Israel-Palestine Topic 8
RESPOND TO THE QUESTIONS LISTED BELOW IN A SHORT ESSAY RESPONSE & ALSO TAKE THE TIME TO RESPOND TO SOME OF YOUR CLASSMATES IDEAS/ESSAYS... ASK QUESTIONS, DEBATE ISSUES... HAVE FUN!
Yarko says he wants peace, but he doesn't think about it from day-to-day. Is he justified in wanting to pursue a normal life despite the suffering going on around him?
How does this thinking affect the prospects for peace?
Do you think Faraj could avoid thinking about the conflicts the way that Yarko does? Why or why not?
What kinds of issues do you think about on a daily basis and what do you choose not to see or not to deal with?
History Quotes
We can learn from history how past generations thought and acted, how they responded to the demands of their time and how they solved their problems. We can learn by analogy, not by example, for our circumstances will always be different than theirs were. The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. They foreclose the possibility of making other choices and thus they determine future events.
-Gerda Lerner
History, we can confidently assert, is useful in the sense that art and music, poetry and flowers, religion and philosophy are useful. Without it -- as with these -- life would be poorer and meaner; without it we should be denied some of those intellectual and moral experiences which give meaning and richness to life. Surely it is no accident that the study of history has been the solace of many of the noblest minds of every generation.
-Henry Steele Commager
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.
-Robert F. Kennedy
13 comments:
Maybe, because most people would perfer a normal life and would like things to go "normal". Nothing really has been done to set peace into place. Faraj could perhaps avoid thinking about conflicts the way Yarko does depending on how hard he tries. Maybe one day his mind goes a different way then the one before it because of something that happens. Issues I think of on a daily bases are rather or not my family is going to be safe at the end of each day. Things happen all the time such as car crashes or a terrorist attack and I just hope it doesn't happen. I choose to just hope for the best.
I totally agree with cora.
AMY- Once again, you need to answer the question yourself.
The juctice that Yarko wants to persue a normal life changes from the angle you are looking from. If you look at it from our angle, being as we have no war going on hear, some would think that it is wrong to want to have a normal life while others are suffering. But if you look at it from Yarkos angle, where a war is going on, the standard of "normal life" goes down. So persuing a normal life for him is not so bad as it seems. When I look at him I think it is fine that he wants to persue a normal life as long that he tries to help the people who are suffering. This way of thinking help the prospect for peace because it alowse people to live "normally" while trying to help others.
I do not think that Faraj could avoud thinking about the conflicts the way Yarko does because Faraj is to eager to join the army to think about the conflicts and find a peacable solution to it.
Some thing I think about is if my action will be regretable, or if I want hang out or do my homework, or if I want to do some homework now or later. Some things that I choose not to deal with iws an insult that is directed towards me or a swear word that is diracted towards me. I don't find things like that a bother.
I think that Yarko wants to help, but since he is not suffering as much as the Palestinian people, he doesn't think about it as much as they do. This thing affects the prospect of peace because to achieve peace everyone must participate and do things that they don't necessarily want to do. I think that Faraj can not avoid thinking about conflicts since he is Palestinian, and they are who are being targetted. Everyday I think about all of the bad issues and I want to help, but I never really do since it doesn't seem so surreal to me since i'm not involved with it.
I think he wants a normal life but it isnt his top priority. He is used to all the fighting that it would become a normal thing to his that he doesn't mind it anymore.
I think, like I already said, they get used to it that they're not going to mind the fighting and gun shots going off. But maybe, some people, it bothers them so much because they get so sick of all the fighting going on that they can't stand it anymore.
I dont think Faraj could stop thinking about it, because he was so hurt by his friend's death.
I think about global warming a lot. Somedays I just try to be normal about it, but when I see all the commercials about it, it makes me want to do something about it.
I believe Yarko is justified, who doesn't want peace? Not everyone, especially a young child, could think about war or peace all the time. Some times thinking about it makes it harder to think in the end, sometimes you just have to let it go for a little bit, and come back to it later. I think that if Faraj could avoid thinking about the conflicts, he would have already. Everyone is different, and everyone thinks differently.
Things that I think about on a daily basis is about school, and homework, and my friends. I try not to think too much about problems if they come up, because most of them go away on their own. (aren't i lucky)
I also agree with cora in that he might be justified to think this way because you can hardly say you would think differently if you were twelve and in his situation. What could he do differently? This thinking does not drastically help peace, but it does help the awareness of the need for peace. I think Faraj should want peace also but maybe think more about what he can do to help the cause.
I think that Yarko is trying to pursue a normal life because it seems it is the way he wants it and he doesn't really care too much about the suffering and may think that things will eventually work themselves out. This thinking affects the prospects of peace because if they want peace but don't do anything about the suffering which doesn't even help that much. I do not think that Faraj can avoid the conflict as much because he has lost a really close friend in the conflist so it would be harder to forget the conflict not seeing your friend. I think of the issues of our ways of killing the Earth with all of our poisenous ways. The things I don't like to think about is people sufferi ng and dying all of the time when in our town we have so much.
I think that Yarko is justified in wanting a normal life because when things are crazy around you the thing you long for most is for things to be normal. If I was him I probably would want to be normal among such crazy things. This effects the prospects of peace because some people may be trying so hard to be normal that they don't focus on trying to make peace. I think that Faraj couldn't avoid thinking about issues like Yarko because he is much more in the thick of many of the problems and one of his friends was killed because of the issues going on so he will probably always think about it. I think about things like accidents and murder and other things but they don't dominate how I think and I just choose to not think about those things too much because you never know what is going to happen in the future and worrying about things like that is not living life to the fullest.
I think that Yarko is justified in wanting a normal life because when things are crazy around you the thing you long for most is for things to be normal. If I was him I probably would want to be normal among such crazy things. This effects the prospects of peace because some people may be trying so hard to be normal that they don't focus on trying to make peace. I think that Faraj couldn't avoid thinking about issues like Yarko because he is much more in the thick of many of the problems and one of his friends was killed because of the issues going on so he will probably always think about it. I think about things like accidents and murder and other things but they don't dominate how I think and I just choose to not think about those things too much because you never know what is going to happen in the future and worrying about things like that is not living life to the fullest.
This is Brittany.
I think it is normal for Yarko to think that way because it is what he is used to. I'm sure he would love to live in the world and not have to worry about being shot because of his religion. For him though it is very normal so maybe he wants it but not enough for him to really act on it.
I think Faraj may want peace a little more because he has already had to suffer over the death of a friend. So I think maybe he wants peace a little bit more so he is more likely to act on it.
On a regular basis I think about friends and the problems we have going on right now and I try to make things right.
Yes, i think Yarko is because a lot of people would want their life to be considered normal or good instead of there being suffering and bad things going on every day. Honestly, I think that I would ignore all the suffering around me if I had to deal with it every day because I would feel like I couldn't do anything about it and it would overwhelm me. This thinking doesn't really do anything to help there be peace because he just goes along doing "normal" things and ignores everything around him. Issues i think about every day are people bullying, and i usually don't do anything because i see it almost every day, but I'll get someone if it goes too far.
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