-The Crest Jewel of Wisdom is a story where a person is asking what seems to be God numerous questions, and getting answers. These questions are about oneself, freedom, how to act, etc. The story starts out with the verses that talk about four perfections, and the wise setting the standards for what these perfections are. -This piece was hard for me to follow. It took me a few times to understand what was happening, but I thought some of the questions by the man were very interesting. There were also other sentences that I thought were good and thought provoking. For instance, the idea “an honest confidence in the teaching and the teacher;--this is that faith by which the treasure is gained.” I like this quote because I think it is true. A person needs to be able to trust what and whom they are learning from in order to get the most out of it. This, I feel, is part of having faith in those around you.
-“The moon’s form must be seen by one’s own eyes; it can never be known through the eyes of another.” -This quotation stuck out to me because it seems to be talking about interpretations. When I read this I thought the person was saying that you must always look at things for yourself, and that you will never see something exactly the same as another person. I am not sure exactly how the moon is involved, but I think the meaning behind it has to do with seeing things on your own and in your own way.
-The section I liked the most was the short passage about faith. It says “to seek security through control of our surroundings dehumanizes us and destroys our environment. The alternative strategy is faith, by which we abandon ourselves to God’s care. Faith allows us to let things go and share what we have.” -The last sentence of this paragraph stands out the most. I think it is a good way to look at things, and shows why people should have faith. Faith is partially about trust, which is a necessity. I think there needs to be some control in a person’s life in order to feel secure, but a person must also be able to let some control go. I also liked this passage because presents a different view from the harshness presented in beginning of the article. -The parts of this piece I did not appreciate were the sections talking about the social ladder, and the importance of people. The social ladder is about how some people are considered valuable, while others are not. The people who are “important” are of a certain type, and get to determine who is “unimportant” based on their need for them. If an important person does not identify with another they are normally considered unimportant. -The idea of the social ladder is honestly just sad. I think it bothers me because it is true, but seems morally wrong. I don’t see how one person can be considered more valuable than another or why someone should be able to decide that. Everyone is important to someone, so I don’t see the need for the categories.
-The video Wealth in America was about the distribution of wealth in America. It gave information about how people perceived the distribution, how people thought the distribution should be, and how it actually was. It revealed a lot about how the top 1% of Americans live, and compared them to the rest of the nation. -I liked this video because it was really informing. At one point it stated that if compared to the amount of money made “a CEO works 380% harder than the average employee.” It also said, “The average worker needs to work more than a month to make what a CEO makes in one hour.” These two quotes really stuck out to me because they really put things in perspective. The thought that an average person would need to work for an entire month to match what a CEO makes in an hour is hard to swallow. I know a CEO is a very important person, but I just don’t think the monetary difference should be so great.
-“Be trained by that. Never say, or think, “I am better than…whoever.”” Pg 243 -This is a piece from Rumi’s poem in the section Green Ears Everywhere: Children Running Through. I think this excerpt is true not only in every day life, but is also very relevant to fair trade. This is a point that I people sometimes forget, and is a very humbling sentence. It shows that it is never ok to judge other people in a way that allows you to put them down. In regards to fair trade, it would be really helpful for the cause if people applied this theory. I think fair trade would be more commonly used, and people would be more aware of the goals of fair trade.
-This video is full of statistics, and has facts about the United States and the world that are very easy to follow. She says things like “The US uses 30% of world resources and only 5% of population,” and that we would need 3 to 5 plants if everyone consumed at the same rate as the United States. Another fact is that “four billion pounds of toxic chemicals a year from the United States.” -The amount of fact and statistics is something I really liked about this video. It allowed me to see how real everything is by the use of actual numbers. The facts are definitely things I was unaware of, and I liked being able to get this information in such an interesting way. I especially liked the fact about the resources used in the United States and the amount of planets that would be needed. It shows just how much we use, how much more we use than other countries, and that we should probably cut back on the amount we use. -There is a part where she gives a stat about babies getting the highest dose of toxins from breast-feeding, but then goes on to say that “breast feeding is still best, and we should definitely keep breast-feeding.” -This quote kind of confuses me. She states that breast-feeding is bad for children and it gives them many toxins. Breast-feeding apparently gives so many that babies have the highest amounts of toxins from their mother. She says it should be safe, which I agree with but I don’t really understand her next point. After stating how bad it is for the babies she still says it is best and should continue. I just don’t understand how that correlates, and how it can be fixed. I know that she believes the government should fix the issue, but I don’t know how since it is such a big change.
-This story was about a persons thoughts and experiences with fairness towards certain people. In one paragraph he talks about how his mother had to send him away from Cuba because of problems with military schools being started. He says that once he was on his own he felt liberated and was able to do whatever he wanted. He then says he kept going to school and was bale to get into college, and give back to others. -I liked this paragraph because the author showed his true character. A person being taken away from their family and being forced to start over in an unfamiliar place could really affect a person negatively. This man was able to overcome that and become a stronger person, stay in school, and still give back to others. I like his determination to do more than the average person, and give back to as many people as he could. He genuinely cares about other people’s well being, which is a quality that every person should want to have. -“I have tried and failed many times, but I have never failed to try.” -This quote is one I find significant because it is very true. People should always be willing to try something, even if they fail it should not matter. I agree with the idea that if you don’t try you will never know what might happen, which is more detrimental than failing. Attempting something and trying and failing can spark so much in someone. For example, make the person want to try again, want to succeed, want to do better. So this quote seems very accurate to me.
-This article in sections talks about the connection and relationships the Brazilian employers and employees have with one another. One scenario talks about when a manager was going to fire an employee, but then the suggestion of listening to the employee more was brought up. The manager then states that the employee’s work, and their relationship improved. -I liked this part for a few reasons. I thought examining the relationship between the two men was great, and that the manager considered suggestions. I mostly liked how the manager was able to take a step back, evaluate the situation and make the best decision. This is hard for many people in the workforce to do, so for this to be able to be accomplished in this company is a great thing. I think this is something that most companies need, and would be a lot more successful if it was done. -There is another paragraph that describes friendship. It talks about how people in a commercial society choose friends, and the forms of friendship. Friendship is something that requires freedom and always has. It then goes on talking about the market and the relationships in it. The article states that economic theorists describe the market in a symmetrical rather than hierarchical relationship. -These few paragraphs I thought made decent points, but were a little vague. About regular friendships I would agree that having one requires freedom, and that people are going to be friends with people they like rather than people that they need around them. A majority of the time the people that you choose to have around because you like them wind up being people that you need around, so I find that to be not fully explained. I also felt the thought of the market relationship as “symmetrical or horizontal” to be incorrect. I definitely think there is a system and levels of authority in the market and in any business.
The documentary was about Monsenor Oscar Romero. In his journey he became the archbishop in El Salvador, and struggled throughout his career for justice. He wanted to help those who needed it, and give to the poor. His goal was to make the lives of the less fortunate better, even if that meant taking away from the rich people. His actions to do this went against the government and military, so what he was doing was very risky. Romero did not care, and was a brave leader of the church to get people to believe in him, believe that their lives could get better, and try to take action to make life better. -The parts of this documentation that I was most shocked about was the killings of people by the government. The women would talk about their son who disappeared, or who were mutilated and killed by the government. There were also parts where people would say they could not speak out because they knew they would be killed. This is a really scary thought. Ultimately these people following Romero are just trying to better their lives and get more equality. The amount of oppression upon them is really sad, and pretty scary if you are one of them. I cannot imagine not being able to speak what I feel and believe what I want to believe. It shows how different things in certain areas/times are, compared to places now. -I also liked the amount of following and influence Monsenor Romero had on the people. He gave them so much hope, and allowed them to feel that there was someone on the side of the poor people. He clearly was a very powerful man because he was able to keep people believing even though the government was trying so hard to suppress them. It shows how strong of a man and leader he was.
-In “What Money Can’t Buy,” there are a few pages that talk about gift giving, and the value of the gifts that a person is receiving. The author states “economists don’t like gifts.” They believe it is always better to give cash than an actual present bought for someone else. The reasoning behind this is because another person buying a gift will most likely not choose as good of an item as a person buying for him/herself. The author then goes on to state that giving cash can make the person look indifferent and seem as though they are being thoughtless. -This examination of the gift giving process is something that seemed obvious to me before reading the economist view. I can see the point being made that it is more efficient to just give money, but also do not agree with the idea. I liked how the author uses utilitarianism to give another way to look at the issue. He says, “to monetize all forms of giving among friends can corrupt friendship by suffusing it with utilitarian norms.” This sentence, I think, makes a good point that there is no need to do what is better for everyone as a whole. There should be more individual thought for the person you are buying the gift for, and not just about technically what would be better.
-A second part of this chapter is about the market, buy and selling in it. It gives examples of children, admissions into schools, organs, and prostitution to give perspective on this topic. The example about prostitution talks about fairness and corruption of being bought. The author gives two arguments about the topic being fair or not. He states that people in prostitution usually have some motive behind it, so it is not really a voluntary act. The second objection is that people feel prostitution is degrading no matter what, demeaning, and that it should never happen. He then further talks about the corruption in this case. -The topic of prostitution is always an interesting one, especially when talking about if it is something that should be allowed or not. I think the author is correct in the fact that he is basically saying you cannot put a money value on a human being, and I agree with the second opinion that it is something that should just not happen at all. The first thought of why it is not fair, a person never voluntarily does it, I don’t agree with. Although there might be other factors that might make a person want to do a certain thing, the choice is ultimately his/hers. Contributing factors cannot be the sole blame for a person doing something.
-The section of the article called “Marginalized Workers Gain Dignity at Winery in South Africa” is about Stellar Winery and an employee Marie who has had a positive experience working there. The story starts by talking about Marie’s life before Stellar. It says she dropped out of high school, had to endure the passing of her mother, and care for her family including four orphans. Once getting a job at Stellar Winery, Marie now has good income, electricity, and sanitary systems. This allows her and her family to live comfortably, unlike before. Through her hard work she has become a partial owner of the company, and a farm manager. She was also given other awards for her outstanding work. -I enjoyed reading this because it seems like a great success story for a fair trade worker. Reading about Marie’s hard life before Stellar and all that she has accomplished reflects on fair trade. I think the fact that she is able to achieve so much is because she truly likes her work environment, and the fairness is so high that if a person wants to he/she can be successful. I think the recognition that she has received for her hard work is also nice because it will make any worker proud, and is encouraging.
-The Cameron Russell talk gives her experiences as a model, and the way people perceive modeling. She gives examples and pictures of some work she did in the industry and the behind the scenes of what was happening at the times of those pictures. She also speaks about the statistics of profiling and how young girls feel about their bodies. She relates this to her treatment by others based on her looks, and talks about how they should not matter. -The part of Russell’s talk that made an impact on me was when she talked about little girls wanting to be models when they grow up. The fact that she encourages pursuing a career where your looks are not everything says something about her character. It reveals to me that there are models that are not all about the industry, and are down to earth. Another interesting piece was when she gave a few stories where her looks benefitted her. She talked about getting a dress for free, and getting out of a ticket because she was attractive. She makes the point that not everyone gets treated this way, and that things should not be like that. I liked the honesty that she had in this talk, and how she isn’t afraid to give her opinion.
-The first part of this article that stuck out to me was the story on page 10 that describes briefly the documentary “Black Gold.” It talks about the struggle with production of coffee beans in Ethiopia, and the money issues the people face. It states that the more coffee growers created the less they made due to problems with fair wages. - I was shocked to read this because like the article says, I believed “the more you produce, the more you profit.” The notion of “hard work pays off” is a false idea in this case, and makes me realize that not everywhere is as fair as I assumed. I have noticed that I am unaware of the types of work environments other people around the world experience, and that in many places it is unjust.
- An uplifting section of this article was the story about the artisan group, El Mercurio. One woman, Yody Moran Trillo, describes her feelings towards the job she has by saying that it gives her dignity. She, and the women she works with, feel more respected and are proud of the quality of the goods they produce. She also talks about a specific time when a coworker who broke her arm. This injury made her unable to produce goods, and technically meant she should not have been paid. Instead, as a group the artisans decided to give the woman her usual income even though she was unable to contribute to the production. - The people in this artisan group make me hopeful about humanity. I really liked the part about still paying the artisan with the broken arm. It shows the amount of respect they have towards one anther, and that business can still be compassionate. There are many companies these days that are so cut throat that nothing else matters, but this shows that there still are many industries and places that put people first.
Tue Nov 19, 2013 5:36 am
Visitors
Board Statistics
