"Not On Our Watch": Chapters 5-6

John and Don were indeed able to convince me this far: we, as the United States of America as a whole, we have the power to stop this, as discussed in the end of chapter 6. The everyday citizens have an equal part and representation in stopping the Darfur genocide. It's kind of like Spiderman: with great power comes great responsibility. We can do a lot, and the rest of the world holds us responsible for things like this. However, if we do stop this genocide, another issue will come up. We can solve this issue, solve any struggle, and say to ourselves, "I'm such a hero!"... just as Spiderman would. But guess what? Here comes another problem! Spiderman would say, "Okay, well maybe I'll do what I did last time. My spider-webs have worked before, so I can probably defeat this villain in the same way I have done before and win." John and Don have even proved for us in Chapter 5 that the Rwandan genocide is very similar to the Darfurian genocide. So, why don't we do what we have always done? Go ahead, we'll have another problem later.

I am ready to look for a permanent solution. We have to stop these problems from even potentially arising. There have been too many genocides in history, and I think its time to discuss the end of genocide. Genocide isn't going to just stop happening if we keep on using these virtually identical solutions. Genocide just doesn't happen as a computer virus would. There is something outer of order, and it starts in our minds. Hackers are full of pride, disrespect, and hate. It is their nature to make problems. So let's not have any of these negative emotions. If we watch how we automatically think and respond to things, we can eventually sweep away these emotions. Then, there is no more potentiality for genocides, wars, fights, upsets, or ignorance. This is the only way: discontinue the planting of these seeds, and they will never grow and arise from the ground. And it starts with you.

Not On Our Watch: Reflective Blog Statement #1

After talking to Jaclyn in our divided groups, we both realized that there is something seriously missing from this situation. Genocide has been happening for such a long time, indeed before our recorded incidents of genocide. It is still happening right now. How do we stop it? "Oh, we should be doing the same thing as we have before. They have worked in the past, right?" Yes, they have worked in the past. But how many years did it take until another genocide happened? It doesn't matter that they go by different names and are in different places; genocide is genocide. There's no point in trying to stop a specific genocide when another one comes up not too long afterwards. We have to stop genocide from happening at all. The thing is, we love fear and hate too much; people claim it to be human instinct, and we can't get rid of it. If that's the case, too bad. Genocide will never stop happening. If that's the attitude we want, so be it. We can have it forever. It's not until everyone starts loving love that we will have peace.