Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights. ~Georg Hegel
The other day, I had a conversation with an old friend from college. It was more of a spirited debate, actually, about the nature of good and evil, right and wrong etc. My world view, will, I'm quite sure, be of no surprise to you--I believe "good" is a matter of perspective and convenience, and that "right" is determined by whoever has "the bigger gun" so to speak. (This is not a political world-view--meaning, regardless of the politics of the times, I always think this way).
I don't know if I am right about this, but it seems to me that the good people of the world outweigh the bad. My perspective on this rarely shifts, and is also reinforced when tragedies such as the one in Newtown, Connecticut, or Ferguson, MO, or San Bernardino, CA, or Berlin Germany, Nice, France (I could go on but why depress us all further) occur. I believe it is an objectively unfair universe we inhabit, although I have a hunch it has a way of righting its ownself from time to time.
So the debate between my friend and I ensued.
My friend's world view was quite a bit different than mine--much more idealistic and much more indicative of his personality. In his eyes, my friend (his name is Ahmed) is certain that good always conquers evil, the meek shall inherit the Earth, all you need is love etc etc etc. He goes on to posit that good things come to good people and eventually, all the pieces will fall into place if you live a good life. Seriously, that's really what he believes. He's a really sweet guy--it boggles me.
(I keep him around, this college buddy, because he gives me hope, and when I am feeling way too misanthropic and cynical for my own good, he gives me balance. All of the other times I mock him shamelessly for his "dreamy" and (what I consider to be) unrealistic view of the world).
So, my question(s) for you this week is--where in our spectrum does your world view fall? Do you think people are mostly bad or mostly good? What determines that? Do you think that the person who does the right thing always wins? If so, what's the prize? Are there clear-cut answers about what's right and what's wrong? How is it all measured? Let's get a little Lang-y and tell a story (real or metaphorical--no matter) to illustrate/exemplify your points. Try to think of an example about which you feel passionately. It is usually passion that dictates what your true beliefs are. However, when we use passion to describe or talk about them, we run the risk of sounding like we can't be taken seriously. So, try to temper your passion (your pathos) with your logic (your logos).
In my perspective the world falls on the positives of the world out way the negative. Of course, I'm not inciting that the world is all cotton candy and gum drops either. It's just that we acknowledge bad and corruption more often then, the positive things we do. If we raved on and on about all the good things that people do or that happen in our life we'd go on forever. I feel as though, we feel entitled to go things and we think that we don't deserve for anything bad to happen to us. When in all actuality everything that goes on in this world we are not exempt from it could happen to us! Which is why we are empathetic to others in times of tragedy. That's just the way that life goes, I always tell myself "Not a bad life, just a bad day." Because, bad is only a phase good is often so consistent that we don't even take the time to really reflect on it. When your at your lowest you know eventually your going to try and preserve until your back at a high. When you have taken so many loses you just feel like your due for a win! Life is all about how you sculpt is if I give you lemonade would you make lemonade, or would you complain that I didn't give you a juicer so you wouldn't have to squeeze them? It's the pessimistic mindset and excuses of life that hold us back from our greatest potential.
ReplyDeleteIt was just Wednesday, I was at work dreading as hours went by when a women drive through the drive-thru and ordered a family meal. By the time she arrived at the window she was frantically looking for her debit card. Then, that when she started to count out change. I comforted her like "yeah I don't mind counted change, I get rid of spear change in my pocket all the time," she couldn't believe that she forgot her card. Just to add this in she was white so, this isn't one of the sister help another black women out scenarios. So, after she could gather about $10 up with about a $24 balance. She looked to me and said, "Can I just get one meal instead? This is so, embarrassing." So, I closed the window for a moment and thought about what the next thing to do was. So, I asked my co-worker he told me it was my decision to short my drawer of money and just give her the food. So, guess what I did? I shorter my drawer. Yes, coming from someone who is never more than, .80 cents short ever shift. But, I just shorted myself, $10. I grabbed the food that was already made and handed it out to the lady as, she looked in the bag she asked me " Are you serious? All this food thank you so much. I traveled all the way from Cape May." Although, she was shocked by my generosity I wasn't. Because, my grandma always taught me to do the right thing even if it maybe wrong and figure that shit out later! That's exactly what I did and my manager totally understood at the end of the night. An told me even though it was against policy that's what you call real "customer service." All it takes is someone to have a heart for someone to care! Because, that could've been me, my mom or anyone I care about!
Even though I believe the world is more negative than positive, I choose to live each day telling myself that the world is better than what it seems. It all starts from this video I watched on Instagram. It was a motivational speaker, and I know. Sometimes those types of guys spout nonsensical crap and you should take them seriously because all they want to do is take your money and blah blah, but this guys actually made some sense. In the video, he was talking about the world using an analogy with a water bottle. He asked the audience if they knew how much the bottle weighed. He then said that it was relative. The longer you hold on to the bottle, the more your arm gets fatigued. The faster you put the bottle down, the sooner you feel relief. He applied the same idea to personal problems, stresses, and troubles. The longer you hold onto these issues, the more you become fatigued. The sooner you fix the problem and stop worrying, the faster relief will come. This made a lot of sense to me, especially now. With all the problems the world is facing, such as a controversial presidency, terrorism, and a resurgence of racial issues, has caused a lot of stress for essentially everybody. What I have done is fix the problems I can, which has lifted most of the stress off of me so that I can focus on more practical things again. It has saved me from a lot of worry.
ReplyDeleteAs a whole, I believe the world is filled with negativity. There are so many people who just hate everyone and who are against everything someone has to say. In result of this, these people decide to go and harm tons of innocent people just out of hatred. No one deserves this kind of pain and fear of getting killed every other day. But, I feel like you can find some positive people almost everywhere you go. Aside from this, I choose to take each day and make the best out of it, and that if I’m stressed or going through something bad, I tell myself that it’s just a bad day or situation, not a bad life. Everyday is a new day and each new day is filled with new experiences, new lessons, new feelings, etc. Honestly, when we are referring to everything happening in the world today (the election, terrorism, and the return of racism), I believe bad/negative people outweigh the good. The good people can easily turn this around, but the bad have so much control over the world because we never know what to expect and we are just facing the world with fear. I also believe that the person who does the right thing always wins because to do something the wrong way, you are cheating your way through the situation and as a result, you’ll feel guilty every single day. To do things right way, you’ll be relieved that you were truthful and have no regrets to face, and that in itself is a prize. Sometimes there are clear-cut answers to what's right and what's wrong. For a simple example, when a teacher tells you to do something or how to act in the class, you simple follow it, and to go against it, is obviously the wrong way to go. A better example would be harming innocent people and taking their lives from them. This is evidently a wrong decision and could have been thought through and controlled. All of the acts of harm are out of choice, they could have not done it but THEY chose to.
ReplyDeleteOne day I went to Wawa to of course, get their famous mac and cheese for lunch. As I was at the register, there was a very old, weak, crippled woman ahead of me, paying for a 12 pack of pepsi sodas and some other last minute grocery items. When she was done paying she attempted to pick up the bag of groceries and box of sodas herself and failed completely. I immediately stepped in and offered to carry her groceries to her car and she looked at me with great relief and happiness. By all means she said yes and I carried them to her old little pick up truck and she thanked me and shook my hand. Doing this was my decision and I felt like an amazing person after I did this random act of kindness. Some people just don't have a care in the world about what other people are going through. I'm sure if there was someone different in line behind this woman, they would not have helped her out like I did.
My mom and grandparents raised me with God always in the picture. I was enrolled in a Catholic school from pre-k to fourth grade. Every morning, we used to have a so called “flag ceremony” where we sing the Philippine national anthem along with a morning prayer. We would go back to our respective classrooms where we have another hour of religion. Then, I remember the church bell rings at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon where everyone in school must stop what they are doing because a prayer is being told. In addition to that, I was taught at a young age to pray before I go to sleep. My point is I believe that there is a God. However, it doesn’t mean you’re automatically a good person when you go to church every Sunday, pray every day/night, read the Bible, or perform other religious rituals. Some people go to church just for the sake of going to church. Some people live doing good deeds because they believe that they’ll go to heaven if they do. Personally, I don’t think you have to be labeled as a Christian, a Catholic, a Jew, etc., because what matters is you have FAITH (if you believe in all these religious stuff). John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This bible verse didn’t say anything about people need to go to church on Sundays. It didn’t say that you have to be a Catholic to go to heaven. It didn't say anything about “good” deeds or something about doing what is right. People have to make mistakes because that is just how human nature works. We can’t control what we cannot control. So what this verse is saying is that you just have to have Faith.
ReplyDeleteThe easiest way to explain my point is through Luke 23:32-43. This was during Jesus’ crucifixion with 2 criminals, one on the left and one on the right. Long story short, the one on the left didn’t believe in Him, while the other did. The criminal on the right asked Jesus not to forget him when He gets to His kingdom. In response, He told him that he will be going to heaven with Him.
ReplyDeleteI can relate more to your view on the world, Ms. Bunje, I honestly think that there are more bad people in this world than there are good. Sometimes it’s difficult to see the good that people do or the good that has been done because the bad is completely blocking the good. I think people have good intentions and bad intention, so maybe I don’t think there are more bad people in the world, humans are sort of neutral, the decisions we make tilt the balance of good and evil. I definitely don’t believe that the person who does the right thing always wins, because the right thing for one person, may be the wrong thing for another person. People have a tendency to be selfish, we want what is right for us. For instance this whole border control thing, and the ban on immigrants, some people think it is right because we’re “reducing” the chance of terrorism in America. While on the other end of things we are forgetting the kind hearted people who see America as a safe haven, we’re rejecting them and forcing them back into a warzone which is devastating to me and I’m not even the one going through it. So I believe that what is good for one person could be bad for another. Another situation that my mom gave me is telling the truth about something, I have this honesty policy, I think it’s really important to be honest in general but sometimes whats honest isn’t always what’s the best thing to say to someone. And while I’m trying to do the right thing and be honest, your words could rip apart someones self-esteem with just the simplest words. Being the youngest of a lot of siblings I hate to admit it but I’m really influenced by a lot of the things they do. So when they do something that I thought was wrong or bad, it can sometimes shift the way I see it. In some cases the bad stuff isn’t exactly BAD anymore, like smoking weed to be exact, in my mind I’m saying, ‘it’s legal where they do it, and they’re still the same person, so is it exactly good? No, and I know that. But it is bad? Not in my eyes’.
I’ve always been an optimistic person. I look for the good in people and their good always outweighs the bad. I’ve just been like that all my life, even my parents noticed at a young age. I always gave people second chances even when they didn’t deserve it. I truly believe there are more good people than bad. However, since society is set up the way it is, the most common answer is there are more bad people. We, society, often look at the bad and automatically judge them on their negative past rather than open up and look more into the good side of them. Should you do that with a convicted criminal that committed a heinous crime, absolutely not. But if it’s a girl in your school and she is often mistaken as a “slut” but you see her doing good for this world time and time again, you may want re-evaluate your understandings on her. But that’s just me. The prize for being nice is someone thinking that your niceness is fake. Someone is always going to nitpick at you and find something so minuscule that doesn’t matter in life but will blow it up anyway just so that no one likes you. I hope that my children and grandchildren can learn from our mistakes and judge people from the kindness from their hearts rather than the small mistakes they have made. Unless they’re a convicted criminal.
ReplyDeleteI used to be friends with someone who didn’t like Lena. I never saw Lena in middle school so it didn’t matter. But when we got in high school and I got to know Lena better, I questioned everyday why this person disliked Lena. I mean who could hate someone so kind, somewhat naïve and smart? But then it hit me; they were jealous of her attributes. So instead of admitting she was (technically) better than her, she attacked her and looked at her negatives. I hate myself every day for listening to her. Lena can barely hurt a fly, let alone a person. Lena’s good will always outweigh the bad for everyone, she is just a kind person. For God’s sake, she wants to read a book to her future cat to put them to sleep. How could you not love her?! I have only met a few people who do not like Lena. We chose to look at Lena’s positive because if we didn’t, we would be missing out on a great person.
In my world, the people I'm surrounded by are very negative due to their pasts. They've encountered some people in their life and been through stuff where they don't see any good in the world and some of them question their point of living. I believe the people who have made people question another humans point of living are bad, but these horrible past experiences either allow a human to never hurt another human like they've been hurt or make sure everyone in their surrounding is never happy.I definitely think there's a equal amount of good and bad people because if there was too much bad or too much good the world wouldn't function like it does right now. You hear about people saving lives and saving the needy, but then you also hear about shootings,rapes, racism, and suicides. Some may believe that there's more bad in the world, but I think that's because the good is never shown as "breaking news" or on the front page of a newspaper.You tend to hear more about a school shooting or how a woman was raped at a party. How many times does someone read a newspaper or watch the news and feel happy with what they saw or read instead of feeling remorse? They're people in the world who don't have anyone by their side and feel completely alone. This isn't something people just say just to say it, I have 2 friends who actually think they don't have anyone besides me. These 2 people are my friends who rarely talk about how they feel, instead they just keep it to themselves and refer to themselves as "heartless." I personally know sides of both of them that nobody knows because I guess they feel that connected to me. They say stuff to me like "you're the person that keeps me going" & "you're the only reason I'm here." If a person can like me can allow someone like my friends to see the brighter side of life imagine how many other people feel like life's pointless and they have other good people that keep them motivated.
ReplyDeleteThe person who always does the right thing doesn't always win. I think that plays a role in how I said half the world is good and half the world is bad. The bad exists because another bad person betrayed them or forced them to hurt other people. In some cases, like court cases you hear about a innocent person not getting the justice they deserve and evil has once again triumphed. When a person who does the right thing and wins it gives those suffering a sense of motivation that no matter how hard the struggle is, there is always a good that will come out of the suffering.
There aren't always clear cuts to what's wrong and what's right. What may seem right in one persons eyes may seem completely wrong in another persons eyes. For example, a lot of people strongly believe in their religion even to the extent where their religion might force them to make decisions that make them unhappy, but they still think that religion/God is everything. Other's might believe in their religion, but not completely to the point where their religion interferes with their happiness and restricts them from enjoying a lot of their life. Another example would be how people draw the line between rights and wrongs depending on "fairness." I'm pretty sure many people have heard the term "an eye for an eye." This is basically saying you deserve to have whatever you did to someone else done to you. So it's like if you murder someone than you deserved to be murdered. Some people may completely agree with this and think it's absolutely correct and others may read that and think people who think that are crazy.
I have only lived for 17 years. I have been to different countries and seen many different things. I have not seen a lot, but I have seen enough. I do strongly believe that this world is inhabited with people who for the most part do the right thing. I do not believe that the majority of people on this Earth are “good” people, either. When someone does something good, it is posted all over social media and broadcasted. What are good and bad anyway? Good and bad are definitely a matter of opinion. Some people think that robbing is good because it benefits the robber, others think you need to work for what you earn. To me, good is something that is done for someone else or the planet (recycling, picking up trash, composting etc.).
ReplyDeleteBeing good has absolutely nothing to do with a prize. “Good” people do not get rewarded most of the time because everyone should be good. Everyone should do good to other people and love each other. But flashing back to reality, there are a lot of “good” people out there that never find love or never find wealth or anything their heart desires. Good guys do finish last because no one acknowledges good people.
The only way to know what's right and what's wrong is highly subjective. Feelings. They are the only way to know. After volunteering, I get a good feeling inside of me that makes me know that I did a good thing. The thing is, there is no way to measure it. Goodness is not a mass that can be weighed or measured. It is a feeling that cannot be tampered with.
This story that I am about to tell made me realize how good-hearted and caring my dad is. My family and I were in Atlantic City at the outlets just for fun. I got hungry, so my mom kept shopping and my dad took me to the closest Taco Bell- I have a thing for fast food. It was a nice day out so we decided to sit outside. A homeless man was propped up against the wall of another building, and my dad noticed right away. All he said was, “I’ll be right back, just stay here.” I was very scared for my dad because I did not want anything bad happening to him, and I did not know what was about to happen. He came out of Taco Bell with a bag full of food, and walked over to the homeless man. I have never seen a person so happy to receive food. My dad did not get anything in return. From that day forward, my dad has been my hero. Not because he had money to throw around because he didn't, but because whatever he had he used to make a difference in the world. Still to this day he always cares about the wellbeing of others. He taught me how to be a good human in a world full of evil.
I'll be the first person to admit it, the world we live in today is contaminated with negative people and they weigh out the positive in a big way. That's probably something you wouldn't expect from someone as optimistic as me, and that's because I know I am part of the fairly small percentage of the world that believes in equality for the entire human race, all logically, emotionally and ethically. In my opinion, not everyone has a happy ending and we as individuals sometimes can't do anything about that. Whether it's the way they were raised or how they grew up, not everyone grows up to be the next Bill Gates. If that was the case, social classes would be classified even more than they are now.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that there aren't positive people in the world we live in now, but the number of good Samaritans feels as though they have decreased. I am a firm believer of its the little things in life that make a person what they are. It can be something as little as giving change to a homeless man on the streets, it says a lot about your character and how you like to present yourself. Now I have met people like that, including some here at Oakcrest and if it wasn't for those people having some sort of positive impact here at Oak or in the community, I would be a very pessimistic person. But I don't know what it is, but there is a large portion of my generation that has a tendency to basically think they should have everything handed to them on a silver platter. And when they don't, they think it's their job to somehow blame the person who did them wrong. My generation’s main social issue is bullying and there are students who give the answers to say the math test or chemistry homework (again referring back to the little things) to this large portion of students possibly in fear of not being the “cool kid”. I believe that my generation can do anything if they simply put their minds to it. And they can accomplish anything if they put their minds to it. And flourish in that thing if they put their minds to it.
While I do believe that the negative outweigh the positive, it's simply all about taking baby steps to a better, more optimistic world. All the world's problems start out small and grow into this massive issue. We as individuals simply can't change that. But we as a community can begin to change the negative people into positive human beings. It can only start small and I believe here at Oakcrest we are on the path of that. All the issues that were here in prior years seem to almost be resolved from having air conditioning to news and improved rooms. If we can turn Oakcrest High School not into just another school, but a safe house for all to be welcomed in and not have to worry about being bullied, or there being negative thoughts, it can translate into something else. That positivity can rub off on the community and good deeds here in Mays Landing can mean more positive deeds done in Egg Harbor City. Egg Harbor a City can help Atlantic City with funds and so on and so forth until we as a state can say that there are no pessimistic outlooks. Once again, the little things can make a person who they are and if we can work to make sure everyone gets a Hollywood ending, there would be no more fighting against ourselves in this country right?
World peace is unachievable. But, that won’t stop the “good” people in the world from trying, which is what we need. People do horrible things that we’ll never be able to understand from our perspective. We all hear about the bad things, but we never acknowledge all of the good in the world that does exist. Some people live to make more money; other people live to help the needy. If the earth were actually full of “bad” people, like how some people think it is, then it would be in chaos. This also goes back to the last blog post, where I said that most people are inherently nice, even when it seems like the opposite.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not always easy to do the right thing. Most of the time, it’s because it’s either too much work to go out of your way to do something nice or the consequences are too much to handle. To most people, they probably wouldn’t choose to speak up for someone who’s being harassed. But, to the one caring person standing by, they finally have the courage to try to protect the victim. Now, they might be harassed along with the victim, which wouldn’t be considered a prize to those who did nothing, and the person who spoke up might have regretted their decision, but the “prize” is actually knowing that they attempted to do something right. It’s possible to get killed for doing the right thing, but there are people who still do it, anyway.
If there were clear distinctions between right and wrong, most of the Supreme Court cases wouldn’t exist. In our society, it’s majority rule to decide between the difference, which doesn’t mean that our collective decisions are always right. It’s why we have political parties: people have different views on different issues. Life and lives are complicated and that’s why there are always exceptions to the rules. How we each decide the difference is based on our morals.
We all make mistakes, but those wrongs shouldn’t be what defines us. You might see a criminal record and think they’re a bad person, but what you don’t consider is why. Then, you look at the offense and see that they were convicted for robbery. What you won’t know just from looking at it is that they were sixteen and their family was struggling to keep their house. College was also coming up, so they decided they would steal laptops from a small store just this one time in order to get the money to support themself and their family. Eventually, they were caught and, based on race, probably wasn’t offered a second chance. Now that they are older, they see how things could’ve been different, but it’s too late.
We live in a world that sits on a plate of different ethnicities and racial groupings. Our world sits on a plate of negativity, that completely takes over the amount of positivity in the situation at whole. I am a pessimist. I am not a happy person as it seems. I don’t see the world as having much positivity at all. But when I think of good or bad people I don’t look at the negativity or positivity side of it. What makes a good person or a bad person has to do with reactions to events and the resolutions they take to end it. The world is filled with mostly bad people that sin everyday. People that care not what others think. People who mostly put themselves way in front of others so that the others can perish in their some sort of success. But sometimes the genuinely nice and “good” people don’t get rewarded. That is what you call life. There are situations where you can tell right from wrong, but there are which you cannot. But the genuine “good” person always will find the good.
ReplyDelete“Alright have a good night”, my grandmother murmurs through a sea of people on New Years. It takes about 20 minutes to go back to my Aunt Robins house from my uncles. I’m in a car with my Grandfather; Grandmother and Aunt Nettie . We have a long talk about my job, relationships, and school. That passes the time well and I am tired. I can’t wait to go to sleep. We pull up and I walk into a garage which has steps into the house when My cousin Emily’s boyfriend says that David (my brother) has fainted and we called and ambulance to come pick him up. I realize all of a sudden that this is not good. A 8th grader just about 100 pounds with a disease called lyme disease. And when I see him there I just start crying. Something that was instinctually for me. I was hurting. As was recalling events of things that could happen. I run down stairs past everyone trying to talk to me and run outside. Just about 17 degrees with a tshirt and jeans on. The house had all sort of aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparent figures in the house. But the one person that followed me outside was my cousin's boyfriend Kyle. A conversation that I will never forget and a conversation that got me to man up and make the decision I made. I went inside and carried my brother to a car and I said for them to take him to the ER he can’t wait. They left and all I could do was wait. The ambulance never came in the first place. If Kyle, who I might of had 5 words with the whole night didn’t reach out his words to calm me down, I wouldn't have made the decision I did. He is a good person.
People are mostly good, or at least that’s how I try to see people. This actually proposes another question: If people do bad things does that make them a bad person? I believe all people are good until I’m sadly mistaken and I am shown the world’s true colors. As you stated there are things that occur in this world that leads me to change my views of this world. These terrible things such as discrimination because of race and/or sexuality remind me that the world isn’t full of all good people. A person who does the right thing does not always win. It’s terrible to say, but it’s also true. A person can go buy 100 big macs at McDonald’s and give some to every homeless person in their area, but if they don’t have footage of it they’ll be accused of not doing it. If they do have footage people accuse them of doing it for publicity. There are no clear cut answers to who’s right in a situation and who’s wrong it’s mostly a matter of people’s personal beliefs and/or morals.
ReplyDeleteI myself am gay. As if you didn’t already know that, except that’s not my point. My point is that I’m just like anyone else that walks the streets, strolls through stores in the malls, and drinks coffee to keep myself awake during the school day. While some other people think that being gay is wrong. I believe there is nothing wrong with myself, but that’s all a matter of my beliefs. My mother believes that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that the bible is all true, and that being gay is wrong. To her it’s wrong because of her found beliefs that what the scripture says is true.
Think of it this way everyone is entitled to their opinion for a reason. Democrats believe that their views on the world are right, while Republicans believe the same about their views. As citizens of the United States we have the freedom to believe in what we want and have the freedom of speech. Donald J. Trump is seen as a good man by some based on their personal beliefs, and for others believe he’s evil and are still shook that he’s in our white house. Are democrats considered right? Or are Republicans? Neither are right. It’s just two parties with different opinions. Some will beg to differ with me but it’s the same as religion. Do I believe that the bible is one hundred percent true? No, to be completely honest with you I don’t but does that mean I’m right? No it doesn’t. For someone who believes that Judaism is the right religion to practice doesn’t mean he/she is right. There’s no set in stone “Oh you’re right, and you’re wrong.” its what you believe in that determines what’s right and what’s wrong.
You can not forget cases of humanity. You cannot go out into the world and abuse a pitbull because it’s believed to be the “meanest dog breed”. You can’t abuse your lover just because you believe it’s okay. There’s a fine line between personal believes and humanity. There’s people that commit mass shootings for their beliefs and it’s not right. Our world is slowly losing it’s grip on humanity and I believe that wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteIn our spectrum, my view of the world falls within the little things that bring us joy and happiness everyday. I don’t really know how to describe it, but I definitely would not describe our world we live in as horrid, or full of devastation as others would. I think quite the opposite. I think people are mostly good. I think everyone is good, in my perspective. Not everyone makes good choices but somewhere, even if it’s miles deep I do believe everyone has “some” good. I do not believe in “bad” people, meaning someone is one-hundred percent filth and disgust. Everyone has a little good, or they wouldn’t be able to function.
To me, the way one treats people, animals, courtesy to anything living and really anything at all is what determines good. I’m not saying you have to go above and beyond and go far beyond out of your way for others to be good. Just how you treat everyone and everything in general. Your elders, your peers, kids, animals, etc.. I do believe the person that does right always wins. They always win for them, that also being the “prize,” the satisfaction. The satisfaction you get from doing the right thing or doing something kind for someone is such a genuine type of happiness. The satisfaction is the prize.
There are no obvious, “clear-cut” answers to what’s right and what’s wrong, I believe. Because in today’s society everyone “is right,” right? Everyone “has” to be right. But if you think to yourself before making a decision “would mom or dad be proud of me?,” “would I be proud of my kids for making such a decision?,” “would I judge someone else negatively for doing this?,” “am I going to feel guilty for doing this?” is what reveals what’s right and what’s wrong. Answering these questions for yourself should clearly demonstrate the right path. It’s all measured by how you want others to view you and how you want to view you. Once you take a wrong turn, there’s no going back, you can’t erase your mistake.
Really, like I said in the beginning it’s the small things that make the world we live in so wonderful. The little gestures that’ll make someone’s day.
I was at the tree lighting this past November/December with my Mom and sister. We were waiting there watching all the kids sit up on Santa’s lap telling him what they wanted for Christmas, some even giving him letters. I was just standing there, on crutches at the time being that I had just sprained my ankle the week before. You could tell I was in pain kind of, it being freezing cold and to have had to stand on my right leg the past 3-4 hours. It was getting to the end of the line and this little girl was about to sit on Santa’s lap, her Mom holding her phone up to take a picture and she suddenly ran out of line and came up to me. “I hope your leg gets better real soon,” she said to me with the most contagious smile and wished me a Merry Christmas then ran back to get her picture taken. This little girl that didn’t even know me, nor did I know her just made my entire day. This is something so small but “it’s the little things.” And for some reason I know I’ll remember it.
Quite honestly, I have mixed opinions about my world view. And here’s why…
ReplyDeleteI just got back from Jamaica like 12 hours ago… In my time there, I was surrounded by happiness. Positivity. I was living in the famous phrase of “no worries mon”. Ps, it’s true. There were literally NO worries. Anyway, I started thinking, and I came to this conclusion…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Jamaica isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. No country is perfect. And maybe it’s because I was at a resort surrounded by sun kissed vacationers and happy workers because they were being tipped well, but everybody seemed happy. Yes, crazy I know, happy. I would walk to the morning buffet and people would actually smile back at me. I can’t even tell you how many times I heard the phrase “good morning”. Everyone was so warm and welcoming and social and happy and care free. Maybe it was because the bar was great at providing frozen Bob Marley’s that triggered happiness, but still. The happiness of others reflected onto me, where I developed my own sense of happiness. Seeing others smile made me smile. Seeing others interact in a positive way made me interact in a positive way. Seeing others express the happy morning it was in the words of “good morning” made me want to hug every single person at the resort and tell them good morning as well.
And then I’m back here. Where it’s harder to be happy because I’m back to reality, along with everyone else. I’m back in the crowd. I’m back to turning the news on and seeing more crimes, hearing more people talk about the crimes, and reading about more crimes. And that negativity affects the way I think and the way I do things, just like the positivity in Jamaica did.
My point is, is that my view on the world changes based off of the mood of the people that I’m surrounded by. Prior to this vacation, I definitely would’ve said that people are mostly bad. I mean come on, we’re living in tragedy after tragedy. But now that I am home and able to reflect on the week I just spent in another country, my whole opinion changes. I think people are bad if they’re surrounded by bad, and vise versa for the good.
I don’t think that the person that does the right thing always wins. If that were the case, then life would be fair. However if it worked out in the long run, and if the person that does the right thing were to win, I think that the prize would be bragging rights and a boost of self esteem, simply because there should be no reward for doing the right thing. The right thing should be expected.
I think that one of our biggest issues is not knowing the extent of what’s right or what’s wrong. We all have different views, and what one person may think is right, another may think is wrong, which is what causes the conflict in regards to the punishment or reward deserved.
If some of you guys don’t know, I am a founder of the Lemon Club (the club that collects donations for cancer research). We sell stuff at Oakcrest events all the time. Last year, at what I believe was a school play, we were selling baked goods. An administrative member came up to our stand, bought a treat, but handed me a couple extra dollars by mistake. I proceeded to return the money to him, letting him know that he paid a few dollars too much, but he insisted that I keep the money. A few minutes later a couple kids came up to the table and they had their eyes on the lemon cupcakes that I had made. As I was placing the cupcakes on napkins for them to take, their mom was searching in her purse for a few extra dollars. Understanding that she miscounted her money and thought she had the right amount, I told her not to worry about it, and that the person who had purchased something before her had covered it. She was very thankful and appreciative, and her and her sons went on their way with their cupcakes. Although technically I’m not the one that paid for her, since the man before me did, it was still a very humbling experience for me. The man could’ve easily taken back his extra money, but instead he insisted that it stayed in my hand, which later turned out to help another family out. It was a kind act that proved that there are people in this world that know the difference between right and wrong.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm going to be entirely honest, I believe we live in a world of three kinds: snakes, pigs, and lions. In everything I see whether it be a test, sport, or any kind of events there are always a snake hidden in the room perhaps even more, and pigs are well pretty obvious. I always find people in these situations trying to cheat the system and 'slither' away with their dirty spoils or get caught and suffer the consequences. Then there's the pigs, in my opinion, are those who complain like they are calling out to the lord and do and take it way too far. Next the lions people who strive to be in the top in their game and fight on to improve and live on, but aren't afraid to whatever it takes to ensure their agendas. Those are the three things I believe are in this world. And what their eternal struggle in this world is the survival of their lives and values, and they are either wrong or flawed. I believe all three categories I set are capable of being right and wrong because you can’t be wrong if you’re right, but you can’t be right if you’re wrong. The snake, pig and lion have created however a world of paradoxes that will never be solved. What if you do something that was right both morally and the golden rule wise, but ultimately lead to a horrible event? And what if you do something so horrendous that you’ll be hated but was actually good? For example Guantanamo Bay they torture terrorists until they spit out what they know about their terror groups’ activities. Now the methods of torturing we know are completely horrible and should have never been done to any human being at all, but what if the terrorist kill thousands of men, women, and children who just want to live and worship peacefully? Should the man not deserve the most horrible things we can do to each other? Why shouldn’t we the terrorists love the aftermath of work and their victims’ suffering? But as any morally sound human being like myself say we shouldn’t do those things because then we would stoop to their levels. Although the world is comprised of snakes, pigs and lions we are beset by the many values, opinions and views of all people in which challenges our own. So what we do now is live on pass down our collected opinions and then filter it so that our children will hopefully create a better world, or at least a world that either removes or replaces the snake, the lion, and the pig.
ReplyDeleteThere isn’t correct answer as to what’s right or wrong. Determining this is based upon what you are taught, and your experiences. For instance, interracial dating. I am someone who only dates white men (insert wet, tongue, and heart eyes emojis here). I personally don’t see anything wrong with this, but some white or black people from back in the day do.
ReplyDeleteEveryone in this world has mostly good characteristics. Yes, people make mistakes/wrong decisions such as rob a bank, but does that make them a bad person? I was watching a movie on Netflix and this man robbed a bank because his girlfriend was dealing with a life threatening disease. The reason as to why he robbed a bank makes him a good person. You are probably thinking “Justice, are you on drugs?!! Regardless, the reason robbing a bank isn’t an action that good people make”, but would he be a good person if he just allowed her to die because they couldn’t offered medical attention?
From what I have seen no, people who do good deeds aren’t praised. We grow up with teachers telling us to be nice to others and if someone is getting bullied or is getting beat up to break it up, but when there is a fight and someone does intervene they are called a bitch or an asshole because it wasn’t their fight.
When I think of the world, I would think and like to hope that it is filled with more good people than bad. However, it may seem like there are more bad people in the world because I think that the bad gets noticed more than the good. Everywhere you look bad goes on and that’s what everyone will notice, this may make it seem like there are more bad than good people. Good people are there in abundance even though you may not always hear about them. This is determined by people’s actions and what the can do in a situation that calls for them to help other people. Good people don’t stand by and let bad people do bad things to others. A good person will stand up and make a necessary change.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the good people don’t always win and this is what makes life unfair. A person can do good all their life, but somehow nothing ever goes their way or nobody ever helps them out when they need it, even though the good person always helps other people. It makes no sense, but that’s just the way that life is. If a good person does get rewarded for their service, then they should receive something that makes them happy because they made other people’s lives better and made those people happy.
There isn’t really a clear cut answer to what’s right and wrong, but there are obvious situations where you know what is right and you know what is wrong. This is determined by judgement situations and thinking about what the outcome would be if I do this. You can tell if the outcome is going to be good or bad. Good people will make the right decision and bad people will make the wrong decision. It’s hard to explain, but this is the way I see it.
There are many examples of good people in the world and what makes them good is what they do for others. Good people put others before themselves and try to make other people’s lives better. You hear of people doing a bunch of things like going saving people, helping people, donating money, and just helping in any little way. People who go out of their way to help other people, truly are good people. The people that immediately come to your side when something goes wrong are good people. The people that make a difference and positive change in the world are good people. You can find good all over and the people that constantly do good for others deserve a great reward. Their acts shouldn’t go unnoticed and they should be shown for all to see.
The world is a crazy place. Crazy in good and bad ways. If I had to think of what percentage the world is, I would say about 71% good and 29% bad. Now I have reason as to why the bad number is so low contrary to what we hear a lot about (tragedies, etc.). Imagine you have a bowl full of green M&M’s and someone drops a red one in the bowl. You automatically focus on the red M&M. We always notice the standout situations more. If our world was mostly bad, I think we would hear a lot more about good stuff happening. You might say, “But Kaitlyn what about the election? Our president is a sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, talking orange!” and to that I would reply, “You’re right. And that stinks a lot but remember that more than half of the nation voted against him!”. Hillary won the popular vote, so that goes to show that there’s at least some hope for our country. If for some reason you really don’t agree with Hillary either, remember that in this election the third party had an outrageous amount of votes. I’ve strayed from the questions concerning this blog, so let me get back on track. Good and bad are terms that everyone has their own definitions to. I haven’t seen enough good or bad people in my life to determine what makes someone good or bad, honestly. I don’t always believe good people win. I consider myself a good person and I usually never say no to people, but I never get recognition or prizes for anything I do. I get the satisfaction of knowing I did it, or occasionally I get someone who appreciates what I do but there’s no BIG prize. In terms of what is right and wrong I think it’s all subjective. It also really depends on a person’s life and upbringing honestly. So I am going to take a little time out to complain really quick. This relates to the question regarding prizes for people who do good things, it’s also about me. So this year I’ve experienced an almost unbearable amount of stress. I’m involved in a lot of things including, cross country, winter track, media, drama, SEA club, Lemon Club, Class of 2018, Stuco (holding two positions on the board), AP Lang, FTP, Youth Advisory Council (this South Jersey thing that congressman Lobiando does), and I go to counseling every two weeks which eats up time. In bold are the things that take up a majority of my time, but in case you haven’t assumed already I’m very stressed. I do a lot (or at least like to think I do) for Oakcrest and all I want to do is see it prosper. In turn, I don’t really get a lot for it. There is not much recognition that I get, and I don’t get payed. Does it do anything for me at all? Besides stress me out, no. But I do it because sometimes every once and awhile I’ll get recognition or someone will tell me I did a good job making that video, or coming up with a game idea for field day and that makes me happy. I think that good people will get stuff eventually. I keep hoping that if I do all of this right and good it will eventually pay off further down the road but who knows. (I know the last part wasn’t REALLY related to the blog a ton, I just really needed to get it off my chest. Sorry.)
ReplyDeleteI don't believe in bad people. Call me what you want-- naiive, unrealistic, insane. But I don't believe in bad people. I truly believe the entire face of this earth is covered with good people. What I do believe in, however, is miscommunication, miseducation, and illness. I believe that good people do bad things because they don't understand how else to solve a problem. I believe good people do bad things because they truly believe that they're doing something good. And I believe that good people do bad things because they are truly sick, and no one bothered to realize it, and it wasn't until they took dangerous actions that anyone allowed themselves to acknowledge any mental illness. I believe that good people do bad things out of the good their heart or the corruptness of their brain. I may be wrong, and that's okay. But I choose to think that everyone's heart is gold--everyone's intentions are pure, and if they aren't, it was either because they felt as though they didn't have any other options, or because someone in their head (that wasn't them), forced them to believe that what they once thought was wrong, was right.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother is a bipolar schizophrenic, so I'm sure you could imagine the bad things she did as she went through life as a child, a teenager, a mother. Back then, no one thought much of it. They thought that she was crazy, mean, "bad". But no one took the time to actually pay attention to the things she did and said. It wasn't until she had a breakdown so horrible that she had to be institutionalized that anyone thought to consider that she needed help. Since then, she's been medicated for both disorders, and she's the sweetest little woman that I know and my favorite company at home.
A less drastic example.. A friend of mine? He's a dog. I don't mean that literally. I mean that in the sense that he's a heart breaker. He walks into everything that he walks into knowing that he doesn't plan to stay. Not because he's a bad person and just wants to hurt girls' feelings, but because he was hurt at a younger age. And see, I was raised to know that when you get hurt, you use it to make you better, but you don't stoop to the level of the person who hurt you. I was taught that I was better than that. But my friend? He wasn't. No one ever told him the things that people told me. And when I got around to telling him, it was too late. He was already set on the "play before I get played" mindset. He doesn't realize that he is doing to others what someone else did to him. He is only trying to do what he believes is best for himself, not with the intentions to hurt others, but with the intentions of not letting himself get hurt again.
I don't want my answer to this question to be misunderstood and believed that I am stupid enough to think that this world is a bowl of cherries. But what I am trying to say is that even the people that we view as the most heinous, disgusting, horrible people among us, have a good side to them. Even terrorist groups like ISIS believe that they are doing good for themselves, and a justice to their country. The extremeness that they go to comes from the sickness within them that no one acknowledges, or the miseducation that never taught them just how horrid their actions are.
I do believe that good things happen to good people. And that's why good things happen to us all. Bad things happen too. But all of us can pinpoint a time in our lives that something good happened to us; something that made going through the motions easier. What we consider good and bad differs depending on the way we were brought up, the things we've experienced, and the amount of concern we put into ourselves as well as others. But that being said, what we do, we believe is good. We just all have different ideas of what "good" means. And we are all trying our best to be whatever our definition of that is.
With negatives being the only thing that’s televised, and focussed on nowadays, it’s practically close to impossible to believe that anything but bad things, and bad people occupy this world. I’ve always believed, and I will always will believe that the good outweighs the bad in any situation. Of course, anyone can disagree with me on this, but it’s all about your own perspective.
ReplyDeleteDetermining whether this world is filled with more good than bad, or bad than good, is something I don’t think anyone can do, but again, perspective. I like to believe that there are more good people here, and better things happen and are going to happen, despite what it may seem like. But, there are always going to be times when the “bad guy” seeks victory over the “good guy”... it’s never one-sided and that’s literally just how life works.
Now, there is no “prize” for doing something good, or just being an all around good person; you do it because you want to. You don’t go through life with a handbook telling you what’s right and what’s wrong, it’s something you adapt from your very own experiences, and lesson-learning plays a huge role as well. As long as you feel as though you’re doing the right thing, that’s the only “measurement” you’ll ever need.
When reading over the blog, the questions, and the request to think of our own example, the first thing that comes to mind (I’m not sure why) are charities: organizations, big and small, with the goal of raising an amount of income to help support whatever that organization cares about. Something simple, there are TONS of them, and they create great outcomes, which would serve as just one example, as to why I think there’s more good than bad.
Imagine this: A family grows in a small little town in South Jersey, first a boy, another boy, and then a beautiful baby girl. The mom in dad both grew up in another small town about an hour closer Delaware, they were from Pennsville. The parents grew up accustomed to their parents’ belief. Racist. They grew up racist. But the move required one thing, a change of opinions. You see, the area they moved to wasn’t like where they were from. Where they grew up, whites were the majority, and blacks were the minority. Where they grew up, one african american family moved in and all hell broke lose. Where they grew up, was not where they living now. Where they grew up, is not where they were going to raise their 3 babies. Where they grew up was a total different environment.
ReplyDeleteNow imagine that that’s my family, because it is. As I was growing up and learning about the world, my parents were learning as well. They were honest, the explained their past beliefs, but explained how it was wrong, and how it had to change, and how they wanted their babies to grow with the “right” mindset. But what exactly is the “right” mindset. I know I don’t live a troubled life, I’m white, which is probably why I share a very similar mindset to Ahmed. I do agree with Ahmed, i agree that good things happen to good people, and that all you need is love. Yes, I do realize the darks and the evils in the world. There are some bad people and some bad things, but I believe that in order to make your life good, you must not dwell on the bad things or the bad people or bad situation. In order to live a happy life, you must highlight the happy things in your life.
But what determines if a person is good or bad? To be honest, I’m not sure, I don’t know what a bad person is, simply because I do not dwell on the bad people. I know that good people are the ones who, like me, love life. I know that good people see the bright side of things, I know that good people just let life fall into place. They don’t worry that about what could go wrong, instead they’re thankful for every happy moment their given. But I believe that very few people exist in the world. Too many times I encounter someone who has no intention but to complain. Even something as little as the whether outside, complaining not only worsens their mood, it worsens the mood of the person you're complaining to. I believe that there are too many good things in this world to worry about the bad.
Although I think that people who are always optimistic are the ‘good’ people, I don’t necessarily think that they ‘win.’ Frankly, I don’t think anyone could win in the game of life. Everybody journeys through life and does what they want with it, although I believe that people who are optimistic tend to happier, I don’t think that ‘win.’ Either way you look at the world whether it be good are bad, everyone has different views and opinions. It’s your choice to choose your own happiness, and it’s own choice to respect others. Everyone has a life, and everyone can choose how they live it.
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ReplyDeleteI do not think people can be mostly bad or good. To me, everybody contains an equal amount of both, like the yin and yang, darkness and light. In order for people to understand my way of viewing things, they must first understand how my mind became like this. So far, I have only met 3 people which I label as life-changing.
ReplyDeletePerson A: When I was a very young child before I became a silent shadow, I was known to be quite a chatterbox. My eyes were filled with glorious colors: bright light pink, a beautiful sky blue, soft purple, lime green. My mind was filled with fun memories and the love of my family and friends. I was living life without any worries, without any pain. It was not until I got betrayed by my best friend in kindergarten did I understand that the world was not butterflies and rainbows. She scattered lies about me to my close friends, neighborhood kids, kids on my bus, and the bus driver. She made me steal things from my house and give it to her, she caused me to become a THIEF. She made me tell lies, she caused me to become a LIAR. She made me receive a referral, she caused me to become a TROUBLEMAKER. Within a few months, she was able to flip my world upside down and created a new “me”, which people now interpret as a QUIET GIRL, a girl who DOES NOT SPEAK, a girl who can be EASILY MANIPULATED.
Person B: I met this girl when I was in 5th grade. She was the one who first approached me, but due to the previous event, I was traumatized in making close friends. Every day, she would sit across from me during lunch and talk to me and during recess, she would only play with me. I used to always wonder why such a bright girl like her would want to be friends with a shadow like me. There must have been an ulterior motive. I was always caution on being too close with her. Then, one day, she stood up for me when someone in our class was making fun of me. She protected me from a situation where I felt suffocated in, like all the oxygen in the world just disappeared. It was at that moment, I decided to accept the girl and became best friends with her. Even when she moved away the next year, we still kept in touch every day using the once very popular social network, Facebook. She was the one who brought back the light in my life.
Person C: This next person is what my family labelled as “dangerous”. She was a depressing girl who disliked her family. She was a girl who had slashes all over her body. She was a cutter. I had the most connection with this girl. She was an amazing artist, an even better writer, and she had a great personality. However, she hated her body, hated her life, and would usually have her depressing days. There was a time when my aunt was almost dying from pneumonia. Doctors have said she might not make it. I told the news to this friend of mine and at the same time, she told me the news of her mother wanting to put her into a mental hospital. We were both dealing with some serious issues, but while we were both talking about our problems, she blatantly told me that my problem was not as serious as hers. Something in my mind clicked at the time, but I decided to ignore it. Then, one summer, when she came over to my house to hang out with me, she said my mother was “fucked up”, that my whole family has an issue. I held in the tears that were on the brim of my eyes when she told me this, but when she left, I walked up to my room and released the tears and cried till my eyes were red and puffy.
Now in 2017, Person A is a devoted Christian who goes to other countries to help the poor, Person B turned into a depressing girl who stopped smiling, and Person C found a girlfriend who could heal up her wounds, something a best friend could not do. I only used up a lot of my time in typing this so people can understand where I am coming from. Not everyone is mostly bad or mostly good. There are moments when they are bad or good, but it does not sum up that they are more in one than the other. Maybe it is due to how I was brought up or my religious belief, but I do not believe for a second that a person could be more than the other.
DeleteA person who does the right thing does not always win. There are times where the person who does the wrong thing wins. The prize they gain? I would say a life lesson. There are no clear-cut answers about what is right and what is wrong. A person could take the right path, but end up making wrong decisions. A person who took a wrong path could end up making the right decisions. I wrote this once in my “stoic journal” for Mr. Clark’s class where I spoke about the butterfly effect. I said that each decision is branched with many paths and each path is branched with many outcomes. Just because we all start out at the same starting point, it does not mean that we all will succeed. Some will fail and some will make it to the finish line. Nature provides us the options and we make the decisions. We are all masters of our own fates with a bit of Nature’s twist.
Beings though I only know a handful of kind people who aren't solely acting on hopes to obtain something in their favor, I would say the people in this world are mostly bad. I’ve had many people throughout my life who acted kind towards me but later down the line I found that I was being used. Most people in this world don’t know what it means to be genuine, nor do they care to learn.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a very shallow time period, where being a good person is mistaken for being “soft” or “naive”. The scary reality about the “good people” is that they rarely win, the “bad people” come in first place. This is true due to the fact that bad people will step on whoever they have to in order to get where they want to be. They don’t have morals to guide them through life which is why to them, any type of behavior is acceptable. It seems as though the people who have done me wrong are doing great if not better in life. Almost like the puzzle pieces fall perfectly into place for them. There are no clear cut answers on right and wrong, just different points of view. Bad people don’t necessarily know that they are bad, nor do they always admit to it.. The label of good and bad depends on the eyes you’re looking through.
I am sad to say that there is no real prize for being a good person. There is only the satisfaction of knowing that you tried to make the world a better place. To me, that alone is enough for me to continue being a good person.
Quite honestly, I believe the negatives outweigh the positives. I don't mean to sound like a debbie-downer or a complete pessimist but unfortunately that is reality. I don't mean to say that the majority of the world is bad- because I dont think thats the way it is. But, the bad things in the world certainly have a bigger impact than the good things. I think the main reason why people are bad is because of disagreements in belief. There always seems to be a confrontation whenever there are people with different opinions. The disagreement gets to a point where riots occur, attacks take place, and people get killed. I would like to think that the person who always does the right thing wins- but that's not the case. I think right and wrong are very different things that are clear to understand, it's just a matter of wanting to understand them. Laws and social rules and manners make it clear about what is right to do and what is wrong to do- there are just too many people in this world that pay no attention to that. Certain things like keeping your elbows off the table while eating and holding the door for someone can be argued about whether it is right or wrong- that just depends on your morals and attitude. But something serious like committing a crime or murder is an extreme measure of doing something wrong and it is clear to see why- yet, people still do it. Despite the negative people, there are still people in the world who have hope to stay positive and do what they can to spread kindness. For instance, think of the song Christmas Shoes. The little boy wants to buy a pair of shoes for his dying mother but doesn't have the correct amount of money. The guy standing behind him wasn't in the Christmas spirit, but after hearing the boy, gave him the money for the shoes. My point being, this guy’s positive act affected the little boy tremendously. An act of kindness can go a long way- the little boy was able to pass down his appreciation for his mom through the pair of shoes.
ReplyDeleteThe world is truly a terrible place. It’s not the planet’s fault nor the animals’. It is us, humans, who have committed atrocities to make the world terrible. No one person is pardoned from the actions. People, for the most part, are in the wrong. The only kind of people who can be pardoned are babies as they are very limited in doing things. Everyone else is at fault. “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” -Martin Luther King Jr. People’s ignorance to the problems in the world is why this world is falling apart. Even if the people know what the problem is, what do they do to help the change. All they do is keep quiet. Now there are people that actually do voice their concern. For example, Malala Yousafzai stood up for education for girls and defied the Taliban. She was targeted and shot but still stood up for her beliefs. This type of bravery is what the world needs more of. Those who face danger for the betterment of the world. There are oppositions, the “bad”, in trying to make the world a peaceful place. Although a world full of peace is impossible, it is possible to get one step closer and these "bad" guys must be taken care of. The “good” people who go against them are trying to do good for the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteMy personal worldview falls more towards Bunje’s, but it does face resistance from Ahmed’s. I do believe that the side or person with the most power, influence, or bigger gun always wins.However, morally, if you are a bad person, You eat yourself alive mentally. If you live your whole life without love are being a decent human being, I see it hard to be happy. This to me, is a lose. Although being good may not always have a great outcome, being bad will NEVER have a good outcome. In addition, when a bad person wins, it usually doesn’t last long because they are viewed differently by people forever. When good people win, it makes them happy, respected, and hopeful.
ReplyDeleteMost people have great intentions. Even if the good thoughts never translate over to doing any good, they’re still good people. Bad people go out of their way to ruin peoples lives, days, or enjoyment. There’s more bright, positive people in my community, than dark, negative people. The dividing line on what’s good and what’s bad is the intentions of the side or individual. Did the person mean to cause harm, or was it accidental? That is the determining question deciding good or bad.
A good example that represents the line between good people and bad people, is when I snapped on a close friend for changing. I know I’m a good person, because everything I attempt to do, is for a good cause. Recently I became mad at a friend for changing, and I felt like she was slipping down the wrong path. What I failed to see was the big picture, and the reasons for her actions. I did something wrong, although I’m a good person at heart.
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DeleteIn my eyes, I feel like everyone has good and bad in them. Imagine there is a wallet on the ground. Most people will stop and stare at the wallet and the people around them and if it seems like it belongs to no one, they go back to what they were doing or they keep going to where they were going. Some will stop pick up the wallet and ask the people around them if it belongs to them. However, others will pick up the wallet, look around to see if anyone is watching, and slip the wallet into their pocket or something. If someone were watching them If people feel like they will be judged by others then they will most likely do what is considered the right thing. If they no one is watching, they will give themselves the ‘bad’ option along with the ‘good’ option. A person’s choices are determined by their upbringing. Sometimes is considered better or worse because we were told certain things by our parents. Our conscience also controls what we do. That can lead us to do what is morally right or it can lead us to do something morally wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe good guy, in our world, will particularly have a hard time winning. Many people look out for themselves and if something stands in their way, they do what is in their power to get rid of it to move forward. However, the good guy can win, it happens whenever in any way.
There is no real answer about right or wrong as there is no measurement. There are so many justifiable reasons for doing wrong, while there are so many terrible reasons for doing right. A person could kill someone, but it was to save other lives. Is their killing justifiable? There is really no way to know because someone could argue the reasons why it was wrong, while you could argue why it is right. Another example is someone helping out a person, but only so that they can be put in higher position (work, lifestyle-wise, etc,). Just like my views on good and bad, people are going to perceive things differently than I would.
In my opinion, unfortunately, negativity overweighs positivity in this world. The world is full of hate and crimes that will never have an ending. Beings though that I only know a certain amount of people, I can’t really determine whether people are mostly good or bad people, but if I would have to take a guess, I would say that it’s 50/50. People can always be bad to a certain extinct, even if they made a “bad” mistake. It doesn’t necessarily make them a bad person. Also, “bad” people, can do good things. I feel as though that doing good deeds doesn’t always make a person good. Also, I don’t believe that doing “bad” thins can necessarily make a person bad. Being bad or good is all based off an opinion. Also, being bad and good becomes a lifestyle. You will either do bad things and become a better person, or continue to make the mistakes and not even care. Good and Bad can’t be determined by someone like me.
ReplyDeleteI personally don’t believe that the person who does the right things always win. But, as a prize I think it would be fame. For example, on social media, as soon as someone (specifically a celebrity) does something good, socials hop on it immediately. The person becomes known for what they did and they get more credit because of what they did. Other than that, I don’t think there is any other prize to doing something good. I feel as though if you do something good, something positive is always going to come out of it for you.
I believe that people’s past always determines how the rest of their life will be. If someone has experienced a lot of Trauma’s and bad experiences through their childhood, they are bound to do a lot of bad things that they shouldn’t do. Everyone has some type of story to me and that’s why I don’t put labels on people.
My mom is a supervisor for DHS. She works with a lot of people in homes where children are most of the time taken out of because their guardian cannot cater to them as they should. My mom deals with a lot of children who are always doing things that they shouldn’t do. For example, they run away a lot, they don’t attend school, they don’t come home when they are told, they are fighting/getting in trouble in school, etc. I believe that these kids can have potential but since they aren’t in a stable home, and they are going from foster homes to the next every month can be very hard. People’s attitudes and actions are always rooted from what they go through. This example reminds me that people aren’t automatically bad because of what they do.
The world has always been somewhat dark. What I mean by this is, there has always been people only looking to do harm in the world. I Believe that there are very few REAL good people out there, most of them are just trying to help themselves. But those who are genuinely good natured and caring are those who have everything. These are the people who will never go without anything because everyone wants to help them.On the other hand, the bad people, they're hard to spot. Rapists and serial killers are not the only bad people on this planet, in this day we have to worry more about crooked politicians or bankers trying to scam us into poverty (or anyone else with internet access for that matter). But who’s to say these people are as bad as they come? Some people don't scam others for the joy or the rush, they do it because they see no other way survive or get what they need. I'm not saying that if you need to steal you should (Or shouldn't) steal, I am simply explaining the choice some people have to make in their lifetime. But the choice of doing someone wrong almost never works out.
ReplyDeleteThere is a video on youtube of a wealthy man who dressed and acted homeless on the sidewalk one day, he was doing an experiment. He wanted to see if anyone would give him money to buy something to eat. After being ignored by almost everyone, finally a young man gave him the money he needed. After the man had explained the experiment he was conducting, he rewards the kind young lad with a lump sum of money. This is not to say that every time you choose to do the good thing that you will be rewarded with a bunch of money, but the good choice always works out in the end
To start this blog off, I think it’s necessary to define what really makes a good or bad person. A good person is someone who doesn’t disobey any major laws and doesn’t hurt people for fun. A bad person is someone who hurts people for their own selfish gain and doesn’t follow the rules or laws. These definitions are very general. In order to categorize good and bad people, you need to be general right?
ReplyDeleteYou hear it on the news all the time. “So and so killed so and so”. “Blank shot blank.” The media always shows us the negatives of the world. The media always shows us the crime that happens. The media always shows us the “bad people”. But the media almost never shows us the good. In comparison, you will hear about a shooting or robbing or murder 10 times as much as you hear someone helping someone else out. Because we’re all surrounded by this, we all believe that bad people are everywhere. I guess I believe that there are more bad people than good. All this talk about rape and killings just make it seem that there are no good people left in the world. This is completely wrong. There are tons of good people but we never hear of their good deeds. Soo I guess there are more good people than bad based on my definition. I think it will always be like that. If bad people ever triumph over the good, our world wouldn’t be the way it is now.
But why even bother doing good deeds? There really is no prize for doing them. “Good deeds are done because it makes someone feel good.” I personally cannot relate. I sometimes do “good deeds” but not to the point where I can be considered a good person or to the point where I can be recognized as a “CNN Hero”. That being said, our good deeds are all measured. Saving a baby from a burning car sure outweighs helping an old man cross the street. And on the other hand, insulting someone is a lot less incriminating than shooting someone. How great our deed is subjective. Some people believe it’s a crime to smoke weed and that everyone should go to jail while some believe that it’s a way to have fun. It all depends on how someone was raised.
Last year, one of my best friends got shot. He lived in Philadelphia and was walking home one night when someone tried to rob him. Instead of resisting, he gave the robber all he had asked for. Little did he know that even though he was obedient, the robber still shot him. The robber shot him because he wanted to get away with his crime without a trace. What’s worse is that there are people are willing to commit worse crimes. My friend was hit in the arm and was rushed to the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania. There he was treated for an open radius and ulna fracture. The man who shot him did it in spite of him having a decent life. He had a home. He had a car. He had no reason to shoot my best friend. On that day my friend could’ve died. If there were no witnesses he could’ve lost his arm or worse. Instead of seeking revenge against this man he decided to be the bigger person. After months and months of physical therapy, my friend finally could use his arm again. He now helps with the physical therapy of other patients in order to help them move again. He said he will forever be grateful that he is still alive and wants to help others for the rest of his life. He is an example of a true and good person.
Something good always comes out of something bad. You’re whole world could be tumbling down at once, but if you’re patient, something good will come your way. I am a firm believer of that saying because it gives me hope. Hope is the only thing that gets me through my rough times. Hope is the key when something goes wrong. You can always count on hope to get you through it.
ReplyDeleteTerrible things happen in this world, but at the end of the day, there are more good people in this world than bad. Not all people that do bad things are considered bad people. You can make the wrong choices in life, but does that make you a bad person? What about the people that always make the right choices in life, who is it to say that they are good people? How the world differentiates between good and bad is something people with never really know.
People that always do the right thing don’t always get something out of it, and they shouldn't expect to. That’s a problem a lot of people in our school have. Guys and girls always feel they deserve something out of everything. Why can’t everyone just make nice gestures and not expect anything back? Why is it that we live in world where everyone is so selfish. Don’t get me wrong, everyone has a little selfish side to them, but some people take it to another extent. People need to learn to stay happy with what they have, and to feel good when they know they are doing something good. The feeling you get after doing something nice for someone or something should be enough of a prize for people.
I strongly believe that most people in our world are “good”. If you just take a look at the world around us, and really look at it logically, most people are “good”. By good, I mean they follow the most basic of moral principles, such as not killing another fellow human, or not stealing, or lying (at least not all the time). Most human beings on this planet abide by the laws in their country. Just start on a small scale and expand it, and you will see that most people are good, although answers may change depending on the person. Start by taking a look at your family. Most people trust their families, and agree that they are good people, no matter how annoying they can be. Take a look at your friends. Since they are your friends by choice, they should all be decent people in your perspective. Take a look at your classmates. Sure, some classes you have may contain some ruffians, and some generally unpleasant people, but it is usually only one or two people. I know for a fact my AP classes are full of wonderful kids, so why would I assume the world is mostly bad if the ones around me are good? You take a look at your school, and the police record is low, and so I apply that to the world as well. While there are incidents and acts of evil, they are just a fraction of the world’s population. As much as I’d love to believe it, I cannot say the person who does the right thing does not always win. I cannot think of any examples of this being true because all the examples I can think of are fairy tales or fiction, and all real life examples I remember did not have a prize at all.
ReplyDeleteActually I take that back, doing the right thing will always give you peace of mind, and a warm feeling on the inside. I traveled on a cruise once upon a time, and I had this friend who was the butt of many jokes. He was a pretty hefty guy, and kind of annoying, so you could only imagine the kind of jokes made at his expense, by his friends. There was this party on the cruise where they had a prom type party with a prom king/queen and everything. We rallied together and managed to get everyone to vote for him, and he won, which was cool because now he can say he won prom king, just not at his school. However, before he got to claim his crown and take a picture with the prom queen (which was the end goal because we knew he liked the girl), he had to wish his aunt a happy birthday, so he left right before they announced it. Before any his friends, could claim it for him, some other guy ran up and took the crown, and the girl, and left the room with her! Some salty jerk who wanted to be “prom” king snatched everything away from my friend, and I wasn’t going to take it lying down. I found the guy who took it, and asked if I could at least have the crown back since the REAL winner was busy, but he said “No.”! I was shocked and appalled that he would deny my friend his right. As he was swept away by his friends, I gathered a small task force to retrieve the crown by any means necessary. With a little backup, I was prepared to reclaim my friends crown, and fix his broken heart. Luckily one of my uncles caught us right before we were going to confront them, and managed to cool me down. Once my adrenaline was gone, I was relieved I didn’t do what I had planned to do, and risk getting kicked off the cruise. It was not in vain though, as my friend was cheered up by my dedication to his cause, and his smiling face brought warmth to my heart, and I felt like a true hero. In hindsight, going to confront the kid instead of going to an adult may not have been the right thing to do, but it felt right, and it felt good. So i guess there are no clear cut answers to what is right or wrong. It all depends on the person with power. Whoever holds the power determines what is right, and what is wrong. Your parents tell you what is right and wrong, and so does the government. The reason they can do this is because they have power over you, and so when you become the master of yourself, you can determine what is right and wrong.
DeleteTaking a look at the world we live in today, I believe that the world is filled more bad and negativity rather than good. Everyday on the news or somewhere else we always see a new crisis or uprising that delivers a negative connotation to society and the world as a whole. Now believe me I know everyone in the world is not a bad person but a greater majority are just bad people. The things that determine that are how the people act nowadays and a lot of people do terrible things during their lives. People these days need to realize that living a good life is better than living a bad one. Everyday I try to be as positive as a possibly can. Even though I know I'm bound to go through some hard times I always look at the positive side of things and carry on. Now when it comes to doing the right thing I do believe that the person that does the right thing will always win. By doing the right the person knows they are being honest and up front and will feel good about themselves. The prize for doing the right thing is basically knowing that you did something good and you should take pride about it. Sometimes there are clear cut answers to what is right and what is wrong but sometimes there isn't. I find it unfortunate that the word bad kind of defines our world today.
ReplyDeletemy brother and I were walking through the Hamilton mall and went to go get food. We stopped at the foodcourt at the chicken now vendor/restaurant to get a bite to eat. As we ordered our food and my brother reached for his money in his pocket, a man told my brother to stop. We looked back to see a man with a wad of cash in his hand. He offered to pay for our meals. My brother and I both nodded our heads and said he could pay which is what he did. We thanked him and sat down and ate, not believing what just happened. This random guy didn't even know us but still offered to pay our food. He didn't do it because he had to but he did it just because he was a good person. This is what everyone in the world needs to strive to be rather than a bad, negative person.
As I see it, at the end of the day, everyone has a bit of GOOD in them. I see it this way because, everyone has a soft spot for something and when they are willing to sacrifice things they care about for that thing, it brings out the good in them. I don't think the person who does the right thing ALWAYS gets what they want but they're always a winner when it comes to morality.
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ReplyDeleteI would like to say that people are mostly good in the world. The world lately has been filled with hate and everyone seems to skip the goodness in their hearts and go straight to fighting each other. Despite most of the horrible fighting going on in the world I do believe that people are mostly good. A lot of the people that are fighting right now over immigration laws and gun laws etc. may seem aggressive and rude but a lot of them have good intentions. Most people in the world have good intentions but people disagree which then turns into fighting. I believe that people are mostly good and have those good intentions, but they have a bad way of showing it which may come off as being “bad”.
People who do the right thing are sadly not always the ones who win. I hate that saying “cheaters never win” because I can assure you that statement is wrong. I’ve seen cheaters get away with so much. People who cheat on tests get good grades even though they shouldn't and people who take shortcuts get places faster. It isn't fair but that's the way things are. There are no clear cut answers to what is right and wrong because that is something that only you can decide. It is your opinion what is right and wrong which is why there is no clear answer. Let me give you more of an example of what I mean.
If you think about what is going on with people fighting over gun laws what I am saying kind of makes sense. There are really 2 sides, the people who are for guns being allowed everywhere because they keep people safe, and the people deeming them too dangerous to be anywhere because they can get into the wrong hands. Both sides to this fight are only thinking what is best for everyone. Both sides are fighting to keep people safe but both sides have a different way of wanting to protect people.
This is where my comment about people having good intentions comes into play. I believe these people are mostly good even though they are fighting with each other. A lot of the hate in the world stems from the good intentions of people. So to recap everything that I have said, I do think that people are mostly good even if they come off as bad.
ReplyDeleteWhere in our spectrum does my worldview fall? Well seeing the world with my own eyes, in spite of the fact that there are brighter things in the world that shows it isn’t all that bad, the world we know and live as of right now is corrupt to the core. Why? The world isn’t as peaceful as it was many years ago. There are wars happening in certain parts of the world, crime rate has increased, skirmishes, protests etc. When one conflict ceases another conflict arises. It’s like an ongoing repetitive cycle similar to the phoenix’s life cycle. No matter the outcome, someone is not satisfied with the result. As the possible generation that might tip the scales of good and evil, all we can do is to fulfill our roles and alter the world’s spectrum.
Do I think people are mostly bad or mostly good? My answer to that is they are mostly good. Everyone is good, it’s just the actions they committed are bad which then defines them to be evil. I believe every was good to begin with. The only factor that might have corrupted them to commit the act may have something to do with their lives. For example, in the movie Split, Kevin the antagonist developed DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) because of his constant abuse from his mother and his social life which led him to kidnap three girls… Another example is a story in the bible: the story of Lucifer. Lucifer was known as the angel of light: the morning star whom lived in heaven. He was one of God’s angels, a perfect one too. His appearance was deemed beautiful and dazzling. He was also the chief covering angel and worked in the throne room of God. But sadly jealousy and pride corrupted his heart:the desire to take God’s throne and he thought he had more wisdom and glory than anyone. He refused to repent and his future became dark. In the end he was cast out from heaven. Finally the story of Darth Vader. Since everyone knows the tale. I’m cutting it short. Darth Vader was originally Anakin Skywalker whom served as a Jedi knight and was thought to be the chosen one but he too was corrupted after believing joining the dark side can save his wife. The whole point of this is to convince anyone that people were good in the beginning but fell shortly because the events that happened in their lives.
People who do the right thing always win, it is proven in the real world and in fiction. In movies, games, tv shows etc. the good guys always win. Even in reality it is the same. Examples are mainly from war. For example WWI and WWII the allied powers whom were good defeated the axis/central powers the cause of the war. The prize is between peace and balance. That prize has been portrayed for those who are right. When it comes to right and wrong, it depends on the individual's character and belief. Those who are right tend to be pure, full of light, tranquil and only want harmony. While those who are wrong are portrayed as greedy, unsatisfied, dark as the black hole, will do anything immoral to get what they want etc. I agree with Ahmed.Good always conquers evil no matter if the odds is against it.
The world is how one views it and no matter how many sob stories of "doing the wrong stuff for the 'right' reason" I hear, my view will not change. Starting from humanities most primitive of beginnings, the goal was survival. Every day was walked on the fine edge of death, with danger looming everywhere, and to survive was everything you could ask for; no matter how. Now that we're comfortably surviving, we begin to scrutinize the methods that people use to survive and classify them as "Right" or "Wrong" as "Good" or "Evil", etc. however nobody truly acknowledges the fact that they're all just methods and means to an end and that we all want the same. We're here to enjoy the culture, the people, the environment... we're here for life; and we can't see that we're living it because we're so focused on how EVERYONE is living it. For example, think of a day (everyone has had one) where absolutely nothing could get you down, the most positive day ever. Now, could you describe that day as one where you were just "glad to be alive"? (answer YES or stop reading). Well that's the point that I'm trying to make; we only subconsciously realize that we're all glad to be alive and if we could make a conscious effort to appreciate the fact that we're alive every day, every person would be a positive person and society (unlike today) would be great as well.
ReplyDeleteThe world we live in today is mostly filled by good heart people. Sadly, all of those good people on occasion get swamped with a storm cloud of a few bad people. Regardless of how good those good people are, the storm cloud of bad people will affect those good people lives. Determining what is right or wrong is all based off of prospective. What seems right to me could seem wrong to a million other people. It's all based off of prospective.
ReplyDeleteIn life the good person always wins. They may not win right away, but in the end they always win. Doing the right thing has the same prize every time and that's getting that warm feeling inside knowing that what you did was right regardless of how others think about it. Everyone at one point in their life should have felt that warm feeling that I'm talking about. That warm feeling is better than any other prize someone could receive.
Their never has and never will be a clean cut answer as to what is right and what is wrong. Never ever ever will their be a clean cut answer and that is because it's all based off of prospective. For example in WW2 when the japanese were starting to lose their battle in the pacific they asked their pilots to start flying their plans right into the boats in a last ditch effort to do more damage to the americans. In the pilot's minds they were doing what was right by protecting their country in whatever way possible even if that meant they would lose their lives. But to the americans this was just wrong. In our eyes what they were doing was a coward's way out, and was not the right thing to do. But here's the thing. No matter how hard you could try to convince either side that they were wrong, they would argue their point for ages. Same event but two different sides which calls for two different perspectives.
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ReplyDeleteIn the world I believe that there is good and bad people, but more good than bad. Because your average person isn't doing the things that you would really consider bad like murdering innocent people for just the fun of it. I believe that to be a bad person you have to harm innocent people, and I say this because other crimes may have been done for a reason (not saying it's right but they had a strong point for doing it). I guess you can argue that people that have harmed innocent people had a strong point for hurting them, but if you feel that strongly about hurting others that have done nothing to you you're a bad person. End of discussion. In life I don't think the person that does the right thing always wins, and I don't care what anyone says or believes but cheaters do win 7/10 times. So even if a person is doing the right thing a cheater will always get the victory in the end (in most cases). Yes, in every situation there is always a clear-cut right thing to do and you can't just give a list but you'll be able to feel it, because you have a conscience and that's how your body works. I'm going to relate this to when the Patriots went through that deflate gate scandal when they beat the Indianapolis Colts by deflating the balls so it was easier for Tom Brady to throw the ball. Yeah the team knew that this wasn't the right thing to do but sometimes people will do whatever it takes to win even if that means cheating, losing respect, or getting fined. After that I wouldn't call Tom Brady a bad guy I'd just call him a cheater even though I strongly despise that man you have to give him so clout because all he did was deflate some balls a ruin kids lives but he didn't physically harm them, so I guess he's still a good man..... That was actually hard to type, forget what I said he's a bad guy.
ReplyDeleteThe world is definitely more good than bad. If you were to take the time, stop, and look around you for a second, you could recognize that there are people who are being good by simply not being bad. By that I mean that people aren't just going around hurting other people's feelings or hurting other people at all. Most humans have a conscience in which they are told not to do bad things, which is why I think that we are skewed towards a good world. Just because someone is doing the right thing, it doesn't mean they win. This is because there can be more than one right thing to do in a situation. There can be multiple "answers" to a situation and so if two people doing two right things come into contact, as the quote says, conflict happens. When conflict occurs, no one wins because who wants to argue? There's really never a prize of being "right" because for someone to be "right," there had to have been a problem to be right about. And because of the situation I'm in right now… I wanna say that it can't be measured. I want to say that it can only be measured by what God believes is right. I don't want to believe that people can simply say that they are "right" about a situation. I couldn't tell you what is "right and what's wrong" because I really don't know. A few hours ago I might have said something different but currently, I want to say that this is all up to God. I had a conversation with a close friend about this one time. Our conversation had us talking about why things happen and how it makes sense. For example, like innocent children dying? How is that right? We can't understand why things happen and what the right thing is in a situation, only God knows why something is the right thing.
ReplyDeleteWith my seventeen years of experience on living on this Earth, I can say for now that this world is inhabited by a great number of good people who are able to follow their conscience and do what is morally right. The number of good people in the world is a little bit more than the number of bad people who perform the horrible crimes today. Everyone though has a little bit of either good or bad within them, one trait overpowering the other determines what kind of person we are. What I would consider characteristics of a good person would be that they are willing to sacrifice something for the greater or good cause, not afraid to help others, and is able to pick the morally right option. A bad person would have some form of malevolence within them or be able to make others suffer, mentally or physically.
ReplyDeleteIn reality, the good guys do not always win; the common cliche of the good guy suddenly winning either by luck or by a deus ex machina does not apply to real life. Good versus evil is a battle of pure strategy and of picking the right beneficial choices which would lead to the desired ending. Additionally, there is sometimes not a clear difference sometimes whether something is good or if it is bad. But most of the time, there is a clear cut difference between what was right and what was wrong. If a criminal murders someone else just to get away with a crime or for personal benefits, then we know that this was definitely wrong. But if the motive of the murder was to protect someone or was in self-defence, then it was justifiable for the crime to happen. One instance in where we are shown that the good and evil was actually reverse was that in the renown musical, Wicked, we later found out how the wicked witch of the west, Elphaba, was actually on the good side while the Wizard of Oz was the main antagonist. Our initial thoughts would be that Elphaba was instead the evil one, but as the story goes on, we begin to understand what was really happening, clearing up who is good and who is evil. Good and evil are both measured in how much it affects society as a whole or the victim/group of people. For example, an atrocious event, such as 9/11 or the Holocaust, would create large amounts of despair which would start to affect the general public; these would be seen as an extreme act of evil. On the other hand, good people like Martin Luther King Jr. or Nelson Mandela would be able to influence the population into joining their cause and fight for what was right, creating more hope and happiness within their current society; these figures changed the lives of many by fighting for what was right.
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ReplyDeleteThe world is naturally Evil. When I say world, I mean mankind. We are born inherently sinners. That doesn't mean there is no good. But I think quite the opposite. I believe there is more evil in this world than there is good. That evil has become such the norm or acceptable with everyone, that it is set up to be good. Therefore, it appears “Nice guys finish last”. There is so much evil that at that moment it appears it conquers all good but in the end Goodness comes on top. I was raised in a Christian home and I do believe there is a God. I also believe there being something after we die. We may not win here on earth but we will in heaven. But even if you don’t believe God or heaven there is still a way to look at life as a win for good. Even if evil seems to kick you in the gut or you finish last, you can still walk away with the thought that you did what was right. When all the world was promoting their evil, you stuck to what you believe and did what you know is right. Yes, it may just be a personal win. But sometimes personal wins are more important than public wins. It's like playing a soccer game. The game gets intense and you’re winning but while the ref isn't looking they opponent team cheats and takes the lead. Now you know they cheated but there is no way to prove it and the ref didn't see it. So, the ref (The world) looks over it and the other team wins. On paper or to the world that is already inherently evil the other team won. But to you, you played fair and still put up a good fight. Cheaters never win. The other team didn’t win. They might have society’s thumbs up but that was there only gain they won while at the same time losing their integrity. Where your team won personally and know you still have your integrity. A truly good person will never win in the eyes of an evil world. But a good person will always win in the eyes of other good people and in your own eyes.
ReplyDeleteMy belief is that there is a little good in everyone. I know that no one is ever lost to darkness, only misguided. People don’t want to be evil, usually, it comes from a multiple of factors. Whether it be how they were raised to some sort of pain they felt growing up, there’s a story behind the madness. A lot of what we see today that causes the most hate is ignorance. People don’t think of how someone else feels or thinks and sometimes don’t care either. This is the problem we face in the world, a lack of empathy. A perfect example of this today is Trump’s ban on refugees. Trump doesn’t know or care to know the pain and suffering of those trying to escape their home-turned-warzone. He sees a threat that is technically there but is minuscule and delusional to worry about. It’s this lack of empathy that’s what causes so much hurt. Another example would be with police officers and all the controversy surrounding them. Most police officers are putting their lives on the line to protect the citizens but many people don’t think of that. They just remember all of the ones who have harmed those who they serve to protect, this leads to distrust amongst both parties which lends to more chaos. If people trusted more and focused on the good instead of the fear and pain then our society wouldn’t be in the dismal situation it is today.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to doing the right thing those who do the right thing always win. People don’t do the right thing for awards and fame. We do it because it’s the right thing to do. A lot of times doing the right thing requires sacrifice whether that be comfort, ego, or even one's life. You have to be willing to make those sacrifices in order to do what is right. What did you get in return for all of this? Well first off, if you’re doing it for something in return then you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. Second, what you get is knowing that you did what was right. If that doesn’t seem like the best reward then I don’t know what is. From saving a life to just making someone's day. The feeling is indescribable and not like any other.
Deciding what is right and wrong can be tricky but there are some clearly wrong things. Murder, rape and the sorts are easily identified as wrong and in no circumstance are they right. How we view certain crimes is a different story, especially murder because people tend to forget that when soldiers are fighting wars they do murder people. I’m not saying this to make it seem like soldiers are terrible (they usually are quite the opposite) but it shows our nature of favoritism. We can give an unfair bias to many things based on factors like intentions. This nature is what helps create this gray area where we are split on right and wrong. A big topic that splits the nation currently is abortion and it’s easy to see why. It’s not that one side is right while the other is wrong but both sides are right. How can we decide between two conflicting rights? Save a life or save a life? These are the questions that make it so that nobody knows what is truly right. We can only hope that we make the right decision. We must go in with the best intentions and listen to all sides of a story before we can claim a rightful way. Most times in life you’re not going to know what is right and what is wrong but it’s how we come to our conclusions that matters. If you go in with an open heart and head then you are bound to make the right choice. Now at this point to U want to say something like “love conquers all” but the truth is that the only path to righteousness is righteousness (if that makes sense). A lot of the traits we associate with good don’t necessarily convert to someone being right. Love can be a very uplifting and wonderful emotion but it can also lead to so much pain and suffering. Honesty is the best policy except when a lie can save someone's life versus death at the hands of a truth. Doing what is right is like walking a tightrope, you have to perfectly balance logic with emotions because too much to either side will end in disaster.
I* instead of U
DeleteLately, I was feeling down, mostly about this new administration (I will not go into its details for now). With the clouds mostly overcast during the week, it added to my sense of being in the midst of dark times. It seems that all I ever hear about this world is so negative-- racism, sexism, xenophobia, crimes, injustice, prejudice, losses, bickering, rage, disrespect, ignorance, rudeness…
ReplyDeleteAside from my anger and disgust, I wondered how to react to these issues. I eventually realized the only manner in which I could possibly react to this is to be the exact opposite, be optimistic as possible, and focus on other good things, like Black History Month, hearing Beyoncé’s pregnant with twins, listening to music, playing piano, or doing my best academic-wise. It is for this reason that last Tuesday, as some of our Lang family may recall, I recited a poem for my declamation solely based on hope.
With this concept of hope embedded in me that something better will happen, I must believe that good outweighs the bad, although it does not seem like it. This is a two-sided issue. On one hand, the problem is that often, the good in people becomes unrecognized because we tend to excessively direct our attentions on the bad things. On the other hand, the bad people tend to exceedingly control and block the good in the world that the good seems diminutive. In last week’s blog, I mentioned that the decision to be nice is based on the morals we learned from the environments where we were raised. I believe this also applies with people in this world, and the decision to be good or bad derives from that foundation of upbringing. People are taught to be good early in life through events such as behaving so Santa Claus can “give you a gift” on Christmas, or learning manners in primary school. Religion obviously influences this as well. All religions may be disparate , but they all follow common creeds to act morally good whether one may be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, etc. In spite of this, people are not perfect, and some situations tend to force us to react in another way which is either good or bad.
With this is mind, the right thing unfortunately does not always win. For example, an innocent victim in a court might not receive the deserved justice, or the person convicted of a crime may be wrongfully accused. Another instance is the Super Bowl (I don’t actually care about it, but it’s another example aside from the election). In the case of the Super Bowl, neither of the teams can be considered “bad”, but the right choice of that depends on the views of other people. Before the Super Bowl happens, the outcome of the game is unknown, although many bet on it and use the details of how whichever team has played throughout the season. In the end, half may be disappointed and half may be ecstatic, so the right thing in that sense loses for either side. If the right thing always won, things would be easier to determine, but there is the possibility of an imbalance, and many would not understand to appreciate the good things that do happen to us. Therefore, the answers to right and wrong depends on what is generally the best according to our values collectively that should respect all people.
ReplyDelete“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” -Martin Luther King Jr. From my perspective on the world, I see a greater amount of good people. This is my belief because whenever something bad happens, there are mainly 1 or 2 people who are the “bad guys” and the other people are merely bystanders or the rest are the “good people”. Let me relate this to a small topic that anybody can visualize easily in this small community. In this instance: bullying. Normally when you watch movies there is a main bully and their two back ups. Now, out of the whole school let’s say they are the meanest group of out of the entire population and everyone is afraid of them. They are the bad people. Moving on, a normal school population similar to Oakcrest would be 1,000 students. In conclusion, out of that entire student body, those 3 bad people can easily be outnumbered by the kind hearted, and loving good kids. As I relate this scenario to the rest of the world, I believe the number of good people are increasingly higher. I think people are labelled as “good” by how they treat others.
Furthermore, good is different from right. Doing the right thing may not be the good thing to do. Going back to the bullying scenario, a statistic shows that not everyone does the right thing. According to a study shown on no bullying.com, 6% of high school students reported bullying and 14.8% percent reported being bullied online. Now, out of these small percentages, why don’t more kids do the right thing? The common person knows the right thing to do is to tell somebody about the bully or stand up to them. But see, doing the right thing doesn’t always get you to win. Sometimes it has outside consequences like the bullying getting mad at you, or it has internal consequences. Like being to afraid to say something and then having guilt that you didn’t. These people who don’t report bullying don’t see it at first. They aren’t bad people, they just didn’t do the “right” thing. However, people do understand that speaking up against the bad people is sometimes a hard thing to do. That’s why there isn’t a clear cut decision you SHOULD make in certain situations. On another note, if you were the good person who did the right thing and reported the bullying, what do you get? There are different options. Option A: you could report it anonymously and have the satisfaction that you helped someone. Or Option B: you could be upfront that you stood up for them and have the person thank you. But that might not always be the case. All in all, if you are a genuine good person who does the right thing, you shouldn’t need a prize or a thank you. The generosity and good spirit should come from within and you should know in your heart who you are.
In today's society there are a lot of people looking to cause friction and produce hate. On the other hand I think as a group we have made progress and grown as a whole positively. I believe that we have become more accepting and appreciative of people's different ways of life and beliefs. The progress we've made is after all the lows and tough times we have gone through. After slavery, world war 2 and all the other countless horrifying periods of time, it has shaped us into what we are today. It prepared us and brought us together to realize that we should all get along.
ReplyDeleteThe person who does right may not always be appreciated as much as they should or even “win”. But that is not he importance of doing right you should do right just for the sake of doing what you know in your heart is the right thing to do. “Do what's right even when no one is watching”, that is a golden rule. Right and wrong is as simple and clear cut as what in your heart you believe is right, at the end of all that thinking and contemplating you know what is truly the best thing to do morally. In my daily life I am challenged with making right decisions. As a general scenario even when I don't do what's right I know what is right, even when it is a decision about hurting someone for the greater good, you know what the right thing to do is. For example telling your friend about his girlfriend cheating on him, while he may be hurt, it is best for him to know. It sucks being in high school because you are always challenged with doing what's right, parties, girls, etc, but at the end of the day I know what's right and majority of the times I do that. I'm a high schooler I make dumb mistakes and I learn it's about growing up and developing into a better person.
It's kind of hard to say whether the world is good or bad. Honestly it took quite a bit of consideration, which is just another way for me to say I had a lengthy argument with myself, and I came to the conclusion that the world is "currently" on a healthy line just in the middle of the two. Wow Ho... What a cop out! All kidding aside though, the world is a really hard place to put into black and white. With all of the bad that we hear about from the main stream media, it would be really easy to say that the world is going to the dogs, REAL QUICK, but you also have to remember that it's hard times where good tends to shine the brightest (ugh barf, that sounds so sappy) it's just unfortunate that the news frankly ignores stories about altruism simply cause it doesn't get them ratings, but that's a tangent I won't be going down, so back to the good and bad thing. Just thinking on that part has kind of made me realize that what's good and what's bad is a question of morals and like morals, what defines them varies from person to person. Now that takes me to the question of "are there clear cut answers as to what's right or wrong". HA HA HA! Hell no... I'm not sure if I've said this before in another blog or anything but I believe that your morals rely on your environment and the way you were raised so there isn't a definitive way for us to judge something as good or bad, sure there are those actions that most people would call universally good or evil, things like saving a life or murder, but even that gets disputed when people get into the more nuanced cases, like is it okay to save a life that doesn't want to be saved or is it okay to murder a murderer?. With that said what's good and what's bad can't be measured by a scale, again back to the whole "Morals vary from person to person" thing, what's horrifically immoral to me might be completely justifiable to you.
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