Introduction:

Hi, I am Parker Greathouse a freshmen student at Eastern Kentucky University. I hope to become a political science major or insurance major. I graduated high school in lexington kentucky at lafayette high school. I have a great sense of humor and can get along with almost anyone. Over my first semester of college ENG 101 has opened my eyes to many views and ideas pretaining to government, justice, ethics, anything dealing with ideas or thoughts on how people behave and live really. I wasn't really sure what this class was going to offer or what I was going to learn but it has not only taught me about great minds of the past, but helped me better understand what I believe in myself about the world and how we as humans should act.

Government:

I think that a well non abusive government is needed for any society to function or any nation to keep going. Government is needed, but doesn't need to be over powerful and controling. for example we the people rely on the government to help us when in need. I think its important for our government to help those in need, but at the same time not everyone should rely on our government to provide for us. the role of the citizens is to obey what our government says, but it also the responsibilty of the citizens to over throw a government if the government were to become corrupt. One of the greatest thinkers and founders of America was Thomas Jefferson. He helped create the Declaration of Independence and government that we live under today. He as well as our other founding fathers had a vision for america to be the land of the free under and non exploiting government.




Wealth and Poverty:

There will always be a gap between wealth and poverty. No matter what a government does, there will always be rich and there will always be poor. The only thing we can ever do is try to help the poor or those in need. The rich play a role in this too. The rich provide jobs which gives jobs and money to the poorer. Now in America, everyone has every right to make as much money as they want, and not have to share it or give it up. That is their freedom and rights, but if everyone thinks this way then you will always have that major gap of rich and poor. Our government should not have total control but they are important to helping the poor live and help them in any way possible. A great example of a hard working american is Andrew Carnegie. he thought that everyone should be self made. while he goes against the government directly helping people I feel that both views are right. Carnegie thought that the problem is there isn't a proper administration of wealth. He believed that money if given directly to people, then the money will be abused and not used for the right intent. But if the rich put money into public services such as libraries, then they can be used to help everyone and can't be abused.




Justice:

Justice, a universal law that applies to every human being. No matter what race or religion you may be, you deserve justice. Justice is bringing right into the world and correcting the mistake of something or someone. many injustices happen everyday, corrupt leaders abusing the people, criminals not being jailed. I think that injustice is someone who is comitting a crime that violates or takes away others rights and gets away with it. I think that no matter what we as humans do there will always be acts of injustice. It just isn't possible to have everything at justice. All we can do is strive to correct these injustices as they happen. If a law is unjust, then it is the duty of the people to break it and make it just. Everyone can play a role in fighting injustices everyday, even the little things, like cheating, or stoping someone from stealing from a store, many things. Alot of people though are afraid to get in the way of unjust acts, but if everyone worked together, while we can't stop unjustice all together, we can serve justice to alot of it. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights leaders of all time. through speeches and non violent protest, he work to bring equal rights to African Americans. Although King himself was non violent, his program left both him and his followers open to the threats of violence (pg 212). He was trying to bring justice to unjust laws and acts on black people. Even though the protests he held broke the law, they were nessecary in order to bring universal justice to every human being.

Ethics/Morality:

Ethical behavior is the understanding and dealing with anything and anyone in a civil manor. It's thinking logically and appreciating things for what they are. Unfortunately we don't live in a world where everyone is ethical. If we did the world would be a perfect place. Unethical behavior in our society is very common and revolves around stealing, lying, or comitting any crime really. Any law that doesn't include everyone based on race, gender, or religion can also be considered unethical or not moral. A major unethical behavior in our society had been slavery and segregation. This again goes back to Martin Luther King Jr. and his quest to end segregation. Eventually through hard work and protests, he accomplished what he wanted, equal rights. This happened after he was assasinated on April 4th, 1968 but still he saw much change while he was alive. The world doesn't need religion to behave on good ethics or morals. Religion helps show discipline in to having ethics and morals but in the end people can act on good ethics without religion. I think that to be happy, you need to have good morals. If you don't and do unethical things then that means your not happy, so you have no second thought to do things that have no moral. A man who also thought that happiness could be achieved through good morals and ethics was Aristotle. He thought that the highest level of happiness could be achieved through living a life of good morals and deeds. Aristotle's overall goal in his work was to define the aim of man (693). That is the main theme that revolved around all of his writings that he did.

Individual: 


To be and individual means to think and make decisions based on your own opinion and how you live. Individual's must all work and live together to better one another and expand our knowledge as a society. We should all work together under the laws of our government and follow them, otherwise there would be too much ability to get away with unjustices. Individualism is good, but too much can be bad. That's why I think our society in America works so well. We all have the freedom to do as we please under the laws of rights under our government. So our biggest responsibility as individuals in society is to get along and live freely under the laws of our government. It is okay to conform a little. There is no point to individuality if everyone conformed to the same thing, but if everyone was a non-comformist then it could be utter chaos. Things to have in common with others are good but no too much. If no one had any similarities then I think it would be impossible for anyone to get along. I along with almost all college students contribute to society by learning, working part time jobs, and working to lead the future of our society in years to come. In the end an individuals character and personality is by what they believe in. Now what they believe in can be shaped by those around them as their growing up and learning. If someone is around one set of beliefs all their life, then that's usually how their personality and character will play out. Again, while individualism is needed, we must remember to follow laws when set by authorities. I can agree and disagree with Ralph Emerson on conforming. I do agree that being an individual and looking beyond the surface of materialism to find to true value in things are good. But sometimes we have to conform for the greater good and sake of everyone. By this I mean following laws set by our government for our own good and protection.

This Class has helped me with my thoughts and ideas in so many ways. It has helped me develop more as an individual and out look on life. Every person we read had something new to offer and all had great ideas and theories that have stuck in my head. Andrew Carnegie really showed me what determination and hard work can do. I also like that he thinks in an effort to help everyone, the rich should dedicate donating public buildings for knowledge for anyone to use to better themselves. I liked the way you had our reading responses set up to where we would write a paper then come into class and you would throughly discuss the person. It helped me a great deal to learning more into the person and relate it to what I believed in too. Martin Luther King Jr. also showed me that bravery and commitment can almost get you anywhere. He died  for his cause, but his cause lives on.


Work Cited:

Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence" Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of ideas. New York         Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 77-83. print.

King Jr., Luther Martin. "Letter from Birmingham Jail". Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of ideas. New York         Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 211-229. print.

Carnegie, Andrew. "The Gospel of Wealth". Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of ideas. New York Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 387402. print.

Aristotle. "The Aim of Man". Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of ideas. New York Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 691-709. print.

Emerson, Ralph. "Self-Reliance". Ed. Lee Jacobus. World of ideas. New York Bedford St. Martins, 2000. 255-267. print.

Pictures:

http://hwaairfan.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/capitalist-democracy/wealth_poverty_sign/

http://mygovtjob.com/order.html

http://www.w8smc.com/KRISTAN/

http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/aris.htm

http://knowledgeczar.blogspot.com/2010/11/conforming-to-non-conformists-my-vent.html