News of the day: topics friends probably shouldn't discuss if they want to stay friends
Guns
It seems the Supreme Court has decided that it's the right of every American to own a handgun. They sort of passed over that first phrase in the Second Amendment, the one that goes, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State...", the bit that significantly modifies the rest of the sentence in terms of the intent of the amendment. I am dissatisfied with this ruling, despite the fact that experts seem to think that it will have little practical impact in most of the country.
Let me be clear: I've used a handgun; learned how to shoot one from a friend who was a police officer at a range in Bellevue several years ago. I enjoyed the target practice far more than I expected to, and found myself to be a good shot over the several times we went to the range together. Intellectually, I understand the reasons why someone would want to keep a gun in their home and now, clearly, it's their right to do so. I still wish it weren't so easy, and I still wish there weren't so many guns in this country. I'm not in the mood to debate my position; I'm just saying: this is how I feel about the issue.
Religion
I heard a piece on NPR today about an Iraqi boy who was brought to the US at two years of age to be treated for gunshot wounds to the face. Two years later, he's still here because the damage was so severe that it required several surgeries. In that time, he's forgotten all Arabic, barely remembers his parents (except for their occasional phone calls in broken English), and wants to stay in the US. His life here is the one he really knows and remembers.
The boy was born a Sunni Muslim. His story is remarkable in many ways; I applaud the group that brought him here to heal him and the family that has taken him in during his care. What left a distinctly sour taste in my mouth was the boy's very last words in the story. He's asked whether he'll stay in the US or go back to Iraq. When he says he's going to stay here, the reporter asks why he feels that way. He responds by saying, "Because Jesus told me." And inside, my heart just fell.
My reaction may be the result of growing up Jewish in these United States, even in New York. So many people want to convert you; so many people don't understand or respect your heritage. I heard the way this story ended, and I found myself wondering if the host family had ever even considered respecting the boy's heritage by trying to understand where he came from and what his family believed, trying to preserve the culture he came from so he'd have some sense of identity he could still share with those he left behind. His family is all still there; they call regularly. Surely, being in America, healing and safe from the sort of violence that got him nearly killed, is a good thing; no argument there. But I found myself mourning his cultural and religious loss and wondering how his family would feel about this proclamation that Jesus told him so. What piece of them is left to him, what piece of him is left to them, now that his American family is trying to adopt him? I just...for all the good in this story, it just made me sad.
It seems the Supreme Court has decided that it's the right of every American to own a handgun. They sort of passed over that first phrase in the Second Amendment, the one that goes, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State...", the bit that significantly modifies the rest of the sentence in terms of the intent of the amendment. I am dissatisfied with this ruling, despite the fact that experts seem to think that it will have little practical impact in most of the country.
Let me be clear: I've used a handgun; learned how to shoot one from a friend who was a police officer at a range in Bellevue several years ago. I enjoyed the target practice far more than I expected to, and found myself to be a good shot over the several times we went to the range together. Intellectually, I understand the reasons why someone would want to keep a gun in their home and now, clearly, it's their right to do so. I still wish it weren't so easy, and I still wish there weren't so many guns in this country. I'm not in the mood to debate my position; I'm just saying: this is how I feel about the issue.
Religion
I heard a piece on NPR today about an Iraqi boy who was brought to the US at two years of age to be treated for gunshot wounds to the face. Two years later, he's still here because the damage was so severe that it required several surgeries. In that time, he's forgotten all Arabic, barely remembers his parents (except for their occasional phone calls in broken English), and wants to stay in the US. His life here is the one he really knows and remembers.
The boy was born a Sunni Muslim. His story is remarkable in many ways; I applaud the group that brought him here to heal him and the family that has taken him in during his care. What left a distinctly sour taste in my mouth was the boy's very last words in the story. He's asked whether he'll stay in the US or go back to Iraq. When he says he's going to stay here, the reporter asks why he feels that way. He responds by saying, "Because Jesus told me." And inside, my heart just fell.
My reaction may be the result of growing up Jewish in these United States, even in New York. So many people want to convert you; so many people don't understand or respect your heritage. I heard the way this story ended, and I found myself wondering if the host family had ever even considered respecting the boy's heritage by trying to understand where he came from and what his family believed, trying to preserve the culture he came from so he'd have some sense of identity he could still share with those he left behind. His family is all still there; they call regularly. Surely, being in America, healing and safe from the sort of violence that got him nearly killed, is a good thing; no argument there. But I found myself mourning his cultural and religious loss and wondering how his family would feel about this proclamation that Jesus told him so. What piece of them is left to him, what piece of him is left to them, now that his American family is trying to adopt him? I just...for all the good in this story, it just made me sad.