Craig Fiedler

Introduction:

My name is Craig Fiedler and I am a freshman and have not picked my major.  I am from Union, Kentucky which is in Northern Kentucky.  I come from a small school called St. Henry and I really felt like my school had prepared me for this English class. When Professor Benningfield said the class would consist of a lot of reading and writing I wasn’t really surprised because that’s a typical English class. I wasn’t very happy about a lot of reading and writing because I feel that I am not very good at writing and just don’t enjoy reading too much. When the first paper did come around I felt like I was well prepared to write it. I felt like I improved with each of my papers.

Government:

Government is something a country can’t go without. Different countries use different types of government to best suit their preference. Not everyone can agree on which government works the best. I think what makes an ideal government is when you have the majority of your citizens participating in the government. If the people participate in their government then they will have the type of government they desire. That is why I think it is important for a citizen to vote. Thomas Jefferson says, “That to secure theses rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” (Jefferson 80). If you want rights as a citizen it is your obligation to participate in government to get those rights. In order for a government to be fully effective the majority of the citizens need to be participating in government. All you need to do is vote. When you vote you are choosing how you want your country to be run. Citizens are the main component of running a successful government. 

Wealth and Poverty:

I believe right now there is a big gap in our society between the rich and the poor. Right now we have a large gap between the rich and poor in our society and that gap doesn’t necessarily need to be closed but it definitely needs to be shorter. The best way to do this is by helping out those that are poor in our society. I don’t think that means giving change to a poor person on the street. Even though I am guilty of it, it is the worse way to help the poor. Carnegie says, “Neither the individual nor the race is improved by alms-giving” (401).  This just help those people temporarily and you never know what you could actually what your money could go towards. The best way to help the poor is by helping out at voluntary place where you can help the poor. I also think it is important to help people get back on their feet. If they can get a job then they again will be a normal citizen in society. I personally help the poor by giving to charities that help the poor. I am a poor college student so I am limited to what I can do with my money. I do think it is important to help those less fortunate then you. 

Justice:

I believe that justice is when a person or a group of people get what they rightfully deserve whether it is good or bad. There are countless number of injustices that happen in this world and countless numbers that have happened in this country in the past and present. One major example of injustices was with the start of slavery for African Americans in this country. Once slavery was abolished that didn’t mean African Americans still had rights. It took until Martin Luther King and others to protest in the late 1950s in order to gain justice for African Americans. King says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (214). These acts were injustices because humans were being treated like animals or didn’t have rights just because of the color of their skin. The worse part about these injustices is that they were extremely unjust laws. Unjust laws shouldn’t necessarily be broken but they need to be protested until they are changed. Thoreau says, “Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once” (184). If citizens believe laws are unjust it is up to them to change those laws. Right now I don’t play a role in fighting injustices because there is nothing that I believe is unjust. If I thought something was unjust then I might be able to fight it. Injustices need to be changed.

Ethics/Morality

Ethical or moral behavior is when you do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. I can’t think of any unethical situations happening in our society right now but one example from the past was when we moved Native Americans off their land and gave them reserves. I don’t think justice was really ever served in those cases. Just because we gave them land doesn’t mean it was right for us to move them off their own land in the first place. Even though religion helps you become a more moral person I don’t think religion has to exist in order for morality to. Murdoch says, “Religious belief may be a stronger motive to good conduct than a non-religious idealism” (736). Just because religion does give you a better reason to be moral doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be religious to be moral. I think that happiness does tie in a little with ethics and morality. In order to be truly happy you must also be a moral person. I feel that right now I am happy but that doesn’t mean I will stay happy if I stay the way I am. As you grow you must learn to adjust to your struggles in life to become happy. In order to be happy you must first be a good person. The only way to find happiness is to change as you grow and try and find what makes you happy. It might take a while to find happiness but I believe almost everyone will find it. Happiness starts with being a moral person. 

Individual:

What it means to be an individual is to have your own personal beliefs and thoughts in a society. Each individual person plays an important role in society. An individual has the obligation to be loyal to its nation and to also participate in its government. You must have your own belief though on how you think the proper government should work. You must learn from those in the past who have lost their individuality and started to believe and follow a leader that does no good for them except just bring them into war. Fromm says, “If mankind commits suicide, it will be because people will obey those who command them to push the deadly buttons, because they will obey the archaic passions of fear, hate, greed; because they will obey obsolete clichés of state sovereignty and national honor” (333). Just because you should participate in government doesn’t mean all the leaders are right. A good individual will protest and not follow a bad leader. I see myself as an individual because I feel that I am independent and can think for myself. I feel I really have yet to play a role in society but I did just turn 18 so I can start voting and that is a role to play. I think it is both possible and important to support both the individual and the collective. The best way for a society to function is by working together. It also important that the citizens in society work together but they also must be able to maintain their individuality. Just because you work as one society doesn’t mean you can’t have your own beliefs. It is not possible to be completely individual. There is no reason for a person to be completely individual. 

Cultural differences affect how we play our role in society because difference cultures have different beliefs so our actions will be different. A person’s character is determined on how they carry themselves and how they act. It is easy for a society to mold a person to fit in that society but that person must still have individuality. Sometimes it is okay to conform as long as you are not just doing as they say. Being an individual relates to authority because if you maintain individuality then you won’t follow authority when it is wrong. I feel like I am a part of the society because I participate in society. It is important maintain individuality while conforming to society.

 Conclusion:

This class was exactly how I thought it be when it was described to me at the beginning of the year. Even though I am not a very big fan of reading I did happen to find some of these readings a little interesting. I do think that my writing ability has improved since I started this year. I am very glad that we didn’t end up continuing with the vocabulary because I am very bad at that. Overall I liked the class as much as you’re going to like an English class. I think I am well prepared to move on to English 101. The only thing I didn’t like was doing as many reading responses as we did. I thought the Readings we did do were pretty good though. Other than that I thought it was a pretty good class that was taught pretty well. 

 Works Cited

Carnegie, Andrew. “The Gospel of Wealth.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s Press, 2000. 387-402. Print

 

Fromm, Erich. “The Individual in the Chains of Illusions.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s Press, 2000. 325-338. Print

Individualism. N.D.  tracyweespeaks.blogspot.com. Web. Tues. 13 Dec. 2011. 

Jefferson, Thomas. “Declaration of Independence.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s Press, 2000. 77-83. Print.

  King, Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s Press, 2000. 211-231. Print

Murdoch, Iris. “Morality and Religion.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s Press, 2000. 729-743. Print

Poverty and Wealth Sign. N.D. shutterstock.com. Web. Tues. 13 Dec. 2011. 

Right Way Wrong Way. N.D. fatherstephen.wordpress.com. Web. Tues. 13 Dec. 2011. 

Scales of Justice. N.D. Amityville Justice Court. Amityville.com. Web. Tues. 13 Dec. 2110. 

Thoreau, Henry David. “Civil Disobedience.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s Press, 2000. 127-140. Print.

 Vigor Blue 2. N.D. rivertown.blogs.petaluma360.com. Web. Tues.13 Dec. 2011.