. He believes that the stories of mythology help people to come to terms with the world, and be in better touch with reality. He comments, "One of our problems today is that we are not well acquainted with the literature of the spirit. We're interested in the news of the day and the problems of the hour...When you get to be older, and the concerns of the day have all been attended to, and you turn to the inner life-well if you don't know where it is or what it is, you'll be sorry"(Campbell 1). Campbell is elaborating on how understanding myths and their messages and morals can help you connect to your inner self, and allow you to be more in touch with yourself and your surroundings. Myths are able to connect even to modern generations because the messages being told can apply to anyone. "Whether I'm reading Polynesian or Iroquois or Egyptian myths, the images are the same, and they are talking about the same problems"(Campbell 38). Even though the Polynesians, Iroquois, and Egyptians have seemingly very different cultures, mythology, and religion, the similarities in their stories are striking. Their myths give ideas on concepts such as how the earth came to be, ethics, and others. This book overall allowed me to get a better understanding on mythology of all types, Greek, Roman, Norse, Native American, Egyptian, and many others. It also aided me in getting a better awareness of just of significant mythology really is in our culture today, and how much of an impact it has. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in mythology or cultures.