Easton Bybee

Professor Dibble
Humanities 1100
11/19/2015
Civic Engagement Assignment
In the light of the events that took place this previous week in Paris, France, I
decided to change topics for this assignment of civil engagement. I felt this focused
more on the current topics we have been currently focusing on in class surrounding
Human Rights and Global Justice. From Thursday November 12th, thru Thursday
November 19th 2015, my parents and I planned a trip to Paris, France to see some
incredible historic sites from Le Mont Saint Michel to Omaha Beach and the American
Cemetery. We did not, however, expect to be 5 blocks away from the horrible attacks
the night 129 civilians were killed. I did not correlate with one specific person on this
activity and understand that this was a requirement. I thought this was an opportunity
too relevant and important right now in society for me to pass up. Civic engagement
means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and
developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make
that difference. A morally and civically responsible individual recognizes himself
or herself as a member of a larger social fabric and therefore considers social
problems to be at least partly his or her own; such an individual is willing to see
the moral and civic dimensions of issues, to make and justify informed moral
and civic judgments, and to take action when appropriate. (New York Times
Introduction 1, page xxvi) I learned so much from this event and having the
opportunity to witness the effects from it in person made the emotional connection
and social problem that much more personal.
As we were out and about in the city we noticed the unusually large amounts
of ambulance and police vehicles flying down the streets. Upon return to the hotel
I decided to klick to one of the only English channels offered at the time, CNN
Worldwide. My jaw dropped as I read the caption 13 Killed in Isis Attacks Tonight in
Paris. As time went on the death number rose as the uncovered more information
following the events. After the death count was said to be over 156 my mind raced
back to my humanities class and this assignment. We were just talking about The
Impact of Popular Media on War and in a sense I thought about all the news and
media and all the positive and negative effects it gives to these events. Does the
attention from the media fuel the fire of the radical terrorists when they see their
work on global television? Does this kind of media and how much it is broadcast to
the world put more coal in the furnace of the bandwagon train making more
extremists rallied up and ready to engage in the horrible activities? Or does the
attention create a call for action. A cry for countries to come together and work as
one, united, to finally fight this evil.
With all these questions in mind I decided to visit the memorial where
thousands were coming together to mourn the lives of those who lost their lives. I
went to Place de la Republic were film stations from all over the world were

broadcasting news to local areas, updating them on the events unfolding every
minute in Paris. This took place Tuesday November 17 th around the monument of
Marianne. I talked to one man who was Muslim holding a sign wanting others to see
that he loved the French people and deeply feels for them. He said that people
classified him as a terrorist and all he wanted was for them to recognize that not all
Muslims are terrorists and bad people. I felt pain for those that are put into
stereotypes based off of a small percentage of people influencing their image. I
gained a lot of respect for those that were coming forth to address the situation and
take courage to voice their opinion to make a change. It touched me to see so
many people holding hands and hugging to support one another. I took tons of
pictures because I wanted to remember what I learned that day. Every voice is
important in the future of this world. Our opinions can change others in a positive
and negative way so its important to remember what you want in life and what you
wish the world would become. You here all the time the famous quote by Mahatma
Gandhi Be the change you want to see in the world. I have never thought harder
about this quote then I did while standing at that square with so many people
around me. Ive heard it a million times but this time it hit a deeper part of my
heart. Each of us are so powerful in our influence on those around us. We might
not be able to stop a war single handedly but our positive voice and abilities can
exceed what we think we are capable of.
As I was taking pictures I was moving through some film tents to get a better
angle when I turned around and right in front of me was Christiane Amonpour,
Alisyn Camerota, and Chris Cuomo. I watched them for a moment as they spoke
live on CNN Worldwide about the attacks. After they were done Chris Cuomo
stepped over with Alisyn Camerota and I got to talk to them for a second which was
a great experience. Alisyn said she was glad we were safe and wished us a safe trip
home. Right before we left she looked over and I waved goodbye with a silent
Thank You from my lips. She waved back and it felt great to see someone care
about you and not just be all about show. It was nice to experience what
newscasters do and how they act behind the scenes and see that they really do
care about the issues they address on TV. They truly are passionate about each
even and care to make things right. Sometimes I thought they just act and speak
what they are told because its their job, but seeing Christiane write down some
notes on a scratch pad about what she wanted to say right before going live was
reassuring. I thought that this assignment opened my mind to what it means to be
civically engaged. Its honestly not a hard thing to do. I became more aware with
how to follow news in a positive way. I learned how to gain knowledge and
understanding about how the world operates and socially connects, even globally
how we can unite in a similar cause. I would have loved to take more time and have
a better opportunity to interview some people about their thoughts regarding the
current issue and tragedy they were facing. I would have even loved to have the
chance to interview a news reporter and ask them how they handle all the negative
and depressing reports they have to go over. I think it was a little hard to address
people and ask them about what was going on just due to the fact that it was an
emotional and touchy time for many people.

Previously I saw stuff all the time on news and sometimes didnt emotionally
separate the events from what I see in movies and television shows. The screen
itself, in a way, puts up a barrier saying Hollywood and Not Real. But
experiencing it firsthand gave me a better understanding about these events and
that they are raw and that they are very real issues. We need to as a society
continue to become civically engaged in our communities, always trying to serve
others and make things right. The search though, for what is right, will always be a
battle because there will always be opposition between whats wrong and right. Its
been incredible though, to see the strength and support that the world can produce in
times of trial. Seeing everyone come together and support the country's that are
suffering brings hope and encouragement to continue on and stand strong, united as
one. These people are civically engaged in a good cause.

Work Cited
"Civic Responsibility and Higher Education." New York Times. Ed. Thomas Ehrlich. Oryx, Press 2000, n.d.
Web. 19 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/ref/college/collegespecial2/coll_aascu_defi.html>.