Final Essay #5 Kristine Chandler

                               Introduction

My name is Kristine Chandler and I am currently a Freshmen at EKU. I'm writing this blog to talk about my role as a citizen and how I should participate in society. When I first started this class, I was a little nervous, after all I was starting something new. The writings seemed intense and I was expecting a lot of work from a stern teacher. I came to realize that even though there was a lot of reading, it was interesting and the teacher was pretty laid back. It turned out that I actually looked forward to going to class and learning about different people and the challenges they had to face as an individual in society.

Government

      A government’s role is to protect its citizens. It does this by creating laws to help the citizens stay out of trouble. Thoreau says “That government is best which governs least (177).” I’m not sure I completely agree with this because if we had a government which hardly governed, there would be crime everywhere. However, when it comes to war with other countries this motto might apply. In Lao Tzu’s the Tao Te Ching he encourages a good leader to be patient, relaxed and recognize their mistakes. A good leader isn’t focused on materialism, but rather compassionate about his people (24).

I chose this pircutre to represent a citizen's
role in government because you should perform
your patriotic duties which might enclude
serving your country and of course voting.

Now some people might say that the government is worthless and doesn’t help with the huge gap between rich and poor. The government tries to help those suffering from poverty by providing section eight housing and food stamps. However, I don’t agree with the fact that the people receive this help forever. They should only receive the help until they can get on their feet. The government should try something new by providing social programs for those suffering from poverty, and if they are receiving government help, it should be mandatory for those people to attend the social programs.

As a citizen, our role is to abide by those rules and perform our lawful duties such as jury duty. We shouldn’t abuse the rights that we have nor should be take advantage of the help we are given. However, in The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, it states that every person has the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness and that if the government tries to demolish these rights, it’s the right of the people to abolish the government and institute a new one (80). The government cannot exist without its people. The citizens are the ones that have to abide the laws and rules the government makes. It if doesn’t make the citizens happy, it is our job to stand up for rights. In doing so, we should fairly give all our leaders a chance to prove themselves to their country. We should stay away from violence and treasure peace; living in harmony. However, what makes the best citizen is someone who gives to others before they give to themselves

 

Wealth and Poverty

           In The Position of Poverty, it says “since it is the undoubted preference of many to remain in the vicinity of the place of their birth, homing instinct that operates for the people as well as pigeons, the people remained in poverty which heaven had decreed for them (410).” The previous statement would explain why many people are living in poverty. I’m not sure what the best way to go about closing the gap between the rich and poor would be. However, I know that if I lived in a community of filth, violence, and insecurity, I would do whatever it took to get out of there. Andrew Carnegie says that there is no middle ground, you either more forward or fall behind (394). I agree 100% with this statement; hardly any people or businesses can make enough money to just break even. They either don’t have enough or have more than needed.

I picked this picture to represent wealth and poverty
because it shows how the rich people waste so much such
food when the poor struggle to recieve the daily intake for food.

        Now some people might say that the government is worthless and doesn’t help with the huge gap between rich and poor. The government tries to help those suffering from poverty by providing section eight housing and food stamps. However, I don’t agree with the fact that the people should receive this help forever. They should only receive the help until they can get on their feet. The government should try something new by providing social programs for those suffering from poverty, and if they are receiving government help, it should be mandatory for those people to attend the social programs.

           
       As a college student, times are hard and money doesn’t come easy. We have bills to pay and school work to be done, where do we find the time for a job? I myself don’t have one at the moment. However, I have money saved up from when I did have a job and I know that if it isn’t a necessity I don’t buy it. I know I probably don’t help the poor as much as I should, but I donate when I can and I know that every little bit helps. My aspirations for my money are to hopefully one day open my own restaurant and own a house. I also hope that one day if I have enough money, I can help the poor out more by giving them the things they strive to receive each day.

Justice

       Justice to many people is viewed as what is right, fair, appropriate, and deserved. Justice is served when an unjust act (crime of some sort) is committed and the criminal is then punished, the victim, or people close to the victim, then feel a sense of wholeness again. Nevertheless, to say that justice is the same everywhere wouldn’t be true. We witnessed this by watching The Stoning of Soraya as well as reading the stoning articles. In my eyes, justice should be the same everywhere. In other words, no matter where you are in the world, you receive the same punishment for the same crimes. You shouldn’t be able to go to another country just to get away with a brutal murder when in the US you would be undoubtedly and severely punished.

I chose this picture to represent justice
because I believe everyone should be
treated equal no matter what the
situation may be.

      In The Stoning of Soraya we saw how it was perfectly acceptable to stone your wife to death for committing adultery, whether she really did or not; you only needed two witnesses. Even though the men swore about telling the truth, they didn’t. Yet, they will never be punished for these actions because stoning for adultery isn’t a crime in their country.
      
           MLK was someone who stood up for what he believed in. He states that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere (214).” If you accept some discrimination in one place, eventually everyone is going to view that as it being okay and therefore it will spread. So, Dr. King took this statement of his and fought for equality between blacks and whites. Nevertheless, today in 2011, interracial marriage is STILL a problem. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Like MLK said, it shouldn’t matter what color your skin is, but people should look at your personality and what makes you a good person. There are perfectly just as much white people that do bad as there is any other race.

      I believe my role in fighting injustice is standing up for things that aren’t right, just like MLK did. If we had more people like this in the world, it would be such a better place. It stops me for reasons I’m not aware of, maybe because I believe that other people will step up and sacrifice their life; maybe I’m just a coward.

Ethics/Morality
     Furthermore, ethics consists of a more social aspect while morals are more personal character. During the reading of Singer and Mason: The Ethics of Eating Meat, the say that it’s not ethically correct to eat meat because of what the animals have to go through, especially with factory farming. During factory farming, animals are put through cruel conditions such as tight corridors and abusive treatment. This then causes diseases to be spread from animal to animal and then the humans that then eat the meat. In The Ethics of Eating Meat there is a quote that says “nutritionists agree that most people in developed countries eat far more animal products than they need, and more than is good for their health (775).” I think this statement is completely true, you shouldn’t eat meat every day; it’s not healthy for you.

I chose this picture to represent happiness
because you can't let the bad things in life
bring you down, whether people are you
are happy or not, you should still be happy
and not let their sorrows bring you down.

      “I have been assured that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled (776).” The thought of even eating another human being completely disgusts me; it’s not morally correct! I’m pretty sure even if I was stranded somewhere I couldn’t bring myself to eat another human being. I believe very much that we can have ethical and moral behavior without religion because I don’t go to church. Yet, I still know right from wrong. Nevertheless you have people that DO go to church and still don’t know right from wrong; or they might and just choose not to acknowledge it.
    
       To say that happiness is tied in to ethics and morality I would have to agree with. I say this because I know that if I just went around partying all the time, not going to school, not having a job, I wouldn’t have anything to look forward to. It would be the same lifestyle 24/7 and it would get old and annoying and I most likely wouldn’t be happy. I think I am for the most part happy. In the Dalai Lama it says “I believe that every human being has an innate desire for happiness and does not want to suffer (5).” Why would anyone want to be lonely and suffering? No one wants to feel pain, no matter what they say. I just tell myself that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about you, as long as it makes you happy then you should do it.

Individual

   Being an individual is one of the most important things that a person can do for their self. You have to be able to support yourself, depend solely on yourself and know that when you die, you can’t take everything with you. Eric Fromm talks about how in order to have individualism you have to keep hope and be optimistic about life (330). I guess it makes you an individual by having hope because most everyone has given up on the world. He also talks about how we’re all “one man” and we’re all connected (332). However, if we’re all connected that doesn’t make us an individual. I think it’s good for people to be different.

        I see myself as an individual because I keep to myself most of the time. I try to give back and contribute to society through little things such as giving pop tops to the Ronald McDonald House and by recycling cans and things. We as humans abuse the land we are given and we need to be more aware of our uses for it because once our non-renewable resources are gone, that’s it, they’re non-renewable. However, as Durkheim says, people usually want to do what’s right but often conform because it’s comfortable to do so (281). I think that it’s very sad that people feel this way, and I think it’s disappointing that we as humans judge people as much as we doing. Being different is what makes someone an individual. Therefore, I think it’s more important to support the individual.

I chose this picture to represent an individual
because the orange person stands out and like i
said in my writing, that's sometimes how it works.

        As Emerson says “In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with certain alienated majesty (260).” We too often never follow our hearts because we’re afraid to be an individual. I know for a fact that I'd rather fail at doing something I love than succeed at doing something I hate; and if people judge me for being an individual then so what. However, when it comes to being an individual in a different person, it's rather difficult because sometimes you stand out. None the less, that's what an individual is and should be. I think by being an individual and standing out can relate to authority because eventually, if people like what you're doing, they're going to join in with you.

Conclusion

      As my first semester of college has come to an end, I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I want to change through the readings and writings we’ve done. I’ve learned what it takes to be a better person and how we, as members of society, should be treated and treat others, including our land. I really enjoyed this class because I learned how to become a better writer and also how to actually evaluate and write my opinions on something. I could say whatever I wanted and knew that I wouldn’t be judged just because the teacher had a different opinion. I think the way the class was done in the end, with us teaching, was a better way to learn because we actually had to interpret it for ourselves. Overall, you were a good teacher, willing to help when we needed it and pretty laid back. I like English and writing, so it was pretty easy for me to enjoy your class and am excited for what’s to come in ENG 102 in the spring.

Works Cited

Carnegie, Andrew. "The Gospel of Wealth." Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas

New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 387-403. Print.

Durkheim, Emile. “Individualism and the Intellectuals.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas

            New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 271-285. Print.

 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Self-Reliance”. Ed Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas

            New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 255-269. Print.

Fromm, Eric. “The Individual in the Chains of Illusion.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas

            New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 325-338. Print.

 

Galbraith, John Kenneth. “The Position of Poverty.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas

            New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 405-417. Print.

 

Jefferson, Thomas. “The Declaration of Independence.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas

            New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 77-85. Print.

 

King Jr., Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas

            New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 211-231. Print.

Lama, Dalai. Ed. Nicholas Vreeland. An Open Heart. 5-25. Print.

 

Singer and Mason, Peter and Jim. “The Ethics of Eating Meat.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas

            New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 767-789. Print.

Thoreau, Henry David. “Civil Disobedience.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas

            New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 127-140. Print.

Tzu, Lao. “Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching.” Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of Ideas

            New York: Bedford St. Martins 2000. 21-35. Print.

Pictures Cited



Happy Face. http://learn-how-to-be-happy.com/. Web. 7 December 2011.

Individualism. http://docblogs.wordpress.com/tag/individualism/. Web. 12 December 2011.



Justice. http://www.amityville.com/Justice-court.cfm. Web. 7 december 2011.

Wealth Vs Poverty. http://articles.mibba.com/World/2072/Wealth-vs-Poverty. Web. 7 December 2011.

Vote. http://www.today.colostate.edu/story.aspx?id=4680. Web. 7 December 2011.