I find it so wonderful to share a favorite secret spot with a friend. Erica and I went to my favorite spot by the lake today and it really helped relieve the stress I've been having this week. Tomorrow morning at 11am, I am taking my Islam final and i'm only slightly scared. Because I've been so tired and busy this quarter, I have not devoted the time I should have to doing school work. But after much reading this week, mucho studying of my review sheet, and the somewhat helpful review session this evening, I think I'll pass.

I wish I could do more than just pass because I've come to realize what a fascinating religion Islam is! I think that the members of our armed forces need to study more world religions. I was reading an article in the NYTimes today about the prison abuses and alleged mistreatment of the Qur'an (or Koran if you are not a religious scholar). A soldier apparently told his superiors that he did not know that there were certain things that were highly offensive to do with the Qur'an, such as standing on it or rubbing it with dirt (or something to that effect). I'm sorry, but that should be something our soldiers should be aware of! If we want to make a good impression on the world while still fighting terrorism, a great way to start would be to show we are attempting to understand and respect the religion and culture of the people we are fighting for! Because we supposedly started war against Saddam Hussein to free the people of Iraq, who are Muslim just like the terrorists who flew their planes into the World Trade Center! So we cannot deny that there is value to Islam if we choose to support some muslims and fight others. Of course there are many different sects of Islam with varying degrees of fanaticism and fundamentalism but what a few terrorist do does not reflect an entire religion or culture! All this is to say that America needs to stop being lazy and self-centered. I admire my friends in ROTC here on campus because I can see that in many ways, they make an effort to connect with people of all backgrounds and take classes which will help them understand world cultures. But those few of my friends who will be officers do not reflect the entire military force of the US. The Newsweek "scandel" probably would not have been such a big deal or even happened if Americans in general had more sensitivity and education about other cultures.

Didn't mean to go all political, I just needed to vent. There are so many things in the world that bug me and sometimes the best way is to write them out. Thanks for reading! As always, I would love to have your comments on this issue or any thing else.

Goodnight!