Eng 101 Final Ethan Trauth

Introduction

            Hi, my name is Ethan Trauth I am from Taylor Mill, Kentucky which is in Northern Kentucky.  My major is wildlife management, but I am considering changing and becoming a physical therapist.  Going into the first day of class I was extremely nervous.  Both my grade school and high school had very poor English programs and I was afraid this was going to hurt me.  When Professor Benningfield came in and started going through the syllabus I got even more nervous just thinking oh my there is no way I will be able to keep up with this class or do very well in it.  As it turns out the class wasn’t difficult at all and the work load was easy to handle.  The reading were always interesting, I really liked the government section and the reading that had to do with history.  I found this class interesting and entertaining.  Each of the following sections are things that we covered this year.

Government

 Many opinions today exist on what a government should be and these opinions have always been around for as long as governments have been around.  Many different types of governments also exist in today’s world and everyone has their opinions on which is best.  A good government is one that leads the country well, but stays out of the lives of the people in that country.  Lao Tzu states this well “When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists.” (Lao Tzu 24)  He also thinks the best leader is one that you don’t know is there.  A leader and government still have to lead and make right choices, but should do so without bringing much attention to them.  That is a problem with most governments and leaders today they have large egos and want their names in the news.  It is their job to lead they don’t need to brag.  Lao Tzu makes another point about how a government should lead.  “Governing a large country is like frying a small fish. You spoil it with too much poking.” (Lao Tzu 30) This means a leader should not intervene too much into the country or it will ruin the country because there would be too much government control.   

Voting is the best way for citizens to make change.

Government and government leaders are not the only roles in government.  Us as citizens play a huge role in government.  Citizens are the ones in control of who goes into government.  If citizens want change they have the power to fix it.  They elect the leaders they want to lead.  I am old enough to vote so I have a role in government.  If you can vote you have power in government. That is my opinion on government and the role of citizens.

Wealth and Poverty

The distribution of wealth between rich and poor is a major problem it is very hard to close the gap between the two.  This is a major issue, but should not be a government’s major concern.  It should be solved though.  The government is the first step to fixing this problem.  The government should help by putting more money into education for the poor.  The main reason most poorer individuals cannot get a job is because they have little to no education.  This is a problem because most jobs you need a very good education so the rich get the best jobs and make more money.

The Poor always needs money and we can always help.

 Government is also acts as a role model to richer people.  If the rich see the government giving money then maybe they would as well.  Carnegie one of the richest men of his time gave away loads of his money and he had a quote that stated his opinion. “…Leaving wealth at death for public use.” (Carnegie 396)  Though he is talking about at death this should be done while they are alive too. 

Another major problem is sending jobs overseas that could be occupied by Americans.  Robert Reich said it best through his research. “Until the late 1970’s AT&T had depended on routine producers in Shreveport, Louisiana…It then discovered that routine producers in Singapore would perform the same tasks at a far lower cost.” (Reich 423)  This is a problem because now the people who had those jobs now have no jobs.  This is still a problem today and should be fixed.

I handle money very carefully because I want to save it for later in life for a house, insurance, etc.  I have helped the poor in the past.  I collected jars of peanut butter and took them to the local food pantry.  That is my ideas on wealth and poverty now justice will be the topic of choice.

Justice

The gavel is a sign of justice, we have justice but others do not.

            Justice in my opinion is putting the bad guys away in prison after a fair trial.  There is injustice all around the world.  I other countries criminals do not receive the right to a fair trial.  Men and women also get different types of trials.   The results of these trials also would be considered injustice.  In American criminals who commit extreme crimes are the only ones punished by death.  In other countries criminals are tried and the only punishment is death or to be tortured.  This is shown in the movie The Stoning of Soraya.  Soraya was accused and put to death for adultery.  She did not commit adultery but since she was a woman was not given a fair trial.  This is a major problem in a lot of countries and should be fixed.  The easiest way to fix it is to set a universal law for trials and make them equal for men and women.

            I think unjust laws should be broken if the outcome will out due the good.  A big example of this was Martin Luther King Jr.  He preached to his followers that in order to get what they want they were going to have to break the laws the US had set down against the African Americans.  For example not moving on buses or sitting where they wanted in restaurants. These acts were against unjust laws but needed to be broken to get what they wanted because they were against violence.  To prove his point he reminds his followers that, “We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’.” (King 220)  He is saying that all Germans did not kill the Jews only Hitler did so in away the rest of the Germans were breaking an unjust law and he wants his followers to do the same.  In my high school I was a member of students for life.  We donated money to an organization to help stop abortions and we sent many student to the March for Life in Washington DC.  I never attended but supported those who went.  That my opinion on justice.

Ethics and Morality

Ethical and moral behavior is not a major issue in our world today in my opinion.  If there was ethical and moral behavior in our world there would be less focus on self and more focus on others and the environment.  Aldo Leopold had opinions on how to treat the environment ethically and morally.  He stated that, “All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts… The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community.” (Leopold 749)  He is saying that land should be treated just as good and as fairly as humans.  Some humans are not treated fairly but have bases for ethics and morality. 

An example of this is the abortion topic again.  It is completely unethical and immoral.  A baby’s life starts at conception and its heart beats the first time at four weeks.  It kills the baby and in most cases it hurts the mother mentally and physically.  The US government made it legal in 1973 so in this case justice was served but the wrong way.  They thought they were doing the right thing but it has only killed millions of unborn babies and hurt many mothers.

  I don’t think we can have ethics and morality without religion I believe they go hand in hand.

There are many principles to ehtics and morality that we should follow.

Happiness is not tied together with ethics and morality.  You can be happy without thinking about what is ethical and moral.  It does not take a lot to make most happy.  Some it is friends, sports, and video games are examples.  I do believe I am very happy and this goes with Aristotle’s idea.  “…To live well and do well are the same thing as to be happy.” (Aristotle 696)  This means it doesn’t take much to be happy that if you live a good life you will be happy and I believe I have a good life.  I am happy and I am most happy when I am with my girlfriend, she makes the happiest I ever am.  That is my section on ethics and morality.

Individual

            It is important to be an individual.  Each person in this world is very different from one another and if we start coping each other everyone would be the same and the world would be a very boring place and this is what each author in this section was trying to prove.  Each author stated that conformity would be the death of the universe which is true.  Emerson states this best, “I hope in these days we have heard the last of conformity and consistency.” (Emerson 266)

            As individuals we have a lot of obligations to our nation.  We elect the officials that we want to lead our nation.  We as individuals are expected to bring about changes we want made. 

Though simple but to set our selves apart from the crowd will make us happier.

            I view myself as a normal individual.  I do not try to copy anyone, I live my own life.  I vote for in order to fill that obligation and have my opinions for.  It is almost impossible to be completely individual.  A single person cannot spend their whole life as a single individual.  They will be lonely and most people get married so no longer a single individual.  An individual’s character is mostly based on how they want to live their lives.  They can pick what to like, what not to like.  Who they date or who they marry.  Society will try to shape an individual with television and other media. I try not to let it shape me I want to be different from most people.   That is my take on the individual section.

Conclusion

            I really enjoyed taking this class, I came into it thinking it was going to be an ordinary boring English class but it turned out to be far from it.  One thing I learned from this class that I will keep with me is the writing skills we learned.  My writing skills have improved greatly with this class.  I liked the work by Leopold the most because I love the outdoors and it fit my interest.  I really enjoyed this class, it was always interesting and I am glad I decided to take Ms. Benningfield again for 102. 

Work Cited

Carnegie, Andrew. “The Gospel of Wealth.” World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacbous. Boston: Bedford

            St. Martin’s, 2010. 396. Print.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Self Reliance.” World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacbous. Boston: Bedford St.

            Martin’s, 2010. 266. Print

Leopold, Aldo. “The Land Ethic.” World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacbous. Boston: Bedford St.

Martin’s, 2010. 749. Print

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Letters from a Birmingham Jail.” World of Ideas.  Ed. Lee Jacbous.

Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2010. 220. Print

Reich, Robert B. “Why are Rich getting Richer the the Poor getting Poorer.” World of Ideas. Ed.

Lee Jacbous. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2010. 423. Print.

Pictures used

Vote Button. n.d. Blog.Light of Reason.com. Web. 7, December 2011.

Money Donation Can. 2008. 3 Quarks Daily.com. Web. 7, December 2011.

Gavel. 2009. Marissa Beck, MS, RD. Web. 7 December 2011.

Ethics and Moral Principle. n.d. ShutterstockImages.com Web. 7 December 2011.   

Trapaga, Gonzalo. Individualism. n.d. Gonzalo Sainz Trapaga.com. Web. 7 December 2011