Rivera, Roxane E.BSEDE III-I

YOU ARE THE TERRORIST!

MY NAME IS KHAN mirrors the era we live in. Not a day goes by when you haven't heard/read/watched news of terror attacks and innocents being killed. We live in turbulent times. Also, the movie states - and states very strongly, without mincing words - NOT ALL MUSLIMS ARE TERRORISTS!

Personally, I don’t have anything against Muslim, I don’t think they are bad persons either but as I watched the movie a feeling empathy struck at me. I must admit that once in my life not until I watched the movie that I fear Muslims because I’ve heard so much negative thoughts about them like they are war freaks, they are killers, and worst they are scourge of our nation. I live for many years with the belief that you should never mess around with a Muslim or else you’re dead but Khan made me realize that there is nothing to be afraid of in the first place because Muslims are just victims of social prejudice. They are judge because of their religion and not because of who they really are. Yes, it is true that in the history of the world many chaotic occurrences involve Muslims but it is never right to judge them because of their past besides their past is not a reflection of their present. How can they prove to us that they are not that kind of persons we expect them to be if we don’t even give them a chance to prove themselves in the first place? Who are we to judge them with their wrong doings if we ourselves are not perfect? Who are we to condemn their beliefs if we can’t even do our responsibilities as Catholics? People who judge people just because of their religion, race and disability is worse than a terrorist.

Finally I understand why Muslims in Mindanao seek for their independence. They just want a peaceful environment and build their own life away from the eyes of their hypercritical fellowmen. Maybe it is not their intention to provoke war, maybe it is us who push them to do so. There are like Khan, hoping for the time that the society will finally respect them for who they are and will seek to see the beauty that is within them.

Some of the life lesson I’ve learned from My Name is Khan was as follows:

1. Mother’s love is the purest love you can find on earth - it is true that nothing beats the love of a mother to his children. Khan’s mother shows how mothers can do everything for the sake of their children. She did everything just to show Khan how much she loves him despite of his situation and most of all she did not dare to give up on Khan even in the dying days of her life. She chose to stay on Khan’s side in exchange of a better life with his other son just to protect him; she understands that Khan needs especially attention and loved more than anyonelse. She taught Khan that there are only two kinds of people in this world. Good people who do good deeds. And bad people who do bad.

The movie made me reflect with the relationship that I have with my mother. My mother and I always quarrel about little things and most of the time I don’t obey her opinions. I just realized that I am too busy growing up that I don’t even realized that my mother is also getting old. I should not wait for the time that she can no longer feel how much I loved her, I should make her feel special everyday and made her feel that no matter what happen I am still lucky to be his daughter and I love her no matter what. I may not be a perfect daughter, I may not be the daughter she preferred me to be but I will be the most loving daughter she never expect me to be. I’ll make her proud and that I am certain of.

2. Special persons are Special- they may not be normal like us but still they are great awesome people with their own God given and unique abilities. Their disability should not be the basis of our judgments because despite their situation they are still capable of doing things. They are special because they need much attention and much care and not because they are lacking of something. And like khan in the movie, special person are the sweetest and most honest person in the world. Their sweet smile and their innocent heart will made you realize the value of life.

3. Never judge a person- even if you are the most beautiful, most intelligent and richest person in the world still you don’t have the right to judge a person. In the eyes of God we are all creates equal. Person’s external appearance sometimes causes misleading. It is often said that all that glitters is not gold. Judging a person by his or her exterior is quite similar to choosing an apple by its surface. When buying apples, people often pick beautiful one as their first choice. However, some apples look pretty outside but rotten inside. That is to say, some people have charming looks but may not be good at heart. I am guilty of judging person just because of their physical looks and I only make friend to those people with the same standard as mine but Khan made me realized that I should always find the good at someone instead of picking up with their negative sides. I am not perfect and I should not also expect other people to be perfect either.

4. Faith and religion- we all have different definition of faith, we have our own religions but not matter what I still believe that we only praise and worship one single God and we only differ in rituals and beliefs. There is no need to compete as to who is the greatest religion among all what’s important is that we know how to respect each other’s belief. I live in a country where people are different in terms of religion and as I grew up I’ve learned that it is not about the religion it is about your faith.

5. True love conquers all- the thing I love the most in the movie is the love story of khan and Mandira. It shows that in love nothing is impossible, that a person is capable of being in love and being love despite his disability and most of all a person who is blinded with love will do anything for the person he/she loves. I wish I can find a guy like khan, someone who is willing to do everything just to make the girl she loves happy, and someone who can conquer all odds just to protect the love of his life.

Their love story made me reflect with the relationship to my special someone right now. I and my boyfriend came from two different worlds and I never expected that the time will come that our worlds will finally meet. I feel so blessed to have a guy that loves me for who I am and supports me for everything I do. With our four years of relationship we already conquered many challenges and those obstacles made me love him more. I never know what will happen in the future but as long as we are together I am willing to do everything just to protect the love that we have for each other.

6. There are only two kinds of people in this world. Good people who do good deeds and bad people who do bad.- good or bad love them anyway. Bad people are bad for a certain reason maybe they were hurt before or maybe they are victim of abuse and the only way to change them is to show them that they are still capable of being love.

Growing up I was told by my mother to stay away from bad people because they will do me no good, but as I encounter different people each day I’ve come to a thought that how will I know who the bad ones are and who are the good ones? Sometimes those people whom we treat as friends will just end up betraying and hurting us. So, does this mean that we should never trust people? For me the answer is no, why be afraid of bad people when in fact once in your life you are also one of them. Many times I have experienced getting hurt by the people I love but never did I stop loving them instead I love them more than I did before. You cannot cure a sin with another sin so instead of

condemning those bad people who did you bad deeds why not try to give them a little love and a little sense of trust?

7. Try and try until you succeed- this may sound obsolete but Khan proved to us that if a person has the determination everything is possible. It is a funny thought that despite Khan’s situation he still managed to achieve his dream of meeting the president. The trials and difficulties he met along the way did not stop him in pursuing his goal.

In life we people have the tendencies to give up when everything seems wrong, it is so easy for us to let things go just because something more difficult comes into our way. But the movie shows us that if a person with disability managed to achieve his dream, managed to help other people how much more us normal people with all the senses and capabilities to do such things. Who are we to give up so easily?

Life is a maze, it has its own ups and down and it only depends on us on how are we going to face those challenges. Khan served as my inspiration to never stop trying amidst all the challenges life has thrown me. If you have goals and if you really want to achieve it you must be hardworking and brave enough. With the remaining days of this semester more deadlines are yet to come, more challenges awaits but I am ready to overcome them for I know that I am capable of doing so. I am determined to achieve my dream of becoming a TEACHER someday and nothing will ever stop me in doing so!

These are the lessons I have learned from the movie “My name is Khan”. This movie is truly life changing; this inspires me to be better than the person I am today and made me appreciate a life a little more. Kudos to the creator and producer of the movie for they successfully made a movie that will touch millions of heart and can cause a trillion liters of tears to fall.