An enlightening Bus ride

On the bus ride to school today i was talking with my friend from India, Sam. Somehow we got into how Britain stole their most precious gem, the largest diamond in the world, Kohinoor "sparkle." This gem of India is now apart of the British crown. They even cut the diamond down from it's record size to something about half of what it originally was. Then Britain steals again, taking a thrown of solid gold form one of their rulers, melted it and distributed to who knows where. We where both baffled at this, that one country can be so powerful that it can steal, and demand they have custody of another countries prized possessions. And continue to repeat this act of theft. Then to top it off, Britain is the reason Pakistan and India are no longer unified. And continue to repeat this act of theft. The conversation rolled into the view middle easterners have on americans. Did you know that for any student of an ethnicity that looks any little bit like a muslim, they are often denied a student visa to study in the united states? To me this is wrong, we are punishing those who have done no crime. The actions of a few have tainted the future of countless others. Are we as americans so close-minded and judgmental that we cannot grant the possiblity of higher education to those students who seek it out. Sam brought to my attention that students where at the time where students int eh United States and returned home; when they tried to come back as students they too where denied. What would you do if your education was put to a sudden halt, and your degree was just hanging, waiting for who knows what kind of miracle to befall you? I met a boy from Palestine yesterday who is here in Thailand because he cannot be allowed into the US. My wish, that we can one day, and hopefully that day is tomorrow, be able to see past the thoughts of a group of individuals and realize that all of the middle east is not a terrorist. That we can stop living in fear of what could happen, and allow all students to seek the education they desire.