November Blog- What is Morality?

        -November 30
        Morality is the differentiation between right and wrong. However, is there an exact answer as to what is right and wrong? Different cultures, ideals, and beliefs from around the globe would prove there is no answer. Morality is dependent on an individual's or a society's opinion. An action normal to one society is seen as repulsive to another. Because of this, a true line between right and wrong cannot be estsblished.
         In Things Fall Apart, many parts of Okonkwo's country's culture are seen as abhorrent and horrendous. One practice in this society is polygamy. Okonkwo and the majority of the men in that society have multiple wives. In today's world, the majority of Earth's population sees polygamy as disgraceful. This includes America where polygamy is almost impossible to find practiced. A second aspect of the culture in the novel is the adoration and praise of multiple Gods. In my opinion, praising multiple gods is weird and dishonorable. I have grown up learning to believe in God and only God. I've been taught that believing in more than one God is a sentence to hell. However, in Okonkwo's society, believing in more than one God is normal and respected. To them it is the moral thing to do.
        Throughout the world and the history of Earth, there is thousands of ways individuals and/or societies have conflicted on the morality of something. One major example of this was the struggle between communism and democracy. Each side believed the other government type was terrible for the future of the world. Americans were taught that communists such as the Russians were dictators and were looking to take over the world. The Russians told their citizens the same thing about America. This struggle has led to countless arguments, battles and even war. However, differing opinions make it so there is no true moral belief. The idea in today's society can be mostly seen through America's battle with the Middle East. We, as Americans, believe the actions of the Middle East are abominable and must be stopped. However, is that sentiment believed by all people in the Middle East. It is not. From my research and examination on morality, I believe there is no true truth to it. Morality is based truly on opinion. There will never be a solid line between right and wrong; it is based truly on one's belief.

October Blog- The Power of Loyalty

~October 31st
        What does loyalty really mean? To me, loyalty is when a husband sticks by his wife when she is in a bad situation. Loyalty means not revealing secrets your friend has told you. Loyalty is always sticking by your family because they will always be the ones that love you. In my opinion, loyalty is one of the most important characteristics in a person. Any friendship or relationship is fully dependent on the loyalty displayed from both sides. Loyalty is a true measure of someone’s character.

  Question 6 of the Socratic Seminar for Beowulf is how does the character of Beowulf exemplify the pagan core values of loyalty, bravery, and generosity? Where else do you see these core values demonstrated? I want to focus my attention purely on the loyalty aspect of Beowulf’s core values. Beowulf displays his loyalty through his relationship with Hrothgar and Hrothgar’s family. After Hrothgar’s death, Beowulf could have easily taken the throne away from Hrothgar’s family. Instead, out of true respect and loyalty, he allowed Hrothgar’s son to become king. Beowulf also helped supervise and protect the realm out of loyalty to the family. It was not until Hrothgar’s son’s death that Beowulf became king. He was not willing to become king until the realm and the family was in dire straits. Even though it does not concern specifically Beowulf, another example of loyalty in the poem is in the actions of Wiglaf. Wiglaf is one of the soldiers Beowulf takes with him to attack the dragon. Beowulf tells these soldiers to stay away at a distance to let him take on the dragon alone. However, when the dragon attacks and begins mauling Beowulf, Wiglaf is the only one to come to defense of the king. He is able to help Beowulf kill the dragon. Even though Beowulf dies, Wiglaf is able to carry out his final wishes. Wiglaf shows true loyalty to the king.

        In my life, I have had to learn to true meaning of loyalty. By being in a relationship and having a girlfriend, I have had to learn to be trusting and loyal to her. In any relationship, there has to be trust and loyalty or else it will never succeed. That is why loyalty is so important. It is the true backbone of any relationship and it has to be relevant for any relationship to last a long time.  

September Blog- The U.S. Prison System

~September 29, 2014

Usually, when thinking about a prison, one thinks of a place filled with convicts, murderers, crooks, and just overall awful people. One thinks of brutality, threats and animosity. However, most people would not consider this description for anyone other than the prisoners. The people that fill these characteristics are those running the prison system. The guards, security and even district attorneys are the ones fitting this role. Over the years, they have been accused of brutality, cover ups, murder, and creating overall disgraceful conditions for the convicts. The worst part is some of these so called criminals are truly innocent. Numerous people have been in jail for years for crimes they did not commit. On top of that, district attorneys are unwilling to admit to wrongdoing because of their obstinacy. These problems are truly terrible, and should be improved. Even though the majority of those in jail deserve it, they should still be treated like human beings, not animals.
The Power of One is an example of a piece of literature that expresses the cruelty in prisons. The first example within the novel that expresses this idea is when Doc is arrested. The sergeant arresting Doc harms him by aggressively handcuffing him and hitting him. When Peekay sees this, he tries to help Doc but is knocked out from it. The sergeant tries to blame the whole incident on Doc by saying Doc is the one that injured Peekay. The sergeant almost successfully blames the situation on Doc, as Doc is looked down upon by society for a period of time. However, luckily, Doc’s reputation is eventually restored. The other example from the novel that relates to the topic is the general abuse taking place in the Barberton prison. The warder Borman was especially guilty of dishing out this extreme abuse. He constantly physically and verbally abused Geel Piet, and eventually murdered him. Other guards within the prison were also guilty of abusing prisoners, but to a lesser extent. It goes to show that those running the prison system are just as deserving of jail time as those actually in jail.
The way the prison system is being managed at this time is disgraceful. Those working within this system are going way beyond their limits and are using excessive force on the inmates. I believe that the prison system needs to be improved immediately. The role of those in the prison system must be strictly enforced by leadership. Also, the convicting process must be improved. Each year, hundreds to thousands of people are found guilty when they are not. No man or woman should be forced to go to jail for any period of time for a crime they did not commit. There have been instances where citizens have sat in jail for years, or even sentenced to death. That is quite a burden the prison system must live with, as they killed an guiltless human being. That is unacceptable and no person should go through that type of situation.