Morgan Gerome ENG 101-C Final Exam-Visual Blog

Introduction

            Hi, my name is Morgan Gerome and I am a freshman at EKU.  At the beginning of this class I was not sure what to expect.  Professor Benningfield told the class that we would be reading a lot and many of the readings will involve history; this made me very nervous because I do not like history.  I looked over the syllabus and thought the class was going to be hard.  After taking this class, it was not that bad; the essays were spaced out and thoroughly gone over, we were not just reading to read, because the essays were all about the readings.  Despite the fact that I do not like history, I surprisingly enjoyed many of the readings, because of the content that was being discussed; these included the readings of Lao-Tzu, Machiavelli, King, and Singer and Mason.  This blog will show what I have learned throughout the semester and how this all relates to me in society. 

Government

This picture represents government
because it is crucial to vote in elections
because you choose who represents you. 
The Power of Voting

Government was a huge topic this semester and one that I particularly thought I would not like.  Politics and government are not very interesting to me, but to my surprise I actually liked this topic and began to see what a government is and how it should be ran.  What makes an ideal government is one who provides equal rights and equal treatment for all.

            The government is to provide equal rights for all through the law.  Mahatma Gandhi says, “my idea of society is that while we are all born equal, meaning that we have the right to equal opportunity, all have not the same capacity.” (140).  We may not all be the same race, color, weight, size or religion, but we all are born equal and deserve to have equal rights.  In the past discrimination has been eliminated through the amendments of women’s rights, blacks voting rights, and age voting rights. Therefore it is crucial that the government provides equal rights for all through the laws that they make, to ensure that no racism can be acted upon.

            Citizens have a critical role in the government by whom they choose for government positions.  It is crucial for one to vote in elections if they are concerned about their government and about who is making decisions about their country. Gandhi believes this to be true when he says, “the truth is that power resides in the people and it is entrusted for the time being to those whom they may choose as their representatives” (141).  My role in the government is just this, I vote in the elections when an issue of interest arises and I support this issue.  For instance, the presidential elections, I will vote in the next presidential election because I care about my country and it is in my power to choose a president who I think will make better decisions in concern of the people and for the good of the country.

Wealth and Poverty

            Wealth and poverty is a big issue in today’s society and an issue that really grabs my attention.  Eliminating poverty is a tough issue to resolve due to the lack of money that the government can provide for the poor, and the lack of others willingness to help the poor.  To eliminate the separation of rich and poor the wealthy need to be generous with their wealth and the government needs to provide the essential needs of living to all. 

This is one of the ways that I have
helped the poor, by collecting cans 
to donate. Relaycans

            The wealthy do not need to be as generous as handing over large sums of their money to the poor, but by donating money to organizations that help the poor can make a tremendous difference.  Andrew Carnegie was a big believer in this kind of giving, and he believed that “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” (400-401).  Donating to organizations that help the poor is very influential on the poor because these organizations build parks, shelters, housing or even schools, which then aid the poor citizens and helps them prosper.  Also “society must provide, free for everyone, the minimum necessities of material existence in food, housing, and clothing” (Fromm 75).  This will ensure that all people are given the necessary items to live and to have an equal opportunity of being successful in their life.

Helping people within your community is a very worthwhile and rewarding action.  Some ways that I have helped the poor is through church and school; my family and I have bought Christmas gifts for a family in poverty, and at school we have collected cans to donate to soup kitchens and such.  There are many other ways to donate to help the poor families without even spending any money, such as going to a soup kitchen to help serve food or even mentoring them and spending time with them.  These things make a person feel like they belong and encourage them to work harder to make something of themselves.

Justice

This represents justice because 
the gavel represents justice for the entire
world because justice is served through
the law. Gavel and World

            Justice is a very loaded topic that can be controversial at times.  This topic was of some interest to me based upon the stoning articles we read and the stoning movie we watched.  I was not aware that so many people are being treated unequally in other countries.  Injustice is served in Iran through the stoning of women and the unjust laws implemented; this injustice must be changed so that all people are treated equally and fairly.  Injustice can be broken if and only if it is done in a rightful manner and this was not the case in Iran.
            Stoning takes place in Iran, usually against women and the most common reason is because they committed adultery. “Women are especially vulnerable to unfair trials, since they are much more likely to be illiterate and duped into signing confessions” (Death by Stoning).  How is this fair?  Women are not treated fairly in Iran; they are not schooled properly, they are not able to work for pay and their rights are very limited.  A woman does not have the ability to stand up for herself because of her lack of education and lack of protection from the government.  As we saw in the movie, The Stoning of Soraya M., Soraya was innocent, but could not prove her innocence because of certain Iranian laws that stated if the husband of a wife accuses her of adultery then he is telling the truth; a man is always telling the truth, according to Iranian laws.  This sort of treatment is definitely not just and should not be allowed in any country no matter what the circumstances may be. 

            Unjust laws can be broken if it is done in a rightful nonviolent manner.  Martin Luther King Jr. had a very sound way of taking up this action and this was through the  “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action” (215).   By following these few steps, you can ensure that you are taking action in a rightful manner.  If there is a case of injustice such as a broken promise by the government it is right for you to protest, but do it in a way where attention is brought to your cause in order to help your cause and not harm it.  I do not fight injustice, because this is a heavy issue that needs people who actually know what they are doing and can get the attention of the government properly. 

Ethics and Morality

            Ethics and morality are a confusing topic that I did not understand very well.  I thought that ethics and morality were all about religion.  I have learned that this is not completely what ethics and morality are; you can have ethical and moral behavior without religion.  Ethics is the idea between what is morally right and wrong.  From the readings of Peter Singer and Jim Mason, and Aristotle ethics is found through food and happiness.

This picture represents morality
because we have a duty to do things
the right way or wrong way and the things
we do are either forbidden or good.

Morality

            Aristotle discussed that it is of every mans desire to be happy.  Happiness is ethical and happiness “involves not only a completeness of virtue but also a complete lifetime for its fulfillment” (Aristotle 704).  Happiness is something that lasts a lifetime when it is acquired.  Happiness is acquired through ones' study and diligence and cannot be attained by chance or through wealth (Aristotle 704).  I agree with Aristotle that wealth might make someone happy, but happiness is not something that can be bought, it is something that one needs to work hard at to acquire.  That is what makes happiness ethical because you are attaining happiness through your hard work and through the things you do right.

            It is ethical to be selective with your food and eat those foods that are processed organically.  One should eat organically because of the poor way that the slaughter farms treat their animals and because of the unsanitary process the slaughter farms have.  Singer and Mason believe that “drawing a clear line against eating animal products may be the best way to ensure that one eats ethically” (787).  If you are a supporter of eating only those meats that are organic you might be sending the wrong message to others as to why exactly you do this.  So to effectively support the cause of how wrong the animals are treated it would be more effective if you refuse to eat all animal products, and be a vegan.  To me this is very ethical, even though I am not one who is a vegan or selective eater.  At times I have considered it, but I love meat and cannot imagine not being able to have a steak for dinner.   

Individual

            I was not so sure what to except in the individual unit of this class.  I was kind of leery about the topics that would be discussed and even what the readings would be about.  After reading Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writing of “Self-Reliance” I got a better feel for the topic and began to understand that as an individual my duty is to look out for myself and not be influenced by others.

This picture represents individualism because
to be an individual you need to be 
a leader and be who you want to be
not who someone else leads you to be. 
Anonymous-leadership

            As an individual I thought that we should be looking out for others and always try to help them out in every way possible, but Ralph Waldo Emerson stated that it is not our obligation to help the poor men and to help them come out of their situation and that we do not belong to them and they do not belong to us (263).  This makes sense because we as individuals do not own the poor people, so it is not our job to help them come out of their situation.  My duty is to look out for myself and I need to do this by not being persuaded by others, “if mankind commits suicide, it will be because people will obey those who command them to push the deadly button” (Fromm 333).  I do not want to be a follower of others, I want to be my own individual person and be able to do things on my own with my own perspective.

            Emerson said, “my life is not an apology, but a life” (263).  This is such a strong statement because it is so truthful.  I should not apologize for who I am or what I do because it is my life and I am the one living it. What I have learned from this unit is that I am to be myself and not be persuaded by others.

Conclusion

            I really enjoyed this class and many of the readings that we read.  I liked the readings from the government section to the wealth and poverty section.  I felt that these readings were very informative, and worthwhile to talk about it.  I also agreed with many of the authors in these sections.  The sections from justice to ethics and morality, I did not enjoy as much   I felt that the readings were very difficult to understand and I struggled on the last essay due to the fact that the readings were harder to understand.  I did like the Singer and Mason reading though, that was a very interesting and a much different reading from what we have read.  I also liked the Stoning of Soraya M. movie and the stoning articles, this was a very brutal topic, and it was such a shock to hear about all that goes on in Iran and how women are treated. The individualism unit was a bit rushed, but I thoroughly enjoyed these readings and the material discussed.

I really enjoyed having Professor Benningfield as my teacher; she really made my first freshmen English course smooth and successful.  I was worried about 20 page papers and thousands of pages of reading, but she really knew how to split up the readings and papers so it was not overwhelming.  She is a fair grader and when we got behind she adjusted our schedule in order for us to stay on track and not rush things.  If there were one thing I would change about the class it would be the reading topic for ethics/ morality, even though I really enjoyed the Singer and Mason reading.  If we had to write an essay on this topic it probably would have been the worse essay I would have written, due to its difficulty to understand.  Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed the class and glad that it turned out how it did.

Works Cited

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----“The Individual in the Chains of Illusion.” A World of Ideas. Ed. Lee A.

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“Relaycans.” Photograph. Lake Stevens Journal. The Lake Stevens Journal, 9 May 2011.

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DVD.

Thompson, Domonique. “The Power of Voting.” Photograph. Socialtik Mag. Web. 30

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