Religious Oppression (Blog #9)

This past week we were studying religious oppression and its effect in our society. This was interesting and hard to hear because there seems to be no solution to it. Nevertheless, what caught my attention was our in-class video clip that we watched. It was “What would you do?” with John Quinones. It was about a Muslim man being rejected for a job because of his religion. Click here to watch it. I found it interesting at how no one stepped up, and I would like to think that I would speak up. I can definitely see how a community setting can make it hard to voice an opinion. I know I wouldn't want to be embarrassed, but I feel that many would be thinking the same thing, they just wouldn't have the impulse to be the first to speak up.

Nevertheless, this got me thinking about rules, and regulations. As an ROTC student, I started thinking about religion in the military. Many argue that our military standards on the policies of religion can be considered a form of segregation. The intolerance of religious tattoos or symbols that identify with your religion can be seen as unjust and unfair. Yet, I find it vital to our mission to leave all these factors out, and I believe that this influences team-building and strengthens our sense of unity in accomplishing the mission. Does that mean that I am accepting and enforcing religious oppression? I would like to think that I am not, yet the topic of religion can be a dividing factor from the start. Leaving this out from conversation can be effective in establishing relationships. However, the fact that we have to “leave out” the topic of religion adheres to the oppression and stereotypes we hold. I hadn't thought about religion in the military aspect except for that it’s not necessary. In many ways, our nation is full of diversity, therefore I understand that it's necessary to keep the visual identity standard and just (when talking about the military). I think it can depend on the situation, and this was very comparable to the video clip we watched in class. In the form of an individual expressing their religion, I thought it was his right to do so and would have defended him. Nevertheless, if it was the same individual trying to join a military service, the outcome would have been different on my part. I personally see it as a safety issue, and for the nation's safety, an individual's religion is unnecessary when fighting a war. Unnecessary because a person's religion wouldn't change my perspective on them, or it wouldn't make me judge them any differently. Therefore, I think it truly goes both ways, and I’m interested on what others think about this.

Observation: I noticed someone stopping at a Stop sign as I crossed the street. I looked at them, and they smiled. I was surprised, it’s not the usual response.