The Ham Amendment

Pg. 87
“He continued, “It’s not what we eat or don’t eat that makes us good people; it’s how we treat one another. As you grow older, you’ll find that people of every religion think they’re the best, but that’s not true. There are good and bad people in every religion. Just because someone is Muslim, Jewish, or Christian doesn’t mean a thing. You have to look and see what’s in their hearts. That’s the only thing that matters, and that’s the only detail God cares about.”


This little speech from Kazem surprised me a little. I didn’t expect this deep piece of wisdom My first impression of him was a cheap, and thinking he knows it all kind of guy. But then throughout Funny in Farsi as I got to know his character a bit more, he had good intentions and a good heart. But this speech was really profound and intellectual. It also goes back to the beginning of the school year when Mr. Kahill was talking about ethnocentrism, thinking their own culture is best. It’s best to look at people for who they are rather than what they are. And being good or bad relies on the actions one takes.


Pg. 85
“Catering to the European expatriates, some stores in Abadan carried foreign foods, exotic products such as Ovaltine, Kit Kat candy bars, and ham. Even with the British gone, their canned and boxed foods remained in the stores, serving as a reminder of the exotic world that existed outside our borders.”


Reading this made me think of a connection back when I was over at Vietnam for one summer. I had cousins, around the same age as me, to hang out with and one time we went out to the city to look around in shops. There was this one market that had snacks made in America and they wanted to try some but didn’t know what to choose. So I picked out Oreos for them and they loved it. In my mind I was thinking, Wow they’re making a big deal out of Oreos. The little basic snacks and foods over here can be delicacies somewhere else.