Text 1: "The knowledge of the real by the eye of clear insight is to be gained by one's own sight and not by the teacher's."
Response 1: This quote spoke to me as I believe it pertains to the current educational system. Beginning at a young age, we are structured to adhere to what the teacher says and to treat this person like he or she is some ethereal creature that is not of Earth. A teacher is simply someone who has received a certification to teach after passing a certain number of classes and taken a certain number of qualifying tests. Just like our teachers took tests from their teachers, we take tests given by our teachers. What I am trying to do here is display how level the playing field actually is. I believe that a student's ability to gain insight and be truly educated is inhibited by the instilled fear that the student has of their "superior" instructor in the front of the class behind the computer, which they use to show powerpoint slides that they use for an inordinate amount of years in a row because it is convenient. The most important things I have learned in life have been on my own merit and through my own experiences. That is the truest form of education.
Text 2: "Sickness is not cured by saying 'Medicine,' but by drinking it. So a man is not set free by the name of the Eternal without discerning the Eternal."
Response 2: This quote pertains to truth and how many people are facades in the face of it. Anyone can go to Church on Sunday and volunteer at a soup kitchen once in their life. We can sing the hymns in mass, but that will get us nowhere. In order to cure us of sickness or of our sins, we must put into practice the words of the hymns into everyday life. I like to think of Church as a report card. Sunday after Church until next Sunday's mass is our proverbial "work week," whereby we must practice the teachings that we sing at mass. Each Sunday we can reflect on the past week and discern how we can improve time after time until we achieve true salvation.
1. Text 1: "There's a willingness to pursue promising but risky ideas without paralysis due to failure."
Response 1: This quote reminded me a lot of Fair Trade. Fair Trade is a huge risk when practiced, and there is never a guarantee of return due to the ever-changing conditions and difficulty of communication between ourselves and other countries. No "businessman" in today's industry would ever invest a large amount of money in Fair Trade due to these risks of failure. This is what I believe separates Fair Trade from contemporary business strategies. Even if we do fail, we have placed ourselves in a difficult situation for a right and just cause. That is the maxim that Fair Trade must fall back onto and must continue to motivate us through any struggles we will inevitably find along the way.
Text 2: Out of all of our assets, our most important one in our knapsack is our hunger for connection, meaning, and purpose.
Response 2: Well, this is pretty radical. Goes against everything I've been learning in Gabelli for the past 3 years. I've learned about assets, liabilities, debits, credits - but never an intangible hunger for connection, meaning, and purpose. It's interesting how this is so important, yet we seem to miss it on many occasions. I guess it's that feeling you get when you've had a bad day and you need to be around others to lift your spirits. People need other people. That is the true "bottom line" that we should be focusing on. The world would be a much different, and better place if we recognized that more often.
Text 1: The principle life strategy is "upward mobility" toward the goal of "success."
Response 1: I always found the concept of success interesting. This concept is interesting because success to one person might mean something totally different to another. Here lies the true beauty of humanity - difference of opinion. All children are born into the world and given a perspective lens by their family. As the children grow up, they either maintain the same perspective lens that their family/friends have guided them towards, or they form their own, differing opinions. Upward mobility in America has always been to reach the top of the social/monetary ladder - "The American Dream." I urge people not to conform. I urge people to do what they love, not what they "feel" they should do in order to fit a certain standard. I believe true success is the ability to be honest with yourself concerning what you believe success is and to make this forever the primary step in any situation in life.
Text 2: One aspect of the way of Christ/Downward Mobility is indifference to honors. I believe to have indifference to honors is the crux of understanding the true meaning of the meaning of Downward Mobility.
Response 2: Indifference to honors says that "human dignity depends simply on being human, not on social status." This means that before we even begin living our lives, we have already succeeded. Life itself, alongside the talents we are given are true success stories. We become too engulfed in what society will tout us as, and not focused enough on the fact that we are actually here. We are quantified by salary, income, number of cars, GPA...etc. The fundamental aspect of human dignity id that all humans are equal in an unquantifiable phenomenon that is the miracle of life.
Text 1: In our current economic system, we are considered to be "valueless" if we do not own or purchase a lot of stuff. When I heard this quote I immediately thought back to my Catholic Education and remembered how God warned us to not commit idolatry. I am referring here to the worship/infatuation with materialistic items that give us "value" in our current economic system.
Response 1: Well, it seems like we dropped the ball on this one. We fail miserably every day to adhere to one of God's most primitive guidelines for humanity. We are glued to our iPhone, constantly reverberating our ear drums with our headphones, incessantly e-mailing, and then heading home to our LCD televisions and overhead showers. The value has shifted from the now idealistic, intrinsic value that a human has, to the superficiality of the measure of how much "stuff" a human can obtain. And our consumption is only increasing at the video states. Hopefully we hit a roadblock soon that will slow us down and shift the focus back to what it should be.
Text 2: The quote from Victor Lebow disturbed me. Lebow said we have to live to consume at an ever-accelerating rate. Are we really supposed to make consumption our way of life? Have humans evolved into such a transitory species that we have to practice such rituals to live?
Response 2: Unfortunately, our economy has harvested this way of life. Especially living in New York, where I most recently bought a small glass of Lemonade at the Columbus Circle Mall for $4.08. When the cashier told me the total I almost did a double-take. I have seen meals at a diner cost less than $4.08. That's what NYC is today. In order to make it here, you've got to spend it here. The economy has transformed itself into an ever-consuming money pit that needs constant contributions to stimulate itself. It really says something about inflation and the nation's debt when I'm spending over 4 dollars for a SMALL glass of lemonade. I didn't even look at what a large would have costed. All I know is, I'm moving down South where the sun is shining and a small glass of lemonade is affordable.
Text 1: Biennial evaluations of Mia have proven that the model improves the elderly's cognitive and physical health, reduction of prescription drugs, number of hospitalizations and emergency room admissions, uses of wheelchairs, and incidences of falls. Health care costs have subsequently been significantly reduced due to the decreased need for assistance.
Response 1: I think this piece of the text speaks a lot to the ability of the quality of someone's life and how much of a factor it is relating to health. It reminds me of the saying that smiling more makes you live longer. I hope this is true and I would have to agree that the surrounding environment plays a huge role in the lifespan of a person. Sometimes medicine is not always the answer. If I were an elderly person, I would much rather be in a system like Mia than in a nursing home taking numerous kinds of medicine. As it may have a homeopathic sentiment, I believe that being content rather than stressed can increase the lifespan and physical health of a person.
Text 2: "Living in an orphanage taught me to identify with those less fortunate, with their plight and needs. Ever since, i have not been able to face injustice and remain uninvolved."
Response 2: I feel a sentiment towards Conchy Bretos because like her, my stepmother immigrated to America from Cuba. I find it amazing that someone from another country, who some Americans would look at as "just another immigrant," was able to come here and do such a great thing for our country. Not only that, but she chose to identify with an age group that is not hers, which i find extremely unselfish. She is a great example of someone who chooses to come to the greatest country in the world not only to reap the benefits, but to give back so much more as well.
Text 1: "Over the years, what emerged from their lifestyle was not only a more equal distribution of goods, but also a profound cultural intuition - that the essence of human experience is to be 'in communion.' When I read this quote I thought of the radical nature of this idea. Big business today is not even concerned with an equal distribution of goods, but rather the unequal distribution of profit that favors men over women and CEO's over staff. I believe this quote summarizes the entire reading. How is it that back in the time of World War II in Italy this radical idea was proven and still today we cannot achieve it in the modern day business world?
Response 1: This idea is so radical because it is a change from within. A building or headquarters or business is an objective entity with no capacity to reason or feel or express human emotion. The problem in today's economy is that the employers of a business fall subject to emulating the building they work in. Rather than de-humanize employees into people who cannot feel human emotion other than the joy they receive from achieving a higher profit, this idea suggests to change from within. With a change from within, each employee starts displaying affection towards their neighbor, which in turn can make the business have a reputation of equality and compassion. It is our duty to get the business to emulate our human selves rather than get assimilate the objectified nature of the business into its human employees.
Text 2: The idea of public happiness intrigues me. Public happiness describes the reciprocal nature of happiness. The text cites an example that "I can be rich myself, but to be happy I need others." This is crucial because again it provides a radical idea. Public happiness acts as an end goal that can be achieved by the means of the economy of communion.
Response 2: Public happiness is so radical because it eliminates the singularity of wealth. For so many people, money buys happiness. The mere accumulation of wealth directly relates to the amount of happiness that a hedonistic personality maintains. Public happiness is the evolution of happiness from a singular sensation to a duality between the initial, transitory happiness wealth brings, and the resulting substantial sensation that is only achieved through being in communion with others. This is public happiness.
Video #1: One moment during the video that struck me was when a woman described the Sunday homilies of Romero as a "newscast" for the poor people of El Salvador. I am intrigued by this analogy. I am not used to hearing what I want to hear on only one day of the week unlike these poor people who lived extremely unfortunate lives. This analogy is a very telling example of how greatly Romero impacted these people's lives.
Response #1: The idea of a "newscast" for people displays how corrupt El Salvador was during the time of Oscar Romero. Not only the government but the powerful rankings of the Church as well were not supportive of Romero and his crusade to end social inequality. It amazes me that even within the Catholic Church their was opposition to Romero's movement. The whole point of the Church is to be universal- that is, open to everyone. For the Church to become hypocritical against itself is absurd. These people had to suffer 6 out of 7 days of the week until it came to Sunday and they were given a voice.
Video #2: I would like to discuss the aspect of unity that Romero preached. During his tenure, he created "Misa Unica," which means "United Mass." In this mass all people whether rich or poor, powerful church member or lowly peasant, were able to attend. This angered powerful members of the Church. The hypocrisy began within the Catholic Church as Romero took on the voice of every poor El Salvadorian and used his own to speak for them.
Response #2: Unity is a special thing. The ability of one man to speak for an entire country's oppressed is a special occurrence. Romero would preach things that people were killed for saying each and every day under the tyrannical rule of the El Salvadorian government. Romero was a true martyr in that he cared more about what he said and who he was speaking on behalf of than his own death. Romero realized that he was fighting for a cause that was bigger than himself. I think he understood that as a man of faith he has always been a part of something bigger than himself. This teaches us that we must surrender our selfish wants and desires and submit to a higher power or cause if we truly want to aid in social justice. Social justice cannot be about one; it is about the mass. Once we recognize this, our own lives become less important and as our own lives get less attention, other people's lives get more which is the whole idea of social justice.
Text 1: I would like to discuss the section about the wedding toast. Sandel challenges the ideas of authenticity and effect. He is challenging us to consider whether or not we would purchase a speech or toast to have a great effect on someone or an audience, or if we would rather write our own speech that maybe wouldn't result in such a resounding applause. He goes on to say that most of us would agree that the bought toast means much less than an authentic one. Why is this? The answer is friendship. A personal toast to someone you know means much more than a State of the Union of address which is a formal speech written to the masses. The key here is intimacy. Interpersonal speeches or toasts have a greater magnitude because their entire effort is directed at one personality and therefore results in a greater emotional impact due to the proximity of the party delivering the message and the party from which emotion is evoked.
Actual Response 1: This section reminded me about the concept of buying cards. For years now I have considered the act of buying cards plagiarism. If a student were to go online and purchase a scholarly paper and submit that paper for a class, he or she would be subject to school penalty and possible suspension or expulsion. However, families plagiarize numerous times a year buying cards for their loved ones, using words that are not their own to express their emotions. I have always preferred writing personal cards or letters to demonstrate the authenticity that Sandel is writing about in this paper. I believe that an authentic attempt by a human being to convey a true emotion should always be revered more than a bought attempt to create a false effect.
Text 2: "College admission is a good that can be bought and sold." It is sad, but it is true. Legacy preferences and wealthy families are easy ways to increase a person's chances of getting into college. College is just another form of business. Schools adorn their pamphlets with the welcoming smiles of students of all different races and show pictures of the football games and campus life, but they do not show the whole story. College admissions know that if they admit another legacy into their program, they will automatically get more money from that family who will not only spend tuition money, but will probably donate funds because they are so "proud" that their whole family has attended this college or university. So even if this legacy student is not as academically polished as the student applying next to them, he or she will get preference based on past family history. College is therefore not only admitting students based on academic performance. The system is flawed.
Actual Response 2: I am glad I am not a legacy. I am proud that I got into all the schools I applied to all based on my academic merit. I wish that these huge education systems were more focused on each student and less focused on the masses of students and increasing that mass or manipulating that mass in order to achieve a higher profit. This is why I am more attracted to classes like this one whereby each student is encouraged to speak early and often. Too many classes are quiet and dull and I believe this is a problem in the "education" aspect of what a college should be achieving.
1. I was very excited to refer this TED Talk to the class. The aspect of social justice in this class has really caught my attention. This talk consists of an attractive model who is unhappy with the superficiality of the modeling world. Her goal throughout the talk is to convince the audience that true beauty is not visible. She continues to say that women are given these modeling jobs solely on looks and nothing else. Therefore, the "not pretty," truly talented women in the world are sometimes looked upon by society as inferior. This directly relates to the oppression and prejudice that so many women in Fair Trade countries are subject to, either because of their race or their status in society.
2. I wish to discuss the 3rd criteria of the Fair Trade Federation entitled "Build Capacity." The definition states the following: "Fair Trade is a means to develop producers' independence. The word "independence" here interests me the most. Employers today really have no interest in our independence. They rely on other factors such as race, education, and extracurriculars on our resume. I will elaborate upon the dichotomy between Fair Trade and corporate America and how independence is treated in both.
Actual Responses
1. The act of model Cameron Russell transforming herself from a model to an "average" women on stage sums up her entire talk. Once she was no longer in an attractive dress, the number of times people look at her or approach her on the street dramatically decreases. Why is this? Why do people not consider that this woman could be one of the most amazing personalities on the planet? The answer is simple. Pop-culture. Pop-culture is a celebration of sight. Beautiful people are given more attention than the less attractive. Social justice is therefore no longer just. It is a sad and frequent occurrence. One of my favorite quotes states the following: "People do not change; they are gradually revealed." While our looks change over time, we still maintain the same internal pros and cons, highs and lows, personalities and dispositions. This should be the basis of social justice. People should be judged for the fact that we were all created, and all created equally. Our physical appearances can change, but our intrinsic right to be treated equally should not.
2. "Fair Trade is a means to develop producers' independence. This is part of the business model of fair trade. Workers are hired because they are given a chance to improve he quality of their lives. Therefore, their independence is given a chance to shine. Contrastingly, in corporate America workers are hired in a "dependent" sense. We are forced to depend on the name of our school, the status of our GPA, and other awards and recognitions that hopefully catch the eye of our employer. After we are hired, we are there to increase profit and efficiency to contribute to the economy. We work for ourselves, but only in a monetary sense. While I agree that we all need money to live, I think there should be more of a balance in corporate America which could help improve the quality of life of the people in the industry who seem to have it all but actually do not.
1. The first aspect of class that impacted me was the video of Christina making the sweater. I have always wondered exactly what goes into the process of producing clothing. Seeing the actual machinery and technique that was used was very impressive. I did not realize how painstakingly meticulous each worker has to be with each thread of the sweater. It is definitely an art that is not appreciated by people who buy clothing with only the price and brand name in mind, rather than where the clothing actually came from.
2. The second aspect of class that impacted me came from the article. "Fair trade encourages artisans to work together rather than compete with one another." This is interesting because it is the polar opposite of what goes on in America. What drives the American financial industry? Competition. People and products are in a daily competition against one another with the sole goal of attracting the most customers and gaining the most profit. There is no other consideration in the process of producing products than the bottom line.
Actual Responses
1. Living in a first-world country inhibits our ability to experience how the less fortunate people of the world make a living. When I was able to see Christina making the sweater, it opened my eyes to how hard someone has to work for such little money. It made me think of corporate America and how people are paid huge sums of money to attend meetings and create spreadsheets on Microsoft Excel. However, Christina has to use her hands and feet all day, exhausting herself physically to be able to provide for her and her family. The physical toll Christina's body will take will sadly never be known by corporate America. We should take more time to step aside from our hectic lifestyles and realize just how fortunate we are.
2. "Fair trade encourages artisans to work together rather than compete with one another." This sentence sums up why I believe America has a decreasing quality of life. Having worked in New York City this year, I saw firsthand what actually occurs. People hustle across busy intersections like electron dots. The chance that someone on the street will stop and say "Hello" is realistically impossible today. We are so consumed with ourselves and the profit we make. After a while, we start to lose sleep over the amount of money in our bank account. We work alone and compete against friends in our office just so we can get the promotion instead of them. This process makes me exhausted. I believe Fair Trade can improve the quality of life. Working together to achieve a common goal allows there to be more of an opportunity for human interaction versus the isolation that occurs in America. I think America is in need of a dose of this mentality so that we can all improve our quality of life and decrease the incessant stress that occurs in the business world.
Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:22 pm
Visitors
Board Statistics
