Introduction
My name is Mackenzie Long and I am writing this blog to sum up what I learned in my first semester of college English and how I should play my part is society as a citizen and an individual. I've always hated English and it was my least favorite subject in high school. I thought that this was going to be another boring English class where all we do is read boring books or poems, answer some questions on the readings, then take a quiz or test on them. I never wrote that much in high school and when I did my teachers never gave me feedback, therefore I never learned how to properly write a paper. However, this class surprised me. The readings were interesting, I improved my grammar skills, and got good feedback to better my papers. All in all one of my favorite English classes.
Government
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My ideal government would be one in which the citizens got more of a say in what went on in their country. A sign of a good government is one which trusts their citizens so that they do not have to hide secrets from them about what they are doing behind the scenes. Lao Tzu says, "If you don't trust the people you make them untrustworthy" (25). The best way to trust your citizens, as a government, is to have nothing to fear, such as weapons of mass destruction or having soldiers stationed in dangerous places where they do not need to be at the time, "Weapons are the tools of fear" (27).
Citizens have a part to play in government as well. The citizens' job for the government to overthrow the leaders when they are doing wrongs for the country and the people. Thomas Jefferson even included this in The Declaration of Independence saying, "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government" (80). Also as a citizen it is my job to let my government know what they are doing right and wrong. The best way for me to show this is to vote, so that my government can hear my opinions.
Wealth and Poverty
Right now, especially, wealth and poverty is a big issue. There should be a smaller gap between the two groups. The big thing that needs to happen is for the rich to be taxed more than the middle and lower classes. The wealthy have all of this money and could take a small burden from the less fortunate by not only getting a bigger tax hit, but also by giving to those less fortunate. "An affluent society that is also both compassionate and rational would, no doubt, secure to all whom ended it the minimum income essential for decency and comfort" (Galbraith, 412). Unfortunately, few do, "In bestowing charity, the main consideration should be to help those who will help themselves; to provide part of the means by which those who desire to improve may do so; to give those who desire to rise the aids by which they may rise; to assist, but rarely or never to do all" (Carnegie, 401).
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One of my service projects was packing up food at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank for shelter throughout Central Ohio. |
Because of my Catholic upbringing I learned at a young age the importance of giving back and have performed many acts of service and actually found them all quite fun. I view money as something that keeps me above water. I am a huge clearance shoppers and usually only use my money for essentials like food and gas. I hope that in the future I can use my money to start a facility for kids with autism to learn the importance of teamwork through the game of soccer.
Justice
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To me justice is following the laws and punishing those who do not. However, the laws should be equal to everyone across the board. In this country a lone there have been many injustices since our country's birth. Two of the most famous instances are the fight against segregation and the women's rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought against segregation up until his death. And Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for women's rights to vote and to have the same opportunities as men to further their education. Some of Stanton's most famous quotes for women's rights include, " He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.", and "He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns" (205).
I believe unjust laws should be broken because everybody should have the same rights no matter their race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. At the moment I am apart of many LGBTQ groups because I believe everyone should have the right to love and marry the person of their choosing. The laws against homosexuals should be changed because is unjust to them as human beings.
Ethics/Morality
Ethics and morality in simplistic terms are the knowledge of right and wrong, good and bad. Ethical behavior is to know when to do the right thing at the right time no matter how difficult the decision is to do so. According to Aristotle, "this one end must be the good-- even, indeed, the highest good" (694). Your fight for good might not even do anything except get people's attention. Aldo Leopold fought his entire life for the ethical rights of the land and got just that. He even states in his writing, "There is yet not ethic dealing with man's relation to land and to the animals and plants which grow upon it" (749). And unfortunately we are still not listening with oil crises and radiation pollution.
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Ethics and morality cannot be tied to religion because when we were growing we learned right from wrong with no idea of religion. I think happiness is tied to ethics because we receive happiness by doing good. According to Aristotle happiness is the goodness of the soul and can endure anything. I believe I struggle at achieving true happiness by just doing the right thing, but I believe every teenager struggles with this idea of true happiness. At the moment I find happiness in my friends, family boyfriend, music and soccer and for right now , I think I am ok with those things making me happy.
Individual
To me an individual in society is someone who stays true to themselves and their beliefs and does not stray because everyone else. An individual in society forms their own opinions and beliefs because they believe them, not because someone told them to belief them. And individual adds changes to the character of a society because without differences in character a society would remain the same boring thing all the time.
As individuals it is our job in society to contribute our thoughts, opinions, ideas, and voice to better the society and country as a whole. Right now my contributions to society are to vote as well as voice my opinion with groups who support my beliefs. Also it is my job to continue my education to help better my society later on with my stronger, well thought out and researched ideas.
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Everyone is different it makes them who they are as an individual. This represents me as an individual. I am proud to be who I am it separates me from everyone else. |
I believe it is possible to support the individual and the collective because we support our country and troops as well as supporting the idea of being yourself. Durkheim supports this idea that you cannot support one without supporting the other. He says, "Not only is individualism not anarchical, but it henceforth is the only system of beliefs which can ensure the moral unity of the country" (281).
I am and individual because of my life experiences. The things I did, say, and heard made me who I am as an individual. Growing up with rock music I never grew to like pop or country music. My parents raised me to speak my mind and form my own opinions making each one of us different in many ways yet part of the same family.
Conclusion
I thoroughly enjoyed this English class. I loved the readings because I love reading about philosophy and history. For once I actually liked what the readings because I could relate to them unlike the readings I read in English in high school. And the papers we had to write actually pertained to issues that we, as students, could relate to. I enjoyed Professor Benningfield and her teaching styles and she helped me finesse my writing.
Works Cited
All pictures we're from my own collection
Aristotle. The Aim of Man. World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacobus. Boston: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.
694-709. Print.
Carnegie, Andrew. The Gospel of Wealth. World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacobus. Boston: St. Martin’s
Press, 2000. 391-402. Print.
Durkheim, Emile. Individualism an the Intellectuals. World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacobus. Boston:
St. Martin’s Press, 2000. 275-283. Print.
Galbraith, John Kenneth. The Position of Poverty. World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacobus. Boston: St.
Martin’s Press, 2000. 408-415. Print.
Jefferson, Thomas. The Declaration of Independence. World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacobus. Boston:
St. Martin’s Press, 2000. 80-83. Print.
Leopold, Aldo. The Land Ethic. World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacobus. Boston: St. Martin’s Press,
2000. 748-764. Print.
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. World of Ideas. Ed. Lee
Jacobus. Boston: St. Martin’s Press, 2000. 204-208. Print.
Tzu, Lao. Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching. World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacobus. Boston: St. Martin’s
Press, 2000. 24-33. Print.
I really enjoyed your blog/project/essay. You made good points in each section and made points that seem to interesting. The pictures went well with each section as well. Good Job!
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