Extra Credit: Alexander the Great to the so-called Islamix State

I learned so much going to the lectures that Shadman Bashir gave. I learned so much information about the regions and the history of where it all began. Their ways are so much different then the way we do things in the U.S. and other places are just as different as well. The people worship a different God, or Gods, and are very strict on their religion. I never knew that they had to pray a certain amount of times a day to their God no matter where they are. In America, we can pray whenever we want, but some people prefer to do it in private because others might judge them for their religion.

Also, when 9/11 happened, the ones getting revenge felt that when they got the job done that they would automatically go to heaven and meet their God. From their point of view, they feel what they did was heroic and they will be remembered forever in their country. It's crazy to think they thought killing innocent people was heroic and would bring them honor after they crashed those planes. All Americans know that they was a terrible thing and they will not go to heaven because it was such a horrific thing. But then again, if I was of their descent, I would like at it from a different point of view and think what they did was honorable.

I thought overall it was a great lecture and he answered a lot of questions that he felt were the reasons certain things happened. This topic was something I would always hear about in school, but I always wanted to know more. I'm glad I got to hear it from his perspective and I got a better understanding of the reasons of why they do certain things and live the way they live.

Final

Social media as we all know can be a good place and a very bad place. We here a lot about bad things that happen on social and the things people say to each other which can be very horrible. I think social media desensitizes because it's there to spread news and entertainment. Social media allows us to stay connected with family, friends, things going on around the world, and even celebrities. All things are not there to bring people down or make people feel bad about themselves. The users on these networks are the ones that bring the bad to social media because they say bad things about others and just do negative things on there. We can't stop all the idiots that say stupid stuff on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook from saying something stupid, but I feel there are more people who are positive and make social media very positive.

I think compassion can displace shame by people thinking about what they say before they post it. Some people say dumb stuff and then that one post causes controversy and that person ends up regretting what they said. People for some reason feel so tough saying things on social media that they would never ever say in person to anyone. Some people just have that negative mindset when they go on social media and just want to bring that person down. People just need to think twice before they post something or comment on something because it just might turn out bad for them.

I don't think I can make a change as far as trying to stop cyber bullying or internet shaming because it takes a group to make a change. I feel like if I have other people behind me that want to make a change then it is very possible to try and stop these horrible things going on on social media. I do stay away from commenting or posting negative things on my social media and keeping things positive because the internet is not the place to discuss those type of things.