Entry #3, Hady Amr "Kidnapped in Pakistan: The End of American Ideals?"

"Something ...has got to change" - I think this is the main slogan of this essay.
Hady Amr in his essay "Kidnapped in Pakistan: The End of American Ideals?" tells us a story about an American citizen by the name Imran. He was abducted in Northwest Pakistan. Imran was murdered shortly after he was kidnapped. Imran’s sister Ayesha lived in America and worked on projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Later Ayesha moved back to Pakistan to pursue her dream of working to improve the state of education for the children of Pakistan. Ayesha’s close friend suggested his help getting the U.S. Government involved in trying to free her brother, but Ayesha felt that the chances of negotiating with criminals and terrorists were greater.
The author emphasizes: "My government has conducted itself in such a manner that in places where we were once admired for our ideals, we are so loathed for our hypocrisy that our own citizens, when their lives are on the line, feel it safer to engage the help of local officials instead of the mighty U.S. government." I feel the reason why our citizens turn to local officials is because very often our government decisions lack of efficiency.
Amr appeals to the society: "I can only blame myself, my fellow citizens, and our elected representatives in Washington for conducting ourselves in such a way - voting to go to war in Iraq,..Abu Ghraib prison abuses, .. detention of prisoners without charge in Guantanamo Bay. Our reputation is severely damaged, and our ability to defend our citizens is non-existent." The only way for him to change something in this country is to attract our attention to the above listed problems, just to make us think what is going on and how we can possibly change this situation.
Amr clearly states his own position on attitudes in the Muslim world toward the United States. When he was born "America was admired across the Muslim world as the shining light on the hill, breathing hope for a positive future. Today, we are loathed and distrusted by huge majorities from the eastern shores of the Atlantic to the western shores of the Pacific, from sea to shining sea."
I think the author wants changes for better and safe world, without bureaucratic governments and unfair wars, corruption, kidnapping and terrorism, and welcomes wise political decisions and happy nations.

Entry #2, Roger Cohen "Perfecting the Union"

In the essay "Perfecting the Union" Roger Cohen states that "US election won by Barack Obama: the self-respect of the American people." President Obama inspired the author and I agree with everything he said: "Obama's idea, put simply, was that America can be better than it has been. It can reach beyond post -9/11 anger and fear to embody once more what the world still craves from the American idea: hope." I admire and very impressed with his obvious intellect. He is a natural born leader possessing the qualities necessary to be an effective president.
Roger Cohen emphasizes that "America can mean what it says...words count. That has been a lesson of the Bush years." Words meant what he wanted them to mean and not less. So the nation has been governed with words that raised fear, increased insecurity and added distrust of Americans.
The author believes that "Obama will reinvest words with meaning" and bring the divided America together with a belief that the future is brighter. "Obama has spoken that after years of the debasement of so many core American ideas, a case for what the preamble to the U.S. Constitution calls "a more perfect union" would resonate." I think this is a relief more than a celebration to have a President in power coming from a belief that Government is indeed of the people, by the people and for the people.
Some skeptics objected that Cohen's article was mere cheer-leading, naive, that the change he promised would be difficult to achieve. I would disagree the skeptics' position , it seems Obama isn't really changing direction at all. He is merely putting America back on track and restoring the dreams and aspirations of our nation.
I'm fully supporting Cohen's email comment: "Rosa Parks sat in 1955. Martin Luther King walked in 1963. Barack Obama ran in 2008. That our children might fly." In my opinion this is a beautiful dream but without dreams there never be a reality and this is also my optimistic vision.

Entry # 1 "A Fire in the Basement"

Bob Herbert titles his essay "A Fire in the Basement" - it is a metaphor, because the problem he speaks about lies at the very building of this country - the basement. This is the point that Bob Herbert is trying to argue. "At some point in the post-war run, we took a wrong turn," according to him. America became the strongest and greatest country in the world. Now the whole building is starting to burn from the bottom "and we're behaving as if we cannot even smell the smoke". This fire is fueled by all of these problems in America and Herbert expresses that the flames are growing and this fire is "beneath the surface". These are important points and should not simply be "swept under the rug" as if the problems do not exist. Herbert wants people of America to care about the pitfalls of the nation if we would like our future to be prosperous, as it was before in America's history.
Herbert provides many examples of people suffering, in trouble or being treated unfairly. His view of the United States is that there are "too much corruption, abuse of power and waste of money". I strongly agree with this viewpoint. I think we need really honest people to run this country. Unfortunately, it was allowed the rich to become richer and the poor to become worse.
Herbert speaks about many aspects of American culture including race, class and political situation. He protests against the abuse of power and social injustices and reflects how the lower class majority simply does not care enough how to fight this situation. Herbert focuses in his essay on America's downfalls since WWII. He speaks that America needs to take a step back instead of seeking countries struggling: "the war in Iraq, immorally launched and incompetently waged, will not be characterized by history as the noble campaign of powerful nation striding toward greatness. It will be seen as the tragically foolish act of a nation unwilling to learn the lessons of Vietnam". Americans need to fix their own troubles within the country before they can attempt to fix other nations.
And I fully agree and support Bob Herbert's point of view on these very actual matters.