What's Going on in the World?-- Egypt Protests

Since the unruly and violent protests throughout Egypt have ended, their effects are still resonating throughout the country. After almost 30 years in control on Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak finally gave into the protesters and stepped down from office on February 11. While the protests may have ended and the streets are currently not filled with violent protesters wanting a change in society, the effects of the protests are still visible and people are curious as to what is going to change in Egypt and when this change will be seen. According to the article, “Egypt Delays Expected Reopening of Stock Market” in The Seattle Times, Egypt’s stock market closed after the business day on January 27 and still has yet to reopen. While the initial plans were for the stock market to reopen today, March 1, it was decided to delay this reopening, yet again, to March 6. Many people are worried that The Egyptian Exchange is going to greatly suffer from being closed for such a long time, but due to the labor strikes and closing of the banks after President Mubarak stepped down, the country simply could not safely reopen the market. While many brokers throughout the country are suffering from the closing of Egypt’s stock exchange, they are not the only ones that are beginning to run into financial pitfalls. According to the article, “Hosni Mubarak: Egypt's Former Leader Given Travel Ban” by BBC News, President Mubarak is also running into financial issues as the assets of his entire family have been frozen. President Mubarak, his wife, their two sons, and their wives, have all been issued a travel ban and asset freeze so that complaints that have been made against the family can be investigated. Since February 11, when Mubarak stepped down from office, he has not been publically seen or heard from, and it is believed that he is at his villa in Sharm el-Sheikh but is in poor health.

This situation in Egypt has not only affected Egyptians, but it has also affected the lives of the people living in nearby countries such as the Israelis and Palestinians. In the video, “Egypt’s Impact,” by Jaron Gilinsky for the New York Times, many interviews take place and it is explained how Israelis and Palestinians are reacting to the events that have unfolded in Egypt. Throughout the Egyptian protests, Palestinian authority repressed several attempts to rally and support of the Egyptian revolution in the West Bank by arresting and assaulting protesters. Many people are worried that currently it is still not safe to go and visit Egypt because although the protests may have ended, the country is still very “fragile” and anything could happen on a whim. One thing that a student who studied at Stanford University mentioned was that the Egyptian military and government needs to be wise about who is chosen to be the next leader of Egypt. If whoever takes control of Egypt does not remove the corruption within the government and the bureaucracy, it is likely that the same thing will occur and another revolution will take place in another 5 years. Although the actual protests in Egypt have ended, Egypt has a long road ahead of them in order to ensure the citizens that they have a stable country without any more corruption within the government.

In A Heartbeat-- Final Summary

Now that I have finished the book and am able to look at it as a whole, I think that it was overall an amazing book and I am so glad that I read it. Besides the fact that this book had an amazing story to it and focused on the amazing doings of the Tuohy family, this book really inspired me to be a better person. While I know that I cannot do something to the extent that they did, I took away much more from the book. I have learned that even though I know that I cannot do something like the Tuohy’s did, I can do something that makes a difference to one person. I already talked about this in a different blog post, but I thought that the most meaningful quote came from Leigh Anne in one of the sections that she wrote. She wrote about giving to one person at a time and how each person means something. Even though it may be impossible for me to help an entire community of people or to adopt a person into my family, just simply giving someone the time of day and showing that you care about them can be enough. Deciding to contain yourself from making judgments of others and giving each and every person a chance to see who they really are is such a simple, yet life-altering act. Sean told a story that helped reiterate this point. A boy was walking along the beach where there had been a large tide that had washed thousands of starfish onto the shore. The starfish were all beginning to dry out and die, so the boy kept picking them up one by one and throwing them back into the water. The boy’s father said to him, “you can’t save them all, let’s just keep walking.” The boy replied by saying, “you may be right, but I just saved one more life” as he threw one more starfish back into the water. Each person’s life is just as important as the next, and it is so important to look at people with this mindset, rather than giving people labels and stereotypes. I want to end my blog about this book with a statistic that really struck me. Being an extremely faith-driven family, much of the book refers to the Tuohy’s faith and their church. Leigh Anne pointed out a statistic that shocked me and made me realize the difference that we can make in the world. I leave you with this last thought. “If every church in the United States would see to it that just one child is adopted, the problem of homeless children in this country would disappear. If each of us got invoved, we could wipe it out overnight.” We have so much opportunity to make a difference in our country that it is now the responsibility of the citizens of the United States to step up and start giving back to others.

In A Heartbeat-- Post 5

As I finished off the book, I thought that the last couple chapters were as good as the rest. We hear again from both Sean and Leigh Anne, as well as from their son, S.J. Again, the book goes back to the idea of cheerful giving and to the message of sharing the wealth. Sean and Leigh Anne tried to send their message of giving to others not only to the other people within their community, but also to their children. In the chapters written by Collins and S.J., it is apparent that they are extremely grounded children who have a great sense of who they are. While their family is definitely well off, these are not spoiled rotten kids, but they understand the idea of charity and of giving a part of oneself to others. This mentality has caused them to be truly good kids who never complained about having to “share” their lifestyle with someone else. In the chapter by S.J., he talks about how Michael was not the first person who came and slept on their couch. The Tuohys had many people come to their house to have a place to stay, so having Michael was nothing out of the ordinary for them. S.J. would constantly be open to this and would never get angry that there was someone using his things or playing on his Xbox. Instead, he would play with them and make them feel comfortable. Yet again, this makes me really inspired to be more like the Tuohys and not to take advantage of the things that I have. I am similar to S.J. in the fact that I live a nice lifestyle and have many luxuries in my life, but I aspire to be more like him and to give back like their family does. In the last chapter of the book, I read about something that Leigh Anne did that really made me feel good and made me realize how good of a person she is. There were many children from an opposing school who were unable to attend one of the basketball games because of a lack of funding. Leigh Anne realized that this was the reason that there were so few people attending the game and she decided to pay for busses to bring these children over to the game. Simple things like this are things that really can make a child feel better about themselves and can make someone’s day. This family is such an amazing family because they are so selfless; they think about others way before they think about themselves.  

In A Heartbeat-- Post 4

While short, I thought that the next chapters, written by Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock said a lot about the Tuohys and how everything that they have done appears in the eyes of a “normal” person. (Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock were the actors that played Sean and Leigh Anne in the movie). One of the first things that Tim McGraw mentions is the idea that while it takes so much heart and courage for a family to take in a child, it also takes so much courage for a child to accept this and to willingly go into a stranger’s house. Taking in Michael Oher, the Tuohys were taking a big risk. They had no idea what kind of person he was and he had no idea what type of people they were. It is a similar situation as picking up a hijacker, but to an even bigger extreme. They had no clue what they were going to be getting into, but neither did he. He was going from growing up in the projects in an all black community to suddenly living in a huge house with a wealthy white family and attending a private Christian school. The fear that Michael must have felt is unimaginable, but it is often something that is quickly overlooked. One thing that both Tim and Sandra said was that they initially did not want to do the movie and rejected the part multiple times before finally accepting it. Both of them felt that there was no way to do justice to the Tuohys and they feared misrepresenting the family and their story. The Tuohys had done something so incredible with their lives, and these actors didn’t want to portray them in an inaccurate way. The story is such a powerful story because it makes people who see the movie or read the book do a double take and think about their own lives. Sandra continuously reflected on the idea that the Tuohys are going to place a big impact on America. I think that this is a very true statement because after watching the movie. I think that many people have begun to reflect on their own lives and realized that they can do something to help others who are less fortunate, even if it isn’t something as extreme as what the Tuohys did with Michael Oher.

In A Heartbeat-- Post 3

The next chapter in the book is written by the father, Sean Tuohy. In this chapter, Sean outlines his life and his childhood, explaining how the idea of giving began in his family and what has caused him to become someone the gives to others. Sean grew up having a father that was very popular within the community and was a very good basketball coach. Sean’s father had a stroke, causing him to be handicapped and in a wheelchair, and the response of the community in the way that they helped Sean and his family was tremendous. The community, although poor, found ways to feed Sean and his siblings, being sure that although his father was no longer working, he was being taken care of. Sean had a friend, Max, who would take really good care of him. Having very little money, Sean would have to make bets with people in order to get enough money to pay for his lunch. Without even saying anything, Max would realize when Sean was hungry and would pay for his meal without saying a word. The lesson that Sean learned from this entire experience is something that I also learned and had not previously realized. Having to ask his friend to pay for his lunch would have been very embarrassing and degrading for Sean to do, but the fact that his friend realized his need and helped him without saying a word is extremely nice and makes someone like Sean feel so much better. This teaches a lesson about giving to others and about recognizing when someone is in need. While there are absolutely times when someone may be in need and you don’t know about it, when someone is in need of something and it is apparent, helping them without making them ask makes them feel so much better about themselves. Something so simple, such as giving a kid a dollar for lunch, can mean the world to them. Without having to humiliate themselves by asking for help, they can see that someone cares about them and is thinking about ways to help them without even asking.

In A Heartbeat-- Post 2

Continuing to read about the story, I learned that the Tuohys decided to do something small by giving Michael Oher a couch to sleep on for a night, and this gradually turned into them giving more to him and drastically improving his life. Offering their couch to Oher for a night was definitely not the type of charitable giving that would direct positive attention towards them, in fact it directed a lot of negative attention, but it was that small thing that caused a world of difference in Michael's life. Many people questioned the Tuohys and asked them if they had considered the dangers of letting a large black man that they didn't know into their house. This was the thought that I had, because it is something that I could never imagine my family doing. Leigh Anne Tuohy responded by putting our lives into perspective. She asked if you worry every time you cross a bridge that it will fall, every time you cross the street if you'll get hit by a car, and similar risks that we take every single day. Life is uncomfortable at times and there are risks that are taken every day, but it is the little risks that people don't realize can change a person's life. One quote from this chapter specifically stood out to me, and I'd like to end my post with it, letting my readers think about this question because it really got me thinking about changing the way that I act... "Try an experiment. At some point in the next twenty-four hours you're going to come across someone who seems of no consequence. Ask yourself if you see value in this person. It might be a young woman in a restaurant clearing off the tables. It might be the young man who parks your car in a garage. It might be someone standing on the curb at a red light or waiting at a bus stop. Pay attention to how you respond. You will glance at them, barely, and you will place some type of value on them. (You're lying if you say you don't.) You will pass right by them and if you give them a second thought, it will be this: you're better than they are." This really struck a chord with me, because as much as I'd like to say I'm a good person, I definitely think that this is true. I challenge you to try "the experiment" because I am going to. Be conscious of your actions and really ask yourself if you are giving everyone a fair chance or if you instantly judge people without even giving them a chance to prove who they really are inside.

Abortion

1. The National Right to Life Website definitely had more information on it than the NARAL- Prochoice America one had. The NRLC website had many statistics about abortion as well as detailed information as to how abortions are performed. The NRLC website started off by explaining that about 93% of all induced abortions are done for an elective reason, meaning that there was no medical risk to the expectant mother and the abortion was merely done for social reasons. The NRLC website was definitely better than the NARAL website because it made me feel bad when I was reading it. They talked about dismembering the body of the fetus and explained, in vivid detail, how an abortion is carried out and what the different procedures are like. They explained that when an abortion is done, the baby's heart is already beginning to beat and that depending on how far in the pregnancy the abortion is performed, a baby may have identifiable arms and legs, display measurable brain waves, and their fingers and genitals may already be appearing. They explained that there are about 3,000 Crisis Pregnancy Centers throughout the United States. At these centers, there are volunteers that are there to help women that have an unplanned pregnancy and can offer them assistance and support in some of the financial aspects of taking care of a baby.

The NARAL website had much less detail than the NRLC website did. The NARAL website had information on what pro-life activists are doing to pro-choice activists to try to eliminate the possibility of the pro-choice people having an abortion. Some of these tactics include being violent and intimidating doctors and patients, banning safe abortion methods, passing laws that jeopardize a woman’s health and safety, or having Crisis pregnancy Centers that intentionally mislead women. The NARAL website does offer some advice on how to combat these tactics, but it also heavily supports improving access to birth control and having better sex education to help lower the amount of abortions.

It definitely seems as if the NRLC website is winning the debate. They definitely seem to be on the offense while the NARAL seems to be on the defense. The NRLC is giving reasons why abortion is bad and why it shouldn't be allowed, while the NARAL website was simply stating what pro-life activists were doing to inhibit abortion and how it was unfair and against the Roe v. Wade ruling. I definitely wouldn't say that this information changed my opinion on abortion, but it definitely gave me more information that I hadn't known. While I knew that abortion was a big decision, I didn't really realize how having an abortion is actually killing the baby and tearing its limbs apart. I still think that it should be the women's choice, because ultimately they are the one that is carrying the baby for nine months and caring for it after its birth, but it is definitely shocking for me to realize how detrimental it can be to the fetus and what an abortion actually does.

2. Personally, I am pro-choice. I think that it is the right of a female to decide what she wants to do with the baby. While there are definitely other options besides parenting, carrying a baby for 9 months, as well as visiting the doctor and going through childbirth, are events that can change a woman’s life. Being pregnant is not a “no big deal” situation that can simply be ignored. A person that becomes pregnant needs to change their entire lifestyle, the way they eat, and possible how much they can work just to suit the needs of the growing baby inside of them. While abortion may be a gruesome procedure, I believe that it is up to the discretion of the mother if she believes that she is ready to have a child, and if not, she has the right to terminate the pregnancy before she must go through with it. I think that a parent should have the right to know if their daughter is having an abortion but should not have the right to consent to it. Up to a certain age, I think it is appropriate for the parents to be notified about the abortion because they should know what is going on with their daughter and that she is going through a major procedure. I do not think that they should have the right to consent to it because again, it is not them that is going to have to go through the pregnancy. The parents may say that they can take care of the kid and let the new mom go back to school or pursue her previous life plans, but it is not the parents that are going to have the bay growing inside of them for nine months. A women can want an abortion and feel that she is not ready to carry a baby, but if her parents are extreme pro-life activists, this should not limit her ability to go through the procedure that she would like to go through.

3. I definitely think that if the mother and father do not speak to each other, every effort must be made to at least notify the father about the abortion. While he may truly want to have a baby and promise to dedicate himself to caring for the baby, he is not the one that is going to be going through the nine months of pregnancy, and therefore should not have the ability to consent or not. The father is not the one that is going to have the baby growing inside of him for nine months, so I think that it is unfair for him to have a say in the decision as to if the woman gets an abortion or not. Ideally, the mother and father will be stable and supportive of each other, but when this is not the case, it is not up to the father to decide what happens. If the father truly wants a baby, I think that this is a conversation that should happen well before the woman becomes pregnant so that when it does happen, it is something that they both want and have planned to have with each other.

4. I definitely disagree with Illinois’ positions on abortion. Illinois definitely seems to be pro-life, and being pro-choice, I definitely am opposed to the state laws and opinions. I think that the woman should have a choice on what they should do if they become pregnant. On the NARAL website, it says that Illinois has expressed “its intent to restrict the right to choose to the greatest extent possible.” This really bothers me because it shows that the state is trying everything they can to limit abortions.