Actual Text 1: “When we believe that the world makes us, that it determines what we can do and cannot do, then we see ourselves as small and weak. But when we understand that we make the world- individually and together- then we become formidable and strong.” (Page 2) Response 1: These were the first words I read from the article. It set the stage for me in regards to my thought process. I was confused at first upon reading that the world makes us. We are always told that we make the world go round but it almost seems quite the opposite here. We allow the world to control us by anxiety, insecurities, fear of failure, etc. We let the world at times take over our actions and take charge of what is next to come. Richmond says that when we allow the world to overcome us and take control we become “small and weak”. Speaking from personal experience, this is nothing but true. My anxieties make me fell this exact way. The second part of the quote is more uplifting. The moment we understand that we “make” the world, both on our own and with help from others, we are given a sense of strength and hope for the future. I am confused by what “make” means in this context…
Actual Text 2: “We are the wealthiest generation in human history, but are we the wisest? And what will happen now that everyone else in the world wants to be just like us, with our three televisions, two cars, and a personal monthly energy bill greater than the annual income per capita of some poor countries? Can the planet sustain us, or are the three-legged frogs now cropping up in the fresh-water ponds all over America one of many warning signs that it cannot?" (Page 5) Response 2: I really enjoyed both the bluntness and discreteness of this quote. Starting with saying we are the wealthiest generation in human history was not new news for me. This has been a common theme in our course. What did strike me by surprise was that everyone in the world wants what we have. This is quite disturbing because countless individuals who do have all this stuff mentioned above are not any happier with these material objects. These objects are just objects but fill this bizarre craving that many of us have. We lust for these objects and it’s disgusting. The energy bill comment was very shocking and I almost didn’t want to believe it. The end of the quote asks the reader if the planet can sustain us and gives an analogy of a three-legged frog becoming more common in fresh-water ponds. To me this was the part of the quote that has a discrete meaning. It was alluding to the facts that if we keep consuming and flourishing in our own wealth, where will the rest of the world be? We can see clear signs of an abusive relationship with nature and there will come a time where she will not be so giving, and will become fed up. I am surprised this has not already happened…
Actual Text 1: “Therefore let the wise one strive after Freedom, giving up all longing for sensual self indulgence; approaching the good, great Teacher (the Higher Self), with soul intent on the object of the training. (Page 2) Response 1: This part of the article really sets the stage for the feel of what the rest of the reading will be about. It discusses how it is the wise men that strive after Freedom. It is discussed how rites cannot lead to Freedom, as the scripture says, “There is no hope of immortality through riches”. I found this all to be increasingly interesting. Seeing as we live in such a world that is full of rites and riches, does this mean we are far from being wise? It almost seems to me that our 21st century lifestyle is doing the exact opposite of striving after Freedom. After reading this I felt as though we are under the impression that wise men/women surround us but this gave me a dismal outlook. It seems as though the majority strive after self-indulgence and are far from being wise or free.
Actual Text 2: “A net of words is a great forest where the fancy wanders; therefore the reality of the Self is to be strenuously learned from the knower of that reality.” (Page 6) Response 2: At first this quote was hard for me to understand. After reading it a few times I began to wrap my mind around this concept. This is the Master answering the pupil’s questions. The pupil asks a series of questions regarding the connection between the self and not-self. “What causes it? And how can one be free?...What is not-Self and what is the Higher self? And how can one discern between them?” The “fancy wanders” to me are representative of the rich with their technology that distracts them from reality. Our reality is however we wish to perceive it. There is a hint of anxiety in the second half of the quote. There is almost a sense of urgency to find our reality and ourselves but should there be? We have to use the wise to help us ground ourselves in reality and open our eyes to ourselves.
Actual Text 1: “What does faith look like in an organization? First, there is a focus on relationship and community. Second, there is an emphasis on today’s needs. Third there is a tendency towards action versus causation, spending versus saving. Fourth, we have flexibility. Fifth, we have a holistic approach. And finally, we have big dreams.” (Page 50)
Response 1: This quote lays out five various ways faith is represented in an organization. I found all of them to be very interesting, especially the last one. First, there is a focus on relationship and community where partnerships create a deeper understanding of the community. Second, needs are at a bias for today vs. tomorrow. Third, there is a shift from caution to action and saving to sending. This is very apparent, even at Fordham. Fourth is our ability to respond to opportunities, even risky ones without fear of failure. Fifth is the holistic approach where the focus of relationship and community inspire leaders. Last, and in my opinion most important, faith allows people to do whatever it takes and a very focused determination to pursue challenges related to big ideas.
Actual Text 2: “The world is teeming with people who are feeling that something is missing in their lives. To the extent that we can offer connection and meaning, we can create public appetite and will for social Change.” (Page 52)
Response 2: This quote really spoke to be because I constantly feel like there is something missing from my life even though once I take a step back I realize I have everything I could ever want or need. This feeling is instilled on us from all the marketing and advertisements plus a variety of other reasons. People constantly feel like they don’t have enough and need more more more. The second part of this quote is almost too optimistic due to the fact that a public appetite currently exists for social change but there is little to no action being taken to combat these issues. It is a step in the right direction to acknowledge the problems but now it is time to start attempting to fix both social and economical.
Actual Text 1: “Some people are more important than others… Rather, some are more human than others- more valuable as persons.” (Page 94)
Response 1: This part of Downward Mobility was under The Social Ladder section where the important and unimportant are distinguished. The fact that this quote was even stated is upsetting mainly due to the fact that it’s unfortunately true. One person is obviously not more important than another person of lower class but their importance in regards to how much they consume in a society is “important” to success. This may be taken the wrong way but it is true. A person’s value cannot be decided by their class but the way society values their existence is quite dependent on how much is consumed. The poor, handicapped, lower classes are clearly not unimportant, that is just ridiculous! No one is valued more than anyone and it is bizarre to think that the material someone consumes creates value.
Actual Text 2: “We are insecure by constitution. We fear pain and rejection. We fear the collapse of meaning. Ultimately, we fear death.” (Page 91)
Response 2: Insecurities are personally the cause of my downfall and without speaking for everyone, is the cause of many struggles in life. We are incredibly afraid of being rejected with is connected with our insecurities. We don’t want to feel pain and are afraid that there is a “collapse of meaning” in life. Our way of life now “aggravates” the feelings we have in regards to fear and insecurity. We are so afraid of rejection that it in many situations fear controls our actions. Why are we so afraid of dying when we know it is inevitable? Why do we fear so much rejection? How do we change this about daily life? Is there any hope for happiness?
Actual Text 1: “The US has 5% of worlds population but we are using 35% of natural resources and creating more than 30% of the worlds waste. If everyone consumed like the US did we would need 3-5 planets.”
Response 1: After hearing this part of the clip I immediately went back and had to re-watch it in order to fully absorb the information. These numbers are absolutely mind-boggling. Considering the US populates only 5% of the entire world but are using 35% of natural resources just begins to exemplify how much people consume. The waste here is another issue entirely. We are accountable for much more waste compared to the amount of people that are producing the trash. If we continue to consume the way we do and start consuming that much as well (which is not very likely in third world nations) we would need many more planets than we have available to have the space to put all our “things”. Yet we are told by President Eisenhower in the 1950’s and early 60’s says later in the movie “Our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption… we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at the ever-accelerating rate.” Once again I am perplexed at why we are still being told to consume. How is this valuable advice?
Actual Text 2: “Make things right by just going shopping…!”
Response 2: This part of the clip was right after the transformation of heal size varies from season to season was discussed. This very unnecessary phenomenon is due to marketing techniques of various advertisement agencies trying to get people to feel as if their current heal is “out of season”. The solution that is given to us is to go buy the new collection for the fall season instead of the out of date summer heals. This is ridiculous how marketing has control of so many sectors of our lives; it is honestly scary to think about. The clip discusses how this is a type of perceived obedience where the consumer is convinced to throw away the stuff that is no longer useful, or in other words, old. Commercials now tell us “YOU SUCK!” and make us feel almost ashamed of the “old stuff” and in a way force us to buy the next new thing, which only keeps this constant demand and supply an endless extraneous loop.
Actual Text 1: “We stack subsidies to make the program self-sustainable. In other words, we have created a model of providing services to residents of publish and subsidized housing by layering federal and state funds and providing services to enable them to stay in their homes at a considerable savings to taxpayers. Our ability to have access to government funding to create this new affordable model is unique, and our firm is the only one in the nation with the expertise to make it work.” (Bretos, pp. 32)
Response 1: This part of the article took me a little by surprise. The way the organization is funding the projects is by this seemingly not so complex process that uses both state and federal funding. My first thought was to use this method of funding and replicate it for other projects that struggle with a lack of funding. It is specifically stated that this form of funding is an “affordable model” yet requires much “expertise” for the funding to work. This gives anyone who is in need the ability to the facilities, even if the individual is unable to pay. This complex funding process is highly rewarding but has drawbacks due to the fact that it is so hard to do. We need to figure out a way make this process easier and more accessible to other sectors in need.
Actual Text 2: “The world must not know about this, and I must be here for a reason. I think that I am the right person to change this. I need to tell everybody what is going on.” (Brentos, pp. 34)
Response 2: This quote really spoke to me. I have said something to this extent before and truly believe in it. Conchy Bretos called upon himself to take action to defend justice and create equality for elderly people. He says this quote in the article right after he tells us the atrocities in Fort Lauderdale. After coming to the US when he was only fourteen years old, he said he could never face injustice without trying to fix it. This is exactly what Conchy did, he took action. His words in the quote above touched me. He says in the beginning of the quote that he does not want anyone to know the filth he saw in the apartments in Fort Lauderdale (and all over the country). However, at the end of the quote, he says he needs to inform everyone of what is going on. He believed it was his mission to change thousands of peoples lives and create justice in an incredibly unjust sector of life. He was obviously right in saying this and found a way to help. Finding something we are incredibly passionate about is one of our best hopes in bettering society.
“Religious Values and Corporate Decision Making: The Economy of Communion Project” by Luigino Bruni Actual Text 1: “The profits could be divided in three equal parts and used for direct aid for the poor, educational projects which could help further a cultural of communion, and development of the business”(649-650).
Response 1: This part of the “Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law” really spoke to me. The following text says that in only a matter of 15 years, more than 700 businesses followed this type of business practice. The businesses were described as being mostly small in size, some having no more than 100 employees. This reminded me of the business practices affiliated with fair trade because they are smaller and have a purpose for selling the product. There is a deeper goal here other than to simply make money. Chiara Lubich said that after visiting Brazil her eyes opened to the different possibilities for employees and creating profit with a purpose. I hope by going to India will enlighten me into thinking outside the box when it comes to creating an effective business practice.
“The Wound and the Blessing” by Michael Brennen Actual Text 2: “The bias for a common life cannot be love but fear… for love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the bareness of men, if broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by dread of punishment which never fails” (Chapter 1, pp. 4)
Response 2: This quote intrigued me greatly due to the fact that Brennen says love is almost obligatory and nearly always broken. This is a pretty dismal outlook on life to think that all men will do whatever they can to get one step ahead, even if this requires man to break love. He continues to say that fear is our primary driver because we are afraid of the outcome if we fail. We are driven by the fear of failure and don’t want to deal with the aftermath of failure. Brennen has a point in one aspect that our fears drive us but I believe love does as well. The common life should definitely include more love than fear. We cannot always expect others to break trust and therefore break love, we must find the right people to love and trust.
Actual Text 1: “Kingdom of god is not in heaven but here on earth”
Actual Response 1: The Last Journey of Oscar Romero was an incredibly powerful film filled with genuine, faithful and passionate civilians. Although Salvadorian people were constantly threatened, discriminated, abused etc. they would turn to Romero for the truth. When Romero would speak to the people on Sunday morning at 8:00 on the dot, hundreds of people would sit and absorb every last word he spoke. This quote above is from one morning when he really got through to the people. One woman said listening to him was so different from anything she ever heard because of how he changed the gospels to touch people. He made the lower class feel worthy of happiness and gave them hope.
Actual Text 2: “Father, now that we know its not god that keeps us hungry buy the rich people from our city and the government that is their instrument. But the question is what can we do?”
Actual Response 2: A woman says this quote in the second half of the movie after our eyes have been open up to the horrors of the regime in El Salvador. She is speaking in response to one of the truths that Romero brought to light. The injustice in El Salvador is overwhelming, disgusting and all too real after hearing the civilians speak their minds. She ends the claim with questioning what we can do to change the inequalities and injustice, leaving the question unanswered. If we take this question and apply it to greater context, we are still left without an answer. So my question is now what…?
Actual Text 1: “Why should I care if, somewhere, an investor is hoping I die? Perhaps I shouldn’t’ care, provided he doesn’t act on his hope or call too often to ask of my condition. Maybe its merely creepy, not to mention objectionable. Or perhaps the moral problem lies not in any tangible harm to me but in the corrosive effect of the character of the investor.” (Sandel; 139)
Response 1: Chapter 4 has a concerning topic, Viaticles, which particularly got me thinking about the various kinds of morals different individuals have. Essentially, viaticles are a type of life insurance for people with a terminal illness. Investors buy the policy depending on the expectant life of the ill patient. When the patient passes away, investors get the money they initially put into the case. Sandel says that many times patients are called constantly by their investors asking about their condition but many times have the wrong intention. Investors frequently ask for health updates to know when the patient dies so they can collect the money. This is absolutely horrifying.
Actual Text 2: “Like viaticals, death pools are morally disquieting because they traffic in morbidity. But unlike viaticles, they serve no socially useful purpose. They are strictly a form of gambling, a source of profit and amusement.”(Sandel; 143)
Response 2: When has it ever been ethical to bet on people’s lives. Until I read this part of the book I had no idea there were websites that enable such atrocities. This quote has a similar opinion and voice that I have regarding this topic. It is frightening to think that people actually enjoy betting on when others lives will end. Sandel depicts this new death poll phenomenon by what they reveal “about the moral fate of insurance in a market-driven age” (Sandel 143).
Actual Text 1: “ Cocoa is the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy” (FTNR; 13).
Actual Text 2: “Mitrata has, for nearly ten years, provided food, shelter, education, and perhaps most importantly, a loving home for nearly 100 children in and around the Kathmandu Valley” (FTNR; 12).
Analysis 1: This quote really spoke to me for several reasons. The Kuapa Kokoo Cocoa Farmers Union rely so heavily on cocoa to survive that without this union over 35,000+ farmers and families would be affected. I think this is bewildering to think that without the need for cocoa, numerous people would be affected. When trying to put this into perspective into my life I can’t think of a single thing that drives my life so heavily. It is amazing that a union like this has enabled so many people.
Analysis 2: Nanda and her husband Ganesh have greatly moved me with their kindness. Nanda had an “extraordinarily painful childhood” and had a vision to help children in need in Nepal. Fair Trade helped transform Nanda’s vision into a reality and now a means of living for her and her family. I find this truly inspiring and a beautiful act of compassion.
Actual Text: 1) Fair Trade is not about giving and taking; it’s not about handouts. It is about mutuality and respect, because we all need each other…. The buyer seeks out and occasionally pays a bit more, knowing that the profit form the sale goes directly to the producer, not through multiple layers of people who each skim off a bit of the profit. (Hoffhine and Farrell, pg. 14-15) 2) $90 cost of average slave. (Disposable People Video)
Actual Response: 1) The Fair Trade market embodies a completely different set of ideals compared to consumer market. They encourage artisans not to compete with one another but to conjoin ideas and help each other. The focus is on enabling artists to educate themselves about the various techniques and designs used to create their unique craft. This concept of communally sharing ones unique craft in order to strengthen the entire group’s quality as a whole is what makes Fair Trade so successful. It is not about the competition and who beats whom. It’s simply about creating the most unique products for the public.
2) After watching this two-minute clip about slavery, it almost seemed as though I was slapped in the face with the harsh reality of this day and age. I am obviously not under the impression that slavery is completely abolished but had little understanding of just how large of an issue it continues to be today. It seems almost unfathomable to put the price of solely ninety dollars on a person’s life. Putting any type of number on a human’s life seems outlandish and disgusting. It should be illegal, right? Although this is a huge generalization, majority of students at Fordham University could lose $90 and be able to recover in only a matter of a couple days. The fact that someone in such “modern times” still has the ability to purchase a person for such a small amount of money shows how prominent the issue of slavery continues to be.
Wed Nov 20, 2013 3:55 am
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