Over Thanksgiving Break I returned to my small hometown on
the Connecticut shoreline. It was great to see friends and family, but at the
same time, it was a strange experience to be back with friends from high school
who have almost no interest in international affairs and especially the current
events in the Middle East. Both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the
controversy in Egypt over Presidents Morsi’s power have been in the news a lot,
but my friends back home had no idea what was going on when I tried to talk to
them about the issues or get their opinions. I take for granted how great it is
to be at a university where so many people are interested in the same things as
me and love discussing them. I found it sad that many of my old friends didn’t know
what was going on and frankly did not care. It was frustrating to try to talk
with them because they brushed off the issues with little thought. Being back
home made me realize how many Americans, both young and old, don’t understand
many of the issues in the MENA region. It seems like I’ve been spoiled at
American with so many informed and interested people, and forgot that everyone
else isn’t the same. I look forward to class on Thursday so we can discuss the
developments in the region since we last met!
I had the same experience when I went back home. Many of my close friends went to the typical local schools and are very much still exposed to a very narrow set of views. It made me realize how exposed I am in this city and on this campus to diversity and how many other American's my age are not. How will this effect our country as we start to vote and when our generation runs the nation. I do think we are more informed then other generations through social media, but generally you're only going to access the social media that matches the viewpoints you already have, most likely highly influenced by parents and geographic location.
ReplyDeleteI also feel the same way. I had a few friends back home that I could actually discuss political events with, but barely anyone in my school knew even the basic facts about the Middle East. One of my best friends back home is Turkish, though, and he is very involved in Middle Eastern politics, but he has the exact opposite political views than me (whether he being Socialist and me leaning to more Libertarian views, he having strong criticisms against israel while I Hamas and the PA, etc.), so I at least was able to get some stimulating discussion on certain issues. Still though, I feel as if many of my friends are oblivious to everything outside of the "Ohio bubble", and it frustrated me (especially during Tgiving break) when I asked them if they had heard about certain political events, and they couldn't respond to me with any answers
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