My political influences

Here's the link to my infographic: Political Influences

The Outsiders

Coming from a small town in Virginia, it's easy to point out groups that are considered "outsiders" to our community. Our town is very rural and surrounded by farmland, so anyone from the city is considered an outsider in our community. In addition, anyone who moves into our community in general is considered an outsider for a while. Neither of these "outsider" groups are looked down upon or talked about in a bad way, but there are considered outsiders nonetheless.

In addition to being a small farm town, there is a fairly high military enlistment rate in our area. This is very important, because for most in my community the only time they go abroad is when they are sent through the military. This has the effect that people were drafted in Vietnam, sent to the Middle East for the Gulf Wars, and then in 2003 for the Iraq war. The men and women, but mostly men, who served in the Iraq war had sons and daughters close to my age in school; my peers only heard about the negative effects that the Middle East had on their families, and that is how their opinion of the region developed.

A picture of our family farm

A boy in my grade during middle school is actually the person who made me interested in the Middle East and the Islamic faith. He made multiple comments about "towel-heads" and other negative names for Muslim men in the Middle East. His father was deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, which tore his family apart. While the boy's opinions were just rehashing of his parent's words, it established a negative attitude about Muslims and the Middle East with many of his friends, and then many students in our grade and school.

Through these negative words and thoughts, Muslims and those of Arab descent are major "outsiders" in our community who are looked down upon. Studying the Middle East in college, I am constantly asked by my friends at home what it's like and why I would ever want to study in the region. Hopefully this can change at some point, I would like to see my friends love the region as much as I do - at least not hate it anymore.

Photo credit: me

Al Aqsa Mosque and WWI Agreements

There is currently fighting between Israeli police and Palestinian youth in and around the Al Aqsa Mosque, sometimes called Dome of the Rock, in Jerusalem, Israel. This clash has led to King Abdullah II threatening weakened relations between Israel and Jordan if the fighting does not stop.  This is an unprecedented move on the part of King Abdullah II of Jordan, who has a mainly positive relationship with Israel.

The fighting started on Sunday with Israeli forces trying to secure the area with the arrival of Jewish visitors for Rosh Hashanah to Jerusalem. The fighting started and has continued because the Palestinians believe Israel may be trying to establish dominance in the holy site.

Dome of the Al Aqsa Mosque

The Sykes Picot Agreement and the Balfour Agreement that were formulated during the first world war by the British and French governments had much to do with todays struggle between Israeli police forces and Palestinian youth at the mosque. Sykes Picot, as we know, divided up the in the Middle East between their two governments in order to establish imperial control and resource control. The Balfour Agreement in Britain supported the establishment of a Jewish state in the Middle East which caused rifts in the Arab countries which had controlled that land in the past. 

Today there are fights over contested Holy Land in Jerusalem because the Arab countries surrounding what would become Israel were not consulted on the creation of the Jewish state after the First World War. If consultation had happened when Britain backed the Jewish State instead of imperialistic creation, there is a possibility that there would be peace now. Consultation was not an option because the Arab states were not even their own states, due to Sykes Picot. This cannot be known for certain, but one can imagine that there would be a better possibility for peace if imperialistic powers had not been at play at the time. 

News Source: New York Times, Fighting at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem Stretches into Third Day http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/world/middleeast/israel-palestinians-violence.html?ref=middleeast

Photo credit: me

Virginia to Jordan

I'm a fan of using personal connections when thinking about different topics. If I can connect a subject to something that I've experienced or witnessed it becomes easier for me to understand and gain more knowledge on that topic. When thinking about the differences that would make understanding between my perspective and a perspective of someone living in the Middle East I can link it to my study abroad experience in Jordan this past summer.

I live in a very small, rural town in Virginia named Strasburg. My family has lived on the same farm since the 1700's and I have never lived outside Strasburg - except during college - which gives me a somewhat different view than someone who lives in a more urban/suburb setting. In my town religion plays a large part in everyday life, as can be seen by the nine churches within the town limits and the numerous ones close to us. I think it's important when thinking of how one culture compares to another to first understand your own culture and country and what makes you individual and special in the international sphere.

When people think of how our country compares to the Middle East, many Americans would think firstly about religion, then about how Islam dictates everyday life in the Middle East. 

In reaction to that, I would say that Christianity plays a very large part in our government. I think it's hypocritical to tell the Middle East they place too much religion into their government when we have congressmen campaigning on "Christian values" in regards to subjects such as abortion, gay marriage, etc. I would think we're more alike in that sense than many people realize. Of course we don't hold the bible as our constitution like Saudi Arabia holds the Quran as the constitution, but there are similarities to be found. It is my belief that religion plays a very large role in the government systems in America and also those in the Middle East, even if not to the same extent. 

As far as other differences between our two regions, there are many environmental challenges. In America we do no understand the lack of food security. With the amount of arable land and water resources we have, we do not need to constantly think about sourcing and cutting back use. In the Middle East the climate is much different, both natural climate and feelings towards food security. Many of the governments in the Middle East have to constantly think about how they will continue feeding and giving fresh water to their citizens. This becomes an economic problem in the sense of imports and exports when countries have to import almost all the food they eat. 

Despite some major differences, the two regions are more similar than one would first think. While the differences might seem big they are not as hard to overcome as one might think, if we take a step back and understand all of our similarities as well. 

Photo credit: I took both of these photos in Jordan.