Before God

Before God We Are Equaly Wise and Equally Foolish

First let me give you some background about me. I was raised Catholic and went to private girl schools practically my entire life. My parents were very opinionated, very strict Catholics. I myself am very independent, have a good career and typically make sound decisions; I have been pretty sheltered only traveling to Mexico and within the U.S. I was born and raised in the United States of America. Since our terrible tragedy on 911 happened, things have been very different. I remember that day thinking who would do this to us. Never really experiencing any terrorists or bomb attacks like other countries, it changed my views about many things. I remember seeing policemen guarding a mosk that was down the street from where I live and thinking why are the police protecting Muslims? There was a sense of racism that I have never experienced so deep. I even remember staring at these people in the store who looked like they were Muslim and thinking to myself you have no right being in our country. I was not alone as many Americans thought this and some still do. I have been struggling with these thoughts for several years now, until just recently. Things changed for me in January 2006. I had been planning a cruise with my friends and mother. Never having the experience of cruising, I had no idea how many different nationalities of people who worked on the ship. Our headwaiter was from Ankara, Turkey. Having dinner every night in the dining room, we had the same headwaiter and I had the opportunity to get to know him. My friend who was with me said, I bet you he is Muslim. I remember thinking no he can’t be. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure were Turkey was located at the time. So my curiosity got the best of me and decided to ask him a lot of questions about his country, religion etc… We ended up meeting at the airport, since he was going back to Turkey for 6 weeks. I was able to get to know him better. It has been 3 months now, since my cruise and we have stayed in contact, he even flew to Atlanta to meet me last month before he returned to the ship. I can’t even express to you how ignorant my thoughts have been. I would have never imagined, I would have so many common interests or even be able to relate to someone from his country or religion. My critical thoughts will be forever changed, thanks to my Turkish friend. It is true; it only takes one person to make a huge impact on you. Thanks my Turkish friend for making that difference.

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Share:

Facebook

Return to essays page

Comments (19)