Eboo Patel has wrote a 'This I Believe' and has given a speech on "Religious Pluralism In A Democracy". Patel believes in taking action and not shutting yourself up and sitting in a corner. To Patel, watching is the worst thing you could ever do to yourself because the embarrassment and shame will haunt you for the rest of your life. Patel's speech emphasizes religious violence and the term 'heroism'.
Eboo Patel's 'This I Believe' story was from the days that he was in high school. He ate lunch with a group of different religions. Humiliation struck him one day. He watched as his Jewish friend was bullied. He didn't confront these people that have bullied his friend. Patel didn't comfort his Jewish friend and instead he looked away. Patel's Jewish friend told him that he feared going to school those days and worst of all, he felt abandoned as he watched as his closest friends to absolutely nothing. Patel says hearing his Jewish friend tell him of his suffering was the single most humiliating experience of his life. He realized his friend needed more than his silent presence at the lunch table. Patel couldn't go back in time and take away the suffering of his Jewish friend but he can help prevent it happening to others.
Eboo Patel's story relates to 'No Man Is An Island' by John Donne. Donne emphasizes the idea that no one is an island entirely of itself which means no one should be standing by himself or herself. The poem and Patel's story relate to each other as they both suggest that mankind is falling apart and we, citizens of the world, have to change that and help make mankind join back together as one. In the poem, Donne writes, "Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind." This relates to Patel's story about him and his Jewish friend but his Jewish friend didn't die but he suffered. His jewish friend suffered as no one wanted to help him, people just watched.
In Eboo Patel's speech about religious pluralism in democracy, Patel relates it to every day life aspects. On his first day, on the campus of University of Illinois, he entered the gym to play basketball. He stood there and observed as there were three games going on. A white game, a black game and an asian game. He asked himself which game was he to play in. He then realized that he should play in the white game as he always had throughout his life as he didn't learn the Indian language or culture. He was white in the inside but Indian on the outside. He was no different to any other white that was playing on that court. Suddenly, a question came across his mind. Why do people feel separated just because of their color or ethnic heritage?
One day, Eboo Patel's dad asked him a question. Why do you always talk about diversity with the subject of race and color and not the things that make the world blow up like religious violence? Now, Eboo Patel started thinking about this question. He realized there was religious conflict everywhere he went. It was something that you could find in every place of the world. In Patel's speech, he talks about the decade of the 1990's. This decade was full of religious conflict. Patel has made a statement. In his speech he talks about heroes like Dorothy Day, Jane Adams, Martin Luther King Junior and the list goes on and on. But what he realized was that thee heroes were young when they became heroes. He realized that time heroes were young people but now, religious violence has been caused by young people.
Patel believes everyone is equal. He believes that there should no discriminations and judgements just because another person does not belong to the same race, religion, color or culture as you. Relating to his personal experience, Patel believes if you know someone is suffering, try to help them. It'll be too late if you just sit back and honestly, the humiliation will haunt you. Patel is a person believes everyone has a voice and today he has inspired many people and it will continue to be just that.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a pro-democracy leader of Burma and she has served 15 to 21 years of house arrest. To me, Aung San Suu Kyi is a powerful woman, who sacrificed sacrifices that no one should ever have to sacrifice.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been considered a hero to many people as she stood up for her people and decided to speak up and not sit in a corner and shut her lips. She believes in the right of law and the fact that she has not complained about her house arrest really impresses me. Aung San Suu Kyi has said that she feels that she doesn't have the right to complain as her situation is nothing compared to other people who have fought for democracy and ended up in jail and she just wants the people in jail to be free as soon as possible. Aung San Suu Kyi had to a very hard decision to make. It was either her family or her country. At the time, Burma didn't have a leader and as her father's daughter she had to step in. When she became a woman that fought for democracy in Burma, her husband was soon dying of cancer and she couldn't even say a goodbye. She couldn't watch as her two sons grew up. She could've been free and She had to sacrifice so much for her country.
Aung San Suu Kyi has also said that she would want to listen to everyone. She believes everybody should have a voice. A voice to speak for whatever they believe in. She has said that she wants to listen to the each and every voice but its hard as there are so many voices overlapping each other. To many of us, she seems like a hero. To other people, she was a woman that should've just shut her mouth up and carry on with her life. But that has not stopped Aung San Suu Kyi. In fact, it has made her want to speak out even more because she's a woman that believes in the right of law, peace and liberty. In conclusion, Aung San Suu Kyi is a powerful woman and values all people that want to do right in this world. Aung San Suu Kyi to me, is a hero.
Fatmire Feka's Journey To Forgiveness- 12th Nov 2010
Fatmire's journey to forgiveness really made me think how much past experiences affect your life and I admire her ability to forgive.
Fatmire Feka's family have had a burden in their family for 10 years. Fatmire has lost a brother and a sister during the war in Kosova. Fatmire and her family hid in the woods for a few months. When she returned to her burnt out home she hated the all the people for all the bad things they had done and she thought to herself that hating wasn't right and it wasn't good for our future and she said, "The violence that is destroying us must end. The pain needs to stop." As a young girl, that was how she felt. Then, she met a Canadian worker who taught her about peace and tolerance. With his support, she started a 'Kids for Peace' club. In these clubs, they learn about peace and how to be tolerant and learn about their rights and to respect the rights of others. The war has left it's mark. Fatmire is personally affected by this. Her brother and sister went disappearing during the war and now, after 10 years Fatmire's family is still waiting for an answer. They're waiting to learn about the fate of their loved ones. After 10 years, they have come to accept that they will not come back.
Fatmire thinks forgiveness is a process and it takes time and no one can force it upon you. Forgiveness for Fatmire means to let go and move on but to not forget.
Fatmire is now recognized as a woman of peace. Fatmire has established the 'Kids For Peace' program and has taught hundreds of children about peace and tolerance. Fatmire is a hero to all of us. She's been able to do one of the things that many of us can't do. Forgive.
_____________________________________________________________________
WHY??? -29th Sept 2010
I'm wondering and thinking about how history forgets and almost never fails to recognize true heroic actions. Why are some past heroes thrown out of the picture like a painter suddenly splashing a can of paint on his canvas. Why does this happen? Is it about race or difference of culture? Is one culture more important than another? Is the majority culture the only important culture and only their heroes worth thinking/celebrating learning about? Does this show that some races are less important? Isn't a heroic act raceless???? What it is about leaders???? What makes a good/inspiring leader? Race??? Heroic acts that help the community just thrown out of the picture because of races?
Hang Tuah is one of our heroes and yet, since about 1999 students in government schools don't learn about him anymore in Sejarah (meaning Malaysian History). Hang Tuah is well known for being a great warrior/ hero who lived during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah (Sultan of Malacca) in the 15th century. Hang Tuah was a great leader who demonstrated the values of Malay culture at the time, when allegiance and loyalty were above everything else. Hang Tuah was famous for quoting "Takkan Melayu Hilang di Dunia" which literally means "Malays will never vanish from the face of the earth" or "Never shall the Malay(race) vanish from the face of the earth". This shows how much Hang Tuah cared about loyalty towards Malaysians yet Malaysians now have rewritten him out of their history. At the beginning of his career, Hang Tuah stabbed one of his friends, Hang Jebat. Hang Tuah was a very obedient servant that did everything the king asked without asking any questions and even when the king had told him to kill Hang Jebat he went to do it. After his years of traveling, he realized what he did was wrong and realized that you shouldn't do anything that you don't think it's right just because someone told you to do it.
After Hang Tuah realize that his killing towards his best friend, Hang Jebat was wrong. He continued to serve for the country and remains one of Malaysia's greatest heroes.
But I still sit here, wondering. Why was he thrown out of history? Was it because he was believed to be a Chinese? Did the racism kick in? Had the country forget what this hero did? What, then, makes one a hero?
I think a hero should be recognized no matter what religion or culture he/ she belongs to. I think we have to start putting prejudices towards people away and start recognizing people who stand up and demonstrate heroic actions.
