AttackedwithWords

Today I was invited to observe another teachers class. So, I crept in the class, hoping to observe but was thrust into the spotlight when one of my favorite teachers encouraged his students to ask me questions. At first, they were shy asking things like "Do you like Turkey?" and "why don't Americans like soccer?" But after the inital introduction, I encouraged them to ask real questions, things they were curious about. Bad idea. The questions include, but aren't limited to.

• Do you agree with the War in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Do you know what your President is doing?
• Do you think Americans are terrorists for killing innocent people?
• What do you think of Turkish-American relations

I was so taken aback. I know my students don't agree with much of the American foreign policies, but I was shocked at the depth and intensity of their questions. I tried to answer to the best of my knowledge. But, just like in America, the media only portrays what they want to of America. They see our foreign policies in place, see the consequences firsthand, watch our movies about teen parties, pregnant teenagers and rich people throwing away money like it is nothing. So, as I tried to remain impartial and  fulfill my roles as both teacher and American answering those questions, I coolly responded. I asked them how they define terrorism. They responded with killing innocent people. Which took us into a debate about the affects of war and the implications it has for humanity. (Keep in mind this is the highest level class at my university.) It was quite an interesting debate. It took us to the conversation of American politics. Many people don't know about our political system, the fact that we have two parties vying for power positions and who oppose certain policies. After I explained that Americans are pretty much split on the war, Democrats and Republicans aside, they started to cool down. Their perception was that all Americans love money and hence are ok with killing people for oil. (Their logic, not mine.) I felt so attacked, so unready to give the answers these kids should hear and know that the world is not what they see on the television. But I ended with something like - I am not the president. I vote, but in the end, the choices are mostly up to the politicians. The important thing to remember is that there is a difference between people and politics. You absolutely cannot judge a country based on its political leaders anymore than you can judge a book by its cover. I think this is something that we, as human beings, need to be reminded of from time to time.