Essay 5- ENG 101C

 

Section One

      My name is Amy Frommeyer and I am a freshman here at EKU.  I discovered during my four years in high school that I possessed better writing skills than I had originally thought.  Therefore, I decided to take ENG 101 with the intention of it being a fairly easy class.  It has, however, involved a little more work than I was expecting.  I am not complaining though; I enjoy a challenge in order to better my writing.  When we started some of the readings, I got a little nervous.  Many of them appeared to be more like history readings and I hate history.  Luckily, none of them have been too painful to read and I even found some of them to be quite interesting.  The rest of this blog looks at some of the main topics we covered and how the authors we read have influenced my opinion about different aspects in society.

 

Section two

The perfect government is one which provides and cares for its citizens.  Its duty is to ensure its people’s safety.

Government:

Government was the first topic we covered in class.  We discussed what we thought made the ideal government and ideal citizen.  The ideal government learns from its past, thinks about the present, and prepares for the future.  Learning from past mistakes can help prevent future ones from occurring. 

A government must be there for its citizens.  They are obligated to provide protection for them.  However, concepts like this can be taken too far.  Yes, the government should be involved in people’s lives, but only to a certain extent.  They do not need to be involved in the small details of everyday life like they currently are.  Fromm states that “man takes precedence over things…man must not be governed by circumstances, but circumstances must be governed by man.” (68)  Our government should be based on what the people want, and what they need.  Power-hungry individuals have no right holding a place in our government because they are simply there to further their own wealth, not to help the people of our country.

            When a government is doing its job, it becomes much easier for the citizen to perform theirs as well.  The citizen should be supportive of their government and all their choices.  If one does not agree, they have the right and the duty to speak up.  Fromm also tells us that citizens have the “freedom to participate actively and responsibly in all decisions concerning the citizen, [and] freedom to develop the individual’s human potential to the fullest possible degree.” (69)  The government should be helping the citizens reach their highest potential in life.  If the citizen feels that the government isn’t doing so, they possess the duty to rebel in order to make positive changes for the rest of the community.

Section Three

I think this is a good picture that represents both wealthy and poverty in our world today.  You are able to see a homeless woman sleeping on the street, right in a front of a wealthy- looking store.

 Wealth and Poverty: 

Wealth and poverty will always be a hot topic in today’s society.  I think that there will always be gap between the two, no matter what we do.  This gap can be seen as a positive aspect in society, or a negative one.  Some say that it is needed because it provides a barrier for people to know their spot in the community.  Others disagree saying that one should be attempting to unite our community, not separate it even further.  I think that this barrier needs to be removed.  However, this is much easier said than done.  The government would have to be behind a project of this size because it would take much effort and much time to get it done. Carnegie states that “the problem of our age is the proper administration of wealth, so that the ties of brotherhood may still bind together the rich and poor in harmonious relationship.” (Carnegie 391).  When the rich and poor are able to live together in a good relationship, I think society will run smoother as a whole and there will be fewer conflicts.

I do think it’s important to give to the poor.  But that brings up the question of what exactly classifies one as ‘poor’?  Galbraith states that “People are poverty-stricken when their income, even if adequate for survival, falls radically behind that of the community.” (Galbraith, 413) All humans should have compassion towards one another.  When one part of a community is suffering, the rest should be there to help them.  This can be done in multiple ways.  Not everything in life has to be about money and finical aid.  Although this is important and necessary, the poor also need emotional support.  The sense of belonging for someone lost is an emotion that money cannot buy.

Section Four

This picture sums up the meaning of justice.  If there is no justice in this world, there will never be peace.

 

Justice:

            In many people’s minds, justice will never be fully served.  Everyone has different opinions and feelings about justice.  I think that justice is upheld when there is no discrimination in a community.  When there is no discrimination, no group of people has benefits or advantages over others.  King states that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (214)  Even if there is the slightest act of injustice in a society, it puts justice at risk.

            So what makes something unjust then?  “An unjust law is a cod that a numerical or power majority groups compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself.” (King 219)  King’s definition of an unjust law is a universal definition in my opinion.  It can be applied to all societies and many different situations.  The definition works for a variety of cases of unjust actions.  Justice and the law need to be upheld with obedience and respect; however, sometimes one must break the law in order to receive justice.  I do think that there are some cases in which it is okay for one to break the law.  In unjust situations, someone must stand up and fight to receive justice for those who deserve it.  If a law is causing harm to a specific group of people, it is okay to break the law to stop the harms being done.  If a law is favoring a certain group of people or if a law is hurting you in any way by obeying it, then these laws are unjust and need to be disobeyed.  An example of an injustice that occurs hundreds of times every day is abortion.  Laws like this are hurting human beings.  Because it is causing harm to a specific group of people (the unborn), the act is unjust.

            Injustice exists everywhere in society.  I don’t believe that it will ever completely disappear.  Although I do have hope that we can decrease the amount of injustice in our communities.  Through people like King, we can make positive progress in our society.

Section Five

 Sometimes it can feel like idea of morality and ethics work against one another in our lives.

Ethics and Morality:

            When people think of ethics and morality, they often first think of religion.  Some think that you have to have religion in order to be ethical or moral.  I think this is untrue.  I do think it’s possible to be ethical and/or moral without religion.  However, this doesn’t go without saying that religion will make your morals much stronger.

            We sometimes question what exactly makes us to do good things.  Murdoch discusses this sense of ‘duty’ in her essay.  She says that too much focus on duty, the feeling that we have to perform good works, diminishes the goodness.  If you’re only doing nice things for people because you feel like you’re obligated to, that doesn’t really make you a good person.  Murdoch believes that “Religious belief may be a stronger motive to good conduct that non-religious idealism.” (736)  Religions are structured, unlike many forms of idealism.  They lack the organization that religious people possess which makes it harder to perform good works. 

            Morals are very similar to values in my opinion.  Everyone has certain characteristics that they think are valuable.  Ethics is how we put our morals into our everyday lives.  If we use our morals in a positive way, then we are ethical people.  Some may say that your morals correlate to your happiness.  I don’t agree with this.  One’s happiness depends solely on their state of mind.  If one is mentally satisfied, then they are happy.  When things go wrong in our lives, this tends of make us worry and we are then unable to cope with this emotionally. As humans we hate change and it is difficult to adjust to.  But the people who are able to adapt quickly are the ones who will spend most of their lives happy.

Section Six

 Being yourself is usually easier said than done.  Sometimes when we try to do this, we end up feeling even more isolated.  Is there any type of balance?

Individual:

            Being an individual is must more complicated than it sounds.  People always tell us, “Just be yourself” but that’s easier said than done. Every day there is more and more pressure to conform to those around you.  Although I think that the individual is important, I think that it’s more important to support the group as a whole.  I think it’s ideal to act in a fashion that does what is best for the group, but yet still supports each individual.  Again, this would be in a perfect world where conflict doesn’t exist.

            Emerson provides us with a lot of good advice on how to truly act as an individual.  He tells us to act honest and true to ourselves because if we begin to act like another person, then we are committing “suicide” which destroys our identity. (260)  He also states, “For non-conformity the world whips you with its displeasure.” (264)  I would have to agree with Emerson’s statement.  If you act against the grain, the rest of society tends to be displeased with your actions.  I think that’s a very sad realization that our world has come to.  People should be allowed to act as they wish but then acknowledge that they must deal with the consequences of their actions.

            Although I don’t always agree with conforming, I do think it is necessary sometimes.  In some organizations and institutions there are rules that must be followed and certain expectations that need to be met.  It is important, therefore, to act in such a matter that will allow one to follow the rules and meet the expectations without conforming.

Section seven

            I actually really enjoyed this class.  I usually am not a big fan of English classes because I don’t enjoy reading and discussing different pieces of literature.  Although there were still some essays we read that I didn’t like at all, as a whole I enjoyed most of the pieces we read.  I found many of them interesting and thought-provoking.  I also thought that some of the essays were very relatable in today’s society.  For example in Singer and Mason’s The Ethics of Eating Meat, going vegetarian and/or vegan is a hot topic in the 21^st century.  As gross as I found this reading and discussion, I still found myself very engaged in it.

            If I could change one thing about this class it would be the structure of it.  Sometimes I felt that there was too much lecture and wished that there were some more interactive aspects.  Even using a PowerPoint when discussing the author we read the night before would be helpful.  Despite the lectures every day, I can’t think of anything else I would change about it.  I feel like I learned a lot about the proper way to format papers and use MLA.  Those are things that I know I will be using all the time during my years at Eastern.  I also thought that the different unit topics we discussed covered a wide variety of subjects and definitely got me thinking.

            Overall, I really liked the class.  It was very informative and I feel like I will walk away from it knowing that I learned a lot of information.  I thought Mrs. Benningfield was a great teacher and I feel very prepared to move onto ENG 102.

Section eight

Works Cited

Berke, Diane. “No Justice- No Peace.” Photograph. Web. 25 November 2011.

Carnegie, Andrew. "The Gospel of Wealth." Ed. Lee Jacobus. A World of Ideas: Essential Readings
     for College Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 387-401. Print. 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self-Reliance." Ed. Lee Jacobus. A World of
     Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 255-267. Print.

Fromm, Erich. On Disobedience: Why Freedom Means Saying "no" to Power. New York:            
        Harper Perennial, 2010. Web.

Galbraith, John Kenneth. "The Position of Poverty." Ed. Lee Jacobus. A World of Ideas:    Essential
       Readings for College Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010.405-414. Print.  

Ideeli. “Cult of Individuality.” Photograph. Web. 25 November 2011.

King, Martin Luther Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Ed. Lee Jacobus. A World of Ideas:          
       Essential Readings for College Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 211-29. Print.  

Murdoch, Iris. "Morality and Religion." Ed. Lee Jacobus. A World of Ideas: Essential Readings
      for College Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 729-741.Print.      

Otter, C.L. “Empowering Idahoans.” Photograph. Web. 25 November 2011.

SS Beak. “Wealth vs Poverty.” Photograph. Flickr. 4 November 2006. Web. 25 November 2011.

 “Homer, Angel or Devil?” Photograph. Web. 25 November 2011.