3.1 Lifeboat ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor

Hardin uses the metaphor of rich countries on a lifeboat and poor on the outside to explain that we can't possible support all the poor countries in the world. We can't support them at least not without falling into poverty ourselves. Only a certain amount of countries can be rich in order for there to be a rich and poor. If everyone is rich then no one is, the price of living goes up to fulfill the greedy who want more and then there is once again a rich and a poor. The idea of society requires a rich and a poor, poor being the majority and rich the minority that rule over the poor. It is similar with countries in order for there to be a successful world there has to be a rich and a poor. If everyone is rich then there is going to be someone who wants more power over the majority and thus wars start and there becomes once again a rich and a poor.

            We shouldn't save the poor countries from their own destruction. It's hard to accept thousands dying from starvation when we have the power to help but by helping we are not doing them any good. It's like trying to plug the holes in a sinking ship; the pressure of the water outside will eventually be too much to stop the boat from sinking. After a certain point it's useless and we must prepare for evacuation. Some countries are well past that point and there isn't anything we can do to help.
           A poor country can be seen as a phoenix in its last stages. It's sad and dying and as hard as it is to watch an organism die knowing there is something you can do to help it. You can give it medicine, food, nurse it as much as you want but you are only prolonging its unavoidable death. Like a country from the horrible flaming death of the phoenix there is rebirth from the ashes. If we allow poor countries to run their course we will be able to help it to greatness in its rebirth. By helping them we are only hurting ourselves.

 We are "our brother's keeper" but only to benefit them in the long run. We must think of the long term effects of our actions. The World Food Bank is not a good idea. In the long run it'll just be a continual cycle of give and take. The poor countries will always be poor and the rich always rich. The idea of the Green Revolution, making plants that grow in different environments to help world hunger is a good idea in theory but it could end up only contributing to unhealthy life styles. This food isn't natural upset the balance of nature. In nature there is life and death, by trying to cheat death we are messing with nature's balance. Interfering with nature's course is only selfish on our part for not wanting people to die.

We shouldn't help poor countries fight world hunger. From the struggle and death of their country with time will bring forward the rebirth of their county with a chance to start over and do things right. There will always be rich and poor we can't stop human nature and the rules that our society survives by. We can only be willing to help in a brotherly way to aid the country in the direction of prosperity in their re-birth.

2.3 Best in Class

            As a student the word valedictorian means not only smartest in the class but money. It’s all about the scholarship money. Most of us can’t afford to get to college on our own and the privilege of being valedictorian gives you a better chance of a college to fight for you to go to their school. For others it means that they are the hardest working in the school or the most likely to succeed or just that they like to be the best in everything they do. Maybe being valedictorian is the only thing they accomplished in high school. As Talbot points out not every kid is good at sports or at anything else and their academics it the one thing they really want to be recognized for. In high school when it comes to the end of senior year it is important to stand out for something especially if you worked exceedingly hard for it.

            To take away the valedictorian award would be like taking away the MVP award on the basketball team or to tell the captain of the football team that he’s a really hard worker but everyone is captain. To work so hard and be put in the same category as people who just barely got by with AP classes and didn’t work half as hard as you had. This maybe the last time teenagers are recognized all the hard work they’ve done in their adolescence. For the next few years after all the titles you go in high school no longer matter and for this last moment of high school this one person gets to be recognized for all the hard work they did before their adult life begins.  

            On the other hand some people get to the top in other ways than working hard. People do cheat and people steal. Some teenagers would really value being in the same group as the smartest in the class because they worked hard but just weren’t as smart or things didn’t come as easily to them. It would be great to know that their hard work is just as valuable as the smartest in the class. Some worked just as hard as the valedictorian and feel insulted that they aren’t recognized as well. In situations where schools are being sued over valedictorian ship it may be necessary to make the top ten percent equal. It’s wrong to take money from the limited they already have over a position that won’t even matter three months later when they get to college.

Despite the feelings of other students they still get recognized for being in the top ten percent, for having a certain number of GPA and they are still able to go to all the same schools as the valedictorian. Being valedictorian or not isn’t going to hold any of these students back from getting in to a good college. You can have slightly lower GPA and still get into a better school than the valedictorian. Valedictorian is a special privilege given to a student with the highest GPA and worked hard to get there. (518)

2.2 Great Gatsby Chap-ter 6-7

“Doesn’t he know she doesn’t want him?” (pg. 93)

Fitzgerald shows Tom’s obvious feeling towards Gatsby by voicing his opinion through the woman. Even though she says numerous times that she wants Gatsby to go Tom says she doesn’t. Fitzgerald does this to show how Tom is threatened by Gatsby and is concerned that he is involved with his wife. Tom isn’t concerned about Daisy’s relationship with this man he is concerned with the power that Gatsby may be taking from him by being with his wife. He would feel the same way if Gatsby was to take all of Tom’s friends away from him. Tom is afraid of losing the one person he has full control over. He knows that they weren’t in love when they got married but she was easy to control so he ignored her obvious love for someone else. (Words 135)

“She didn’t have a good time.” (pg. 98)

            Gatsby is portrayed as a man consumed with love for Daisy. But really he isn’t desperate for Daisy he is desperate for the way things were before he went off to war. War can do a lot to a man especially for men like Gatsby who had survived on other people taking him along at the time. After he went to war he had to take care of himself. Daisy is a symbol of that time when he didn’t have to always make it on his own.  He is now seeing that Daisy is not the same woman she was once he broke her heart. Plus she now has the responsibility of a baby; this woman can’t even take care of herself. Daisy being able to fulfill Gatsby at this stage in her life is highly unlikely. (Words 137)

“’Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” (pg. 99)

Fitzgerald puts forth the belief that you can’t repeat the past. This is untrue when the past repeats itself all the time. The past is bound to repeat itself if the lesson was not learned the first time. World War II, stock market crash, Genocide, all events that repeat themselves in cultures around the world some numerous times. If these horrible things can repeat themselves then so can the good. Gatsby could have his happy ending under slightly different circumstances if he wasn’t searching for exactly what they have. He has to take into account that when you grow you change. There is also the possibility of her being left heartbroken all over again if she chooses him. (Words 118)

“Her voice is full of money” (pg. 107)

            Fitzgerald implies that Daisy is a privileged woman full of charm and “jingle” when really Daisy is very easily portrayed and uneducated and dependant. Money is something you need in order to get the things you want. People depend on money but nothing in her voice says that you can depend on her in any way. She sounds flimsy and weak, just as men during this time. Also during this time money speaks of power and status both of which is lost on Daisy with her scandal of a husband and her reluctance to urge him to end his infidelity. (Words 100)

“…there was no difference between men…” (pg. 111)

Nick brings to light the idea that Tom and Wilson are the same in finding out that there women have cheated on them but they are very different. Where Wilson shows sickness and weakness Tom shows strength and courage. He confronts Gatsby about Daisy and his relationship and they argue about. On the other hand Wilson doesn’t even confront Tom about Myrtle’s infidelity instead he tries to buy a car from Tom in an attempt to leave without dealing with it. Not only has this but he allowed Tom to feel pity for him by just giving him the car. Its Tom’s fault that Wilson’s wife died. She was looking to run away with Tom and she got killed by his wife unintentionally. Tom and Wilson are not the same. (Words 130)

(Words 667)

2.1 Commencment Speech

The essay "Commencement Speech" speaks about the effects that the desire of perfect have on our youth. In order to solve this 'problem' the author urges us to stop trying to be perfect. There are certain aspects in life that can't be achieved and chasing them may destroy us. On the other hand the ambition to achieve goals that signify a step towards perfection not only gives us a reason to live but makes us work to be better in the process. The idea of perfection is an illusion in our mind. Perfection can be defined simply as something unattainable. In this case it's a goal in anyone's life depending on their desires and hopes. It's not necessarily bad to strive for goals when we are taught to set goals and achieve them. The thin line between the burden of perfection and a self set goal is the attainability. If we set unattainable goals it becomes a burden; if we set attainable goals then it's an accomplishment. Both push us towards perfection but one is healthy and the other is not. The author is saying to drop unattainable goals.

These goals can be pushed on by anyone that affects our choices. We need to be aware of our limits. There is nothing wrong with wanting to please others if we please ourselves in the process but we must identify our limits and how far we are willing to push ourselves. When we get to the point where we are only hurting ourselves that is when we should "lay [our] burden down". We shouldn't fall under the pressures if we can't benefit ourselves as well as the people whose opinions matter to us, it shouldn't be one sided. We must know our balance.

People work their whole lives to find the balance. Those who aren’t haven’t even figured out that there is a balance. Everything in nature has a balance including people. Balancing ourselves is as close to perfection as we can get. The balance between our family life, home life and social life all depend on the choices we make and how they effect the people we care about and vice versa. If we drop unattainable goals and just focus on the attainable ones then all we have to worry about is the balance between pleasing ourselves and pleasing everyone that affects us. Then the question becomes is it more beneficial to please ourselves or to please everyone else. Other questions arise like: is it possible to please both and still achieve my overall goal? Is it worth hurting people in the process? etc.

These are questions we ask ourselves all the time without realizing its purpose. These are the questions that weigh our burden. After the decision is made we have to wonder did we make the right decision. The balance between our burdens doesn’t guarantee that  there won’t be guilt, or regret but it does satisfy the need for perfection. We ourselves have to identify the necessary risks in order to obtain our goals and weigh the options. We have to learn to accept our consequences no matter how great in order to matain the balance. If we can’t live with the consequences then we may not have made the right choice. It is a matter of perspective. This thought along can cause the burden as heavy as “a backpack full of bricks”. And the process starts all over again. (572)

1.3 Let Teenagers Try Adulthood

                The idea of high school wasn’t designed to keep up with maturity of teenagers of this day and age. As explained by Leon Botstein in “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood” high school should be abolished and if not abolished then under extreme reconstruction. In this day and age teenagers my age are ready to take on the responsibilities of adulthood all they need is a little guidance career wise and life wise. If we went to college at age sixteen teenagers would be doing something useful with the last years of our brain and body development. Opposed to wasting time in a class room where you learn nothing and are disciplined all day while talking to friends, we could be actually learning what we need to know to survive in life. Everyone would have a better opportunity to be successful in America.

Botstein talks about how high school environment is “age- segregated” with little exposure to the outside world and demented view of how social society works. The social environment of high school is absolute opposite of the way it works in the real world. Instead of punished for standing out we are rewarded, instead of isolated for individuality people seek it. When we leave high school most teenagers can’t succeed unless they go to college, the transition between high school and the real world. In college you still have school work and homework even though the social experience is different and you’re treated like an adult there is still the crutch that is the familiarity of school.

The main problem with high school is the system. The people who control the system are focused on the sports aspect of school as opposed to education. As Botstein points out it’s controlled by coaches who value the sports over the education. They believe that the lessons learned on the field or the court is more valuable than the lessons learned in the class room. But they don’t realize that there are only a limited number of people who can be on a team. In a school of five thousand teenagers not everyone is going to learn those lessons. Survival of the fittest can’t be allowed in high school based on athletic ability because there is so much more important in life. Life is not based around a field or court it’s based around education and how you used it to better yourself and the people around you and that takes more than a lesson in being a ‘team player’.

Despite the fact that the high school system is corrupt, and the social injustice is unrealistic, putting all that aside all that is really important is the education. And when the education is messed up there is a serious problem. When teachers are only there to get a paycheck, don’t know what they are teaching or how to teach it, and have absolutely no life experience applying these subjects outside the classroom then high school really is a daycare for the moody and rebellious, as Botstein says, adolescents that adults don’t want to deal with. (Words: 512)

1.2 The Great Gatsby: Chapters 1-3

"''I'm glad it's a girl. And i hope she'll be a fool- that's the best thing a girl can be un this world ...''" (pg. 20-21)
The thought that educating women creates trouble is an opinion very widely expressed in 1925 when this book was published. The author proves this through Daisy's plot line as a woman with a cheating husband. In this time period it is common for a husband to have a mistress and the wife to be none the wiser. The author blames Daisy's education for her scandal of a marriage. Daisy knows that her husband is cheating on her and is expected to fix her marriage or turn the other cheek because it is her fault for not pleasing her husband. This puts her in the situation of driving him to another woman and possibly breaking up, which in the time period is socially unacceptable. Just that the author has a woman saying it reinforces his opinion that even women think that educating women is nothing but trouble. (Words: 146)

"Daisy was not a Catholic, and I was a little shocked at the elaboratness of the lie." (pg, 34)
The author is alludes that Mr.Buchanan has no intention of marrying Mrs.Wilson. Also that he has no intention of leaving his wife, Daisy. Based on his sporadic nature it can be assumed that Mrs.Wilson is just another phase and the fact that such a sporadic man even married showed either that he cares for her or that his family forced him to settle down or be disowned. The latter is more likely seeing as when together Mr. Buchanan stands apart from his wife, they also show only mere tolerance of each other. There was not kiss, no touch, nothing to show affection towards each other that he shows towards Mrs.Wilson. It is then clear that there is not love present in the marriage but because he lied about the reason that they're not getting divorced shows that he can't or more likely won't leave. (Words: 144)

"'...we're Nordics... And we've produced all the things that go to make civilization- oh, science and art, and all that. Do you see?'" (pg. 17)
The self righteous nature that the author projects through the character Tom Buchanan can only symbolize the attitude of men in the 1925 time period. The author shows how people believed that they were dominant in race, or stature in origin. This only shows arrogance and false pride. The things that make civilization were started before the Nordics and originated in northern Africa starting with a stable food source which caused the gathering of people in one place. This leads to the development of tools (technology) which lead to transportation that created trade and economy which needed laws and government to make things just. These are the things that make a civilization and they were not produced by one group of people in particular but a range of groups of people over a period of time. Tom's brutish attitude toward his dominance in the end only makes him an idiot. And over the years with technology and science many men have been proven to be also. (Words: 166)