Obama Say Might Actually Investigate Torture

This is just something i thought might be interesting to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyXH9YTEn4k

What makes us Americans?

by Sam Hazo
December 1999/January 2000

A few years ago, I was discussing with a class of college seniors how important it was to be accurate in both their spoken and written words. "Suppose," I asked, "that someone wanted to know your nationality. How would you answer?" One by one the answers came: Slovak, Croatian, German-Irish, Italian-Lebanese, Greek, Jewish, English-Swiss and so on.

Only one student (the only black student in the class, by the way) said, "American," which in fact was what everyone in the class was. When I pointed out that only he was accurate in his answer, the rest of the class said I had loaded the question since I asked them to identify themselves by nationality. My response was that nationality meant and means only one thing - the nation to which a person owes allegiance and of which he or she is a citizen.
They persisted by equating nationality with ethnic heritage, eventually settling for hyphenations like Italo-American, Polish-American, Irish-American and the like.
Finally, I asked them what they would write in the space marked nationality on a passport or how would they respond if they were in France or China and had to identify themselves by nationality? Silence prevailed at that point, and the discussion ended.
http://multiracial.com/site/content/view/355/27/

I thought this was very interesting.  I like this guys point of  view.

What Did You Think About The Debate In class?

Katrina Gawrys

Mr. Palo

Government

5 August 2011

 The debate in class did not make me change my mind.  I am actually even more set in my ways with the matter.  I did learn more, but only about why it should not be built there.  I feel that the people that think it should be built all had the same thing to say.  I also think that the people who are for it just didn’t get what we were trying to say.  Who knows maybe I just was not listening to them.  Either way I still think the mosque should not be built there.