Humanities 1100
Reflection: I have come to learn that freedom means many things, but
most importantly I’ve learned that freedom is not free. Freedom comes at a cost that every American
has to pay in order for us to continue to have our freedoms. As Americans, we are responsible to be good
citizens as part of the price we pay. By
this I mean striving harder each and every day so that we can become the best
person we can be. This is because I
believe that being a good citizen ultimately means being a good person. I feel like being a good citizen is my
individual responsibility to society. To
fulfill this responsibility I try to be respectful, honest, trustworthy,
compassionate, accountable for my actions, considerate of others opinions,
aware of the world around me, aware of other’s needs, and helpful in any way I
can be. Another responsibility Americans
all have it to think of how we can make life better for future
generations.
My personal philosophy on my individual rights is that every human being has certain eternal, natural rights and these rights should be protected so that they are never taken away. Freedoms are the same way. There are freedoms that every human being is entitled to and these freedoms need protecting. Our country sets laws in place to try to protect our rights and freedoms. People in each community should obey and support the officers who are there to enforce the laws so that we can all be safe and our rights and freedoms will not be abused.
Before I took this course I had never thought about what it took to be a good citizen or a good member of society. I didn’t realize that our government relies on people just as much as people rely on the government to help us out. In order for our system of government to work, we have to be good people and follow the laws of the land. If none of us paid any attention to the laws governing our land then the government would be useless. This is why we have a duty to our country to uphold the laws.
I think the most influential activity that I did in this class was participate in the online discussions. I learned a lot from this course as I would read through the opinions of my classmates on the discussion board and try to form my own opinion of the topic. I would often take time to research the topic online and read through the course material so that I could get multiple perspectives on the issue before adding my say in things. One of the things that I think I learned the most from through taking this class was that sometimes we think we know all the facts before we have done any research, but most of the time we are wrong when we assume this. This happened to me frequently when I first looked at the assignments I was given for this class. I would assume that I knew everything there was to know about a certain topic from things I have heard, etc. But then when I would go to research the topic, I saw how little I actually knew. I am grateful that I had this humbling experience because it made me realize a principle that would help me in my future as I get more involved in politics.
The principle I learned was that issues that come up in the news usually contain lots of biases and only give us one side of the issue. In order to fully understand what is going on, we need to do our own research and look for biases and opinions in what we see on television, the internet, and in writing. Thorough research is important in order to see issues from different perspectives in order to be aware of the full situation. Part of being a citizen is being well informed about what is going on in the world and in our country. Taking this Humanities class has helped me know how to become a better citizen.
My personal philosophy on my individual rights is that every human being has certain eternal, natural rights and these rights should be protected so that they are never taken away. Freedoms are the same way. There are freedoms that every human being is entitled to and these freedoms need protecting. Our country sets laws in place to try to protect our rights and freedoms. People in each community should obey and support the officers who are there to enforce the laws so that we can all be safe and our rights and freedoms will not be abused.
Before I took this course I had never thought about what it took to be a good citizen or a good member of society. I didn’t realize that our government relies on people just as much as people rely on the government to help us out. In order for our system of government to work, we have to be good people and follow the laws of the land. If none of us paid any attention to the laws governing our land then the government would be useless. This is why we have a duty to our country to uphold the laws.
I think the most influential activity that I did in this class was participate in the online discussions. I learned a lot from this course as I would read through the opinions of my classmates on the discussion board and try to form my own opinion of the topic. I would often take time to research the topic online and read through the course material so that I could get multiple perspectives on the issue before adding my say in things. One of the things that I think I learned the most from through taking this class was that sometimes we think we know all the facts before we have done any research, but most of the time we are wrong when we assume this. This happened to me frequently when I first looked at the assignments I was given for this class. I would assume that I knew everything there was to know about a certain topic from things I have heard, etc. But then when I would go to research the topic, I saw how little I actually knew. I am grateful that I had this humbling experience because it made me realize a principle that would help me in my future as I get more involved in politics.
The principle I learned was that issues that come up in the news usually contain lots of biases and only give us one side of the issue. In order to fully understand what is going on, we need to do our own research and look for biases and opinions in what we see on television, the internet, and in writing. Thorough research is important in order to see issues from different perspectives in order to be aware of the full situation. Part of being a citizen is being well informed about what is going on in the world and in our country. Taking this Humanities class has helped me know how to become a better citizen.
Journal 4 Questions
1. Using your readings by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Henry David Thoreau
as a starting point, please think about what a
“citizen” is. Use first person
"I" in your response, and ask yourself what
makes you a "good citizen?"
Consider the responsibilities of being a
citizen to self, community, our society, and our country. How would you define
a "good citizen" of the United States? How does Thoreau
define a good citizen? Would Martin
Luther King, Jr. agree with your definition, or with Thoreau’s definition? Please give direct quotes to support your
thinking, and always dig deeper into your explanation as well.
There are many responsibilities of being a good citizen. To be a good citizen I try to strive harder every day so I can become the best person I can be. I believe being a good citizen means being a good person. I try to be respectful, honest, trustworthy, compassionate, accountable for my actions, considerate of others opinions, aware of the world around me, aware of other’s needs, and helpful in any way I can be. I think I make a good citizen because I care not only for myself, but for those around me, and I try to think of how to make life better for future generations.
Right now I am being a good citizen by going to school. Going to school helps out the nation because then I can get a better job and help contribute to the economy. Education also helps me broaden my knowledge and think critically which can help me in making informed decisions as I vote and participate in other civic duties. I always try to work hard in my classes and get good grades to show that I care and that education is important.
Another thing that makes me a good citizen is that I work hard. I am a nanny and I take pride in my work. I always try to exceed the expectations that are set for me in my job by cleaning the people’s houses that I nanny for. Going the extra mile helps improve the community because then others are inspired to go the extra mile and do something for someone else too.
To be a good citizen for the community I try to look around me and find people that need help and support. I try to be a good neighbor and look out for the safety of others. I participate in community service projects and have even implemented my own service projects to help beautify the community. By doing this I hope to build pride in my neighborhood so we all feel like we can contribute.
To be a good citizen in our society I believe it is good to listen to or read the news to know what is happening in my area, in this nation, and in the world. I am not the best at this right now, but I hope to improve because being informed about issues in the world around me is important. If I am not well informed I will not be able to have my say on things going on near me. I need to look at issues from both sides and look deeper for biases in the news that could be there.
To be a good citizen for our country I try to support the government in decisions they make that I feel are right. A good citizen is someone who tries their best to obey the laws that are just, and peacefully fight the laws that are unjust. I am not the best at this right now but I believe a good citizen gets involved in political campaigns and learns about the people running to be an informed voter. I have voted a few times and have tried to do some research beforehand so I am not voting for just anyone who is in my political party, but someone I believe will do a good job in the position.
Thoreau believes that “a people, as well as an individual, must do justice, cost what it may” (Allen 149). Thoreau says that “the only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think is right” (Allen 148). This is how Thoreau governed himself and how he defined himself as a citizen. Thoreau said that most of the men who serve the state are considered “good citizens,” but these men are “not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies” (Allen 149). He said that these men were on the same level as “wood and earth and stones” because they do not use their brains, but allow themselves to be used how the state wants without questioning why (Allen 149).
Thoreau believed “That government is best which governs not at all” (Allen 147). He firmly believed that governments were mainly inexpedient and hold us back from all that the people can make our nation become. Thoreau says “Law never made men a whit more just.” (Allen 148). If there was a law Thoreau felt was unjust, he believed a good citizen should break it. He said “Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine [the government]” (Allen 152).
I think Martin Luther King, Jr. would agree with both mine and Thoreau’s definition. Martin Luther based his ideas off of Thoreau’s and in his Letter from Birmingham Jail said, “One has not only a legal but moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” (Allen 241). This goes along with what I believe as well since I said earlier that a good citizen is someone who tries their best to obey the laws that are just, and peacefully fight the laws that are unjust. We have to deal with unjust laws this way because “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Allen 239).
Works Cited
Allen, Paul, and Jennifer Bauman. It Begins with Our Questions: A Thematic Introduction to the Humanities. Plymouth: Hayden McNeil, 2013. Print.
There are many responsibilities of being a good citizen. To be a good citizen I try to strive harder every day so I can become the best person I can be. I believe being a good citizen means being a good person. I try to be respectful, honest, trustworthy, compassionate, accountable for my actions, considerate of others opinions, aware of the world around me, aware of other’s needs, and helpful in any way I can be. I think I make a good citizen because I care not only for myself, but for those around me, and I try to think of how to make life better for future generations.
Right now I am being a good citizen by going to school. Going to school helps out the nation because then I can get a better job and help contribute to the economy. Education also helps me broaden my knowledge and think critically which can help me in making informed decisions as I vote and participate in other civic duties. I always try to work hard in my classes and get good grades to show that I care and that education is important.
Another thing that makes me a good citizen is that I work hard. I am a nanny and I take pride in my work. I always try to exceed the expectations that are set for me in my job by cleaning the people’s houses that I nanny for. Going the extra mile helps improve the community because then others are inspired to go the extra mile and do something for someone else too.
To be a good citizen for the community I try to look around me and find people that need help and support. I try to be a good neighbor and look out for the safety of others. I participate in community service projects and have even implemented my own service projects to help beautify the community. By doing this I hope to build pride in my neighborhood so we all feel like we can contribute.
To be a good citizen in our society I believe it is good to listen to or read the news to know what is happening in my area, in this nation, and in the world. I am not the best at this right now, but I hope to improve because being informed about issues in the world around me is important. If I am not well informed I will not be able to have my say on things going on near me. I need to look at issues from both sides and look deeper for biases in the news that could be there.
To be a good citizen for our country I try to support the government in decisions they make that I feel are right. A good citizen is someone who tries their best to obey the laws that are just, and peacefully fight the laws that are unjust. I am not the best at this right now but I believe a good citizen gets involved in political campaigns and learns about the people running to be an informed voter. I have voted a few times and have tried to do some research beforehand so I am not voting for just anyone who is in my political party, but someone I believe will do a good job in the position.
Thoreau believes that “a people, as well as an individual, must do justice, cost what it may” (Allen 149). Thoreau says that “the only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think is right” (Allen 148). This is how Thoreau governed himself and how he defined himself as a citizen. Thoreau said that most of the men who serve the state are considered “good citizens,” but these men are “not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies” (Allen 149). He said that these men were on the same level as “wood and earth and stones” because they do not use their brains, but allow themselves to be used how the state wants without questioning why (Allen 149).
Thoreau believed “That government is best which governs not at all” (Allen 147). He firmly believed that governments were mainly inexpedient and hold us back from all that the people can make our nation become. Thoreau says “Law never made men a whit more just.” (Allen 148). If there was a law Thoreau felt was unjust, he believed a good citizen should break it. He said “Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine [the government]” (Allen 152).
I think Martin Luther King, Jr. would agree with both mine and Thoreau’s definition. Martin Luther based his ideas off of Thoreau’s and in his Letter from Birmingham Jail said, “One has not only a legal but moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” (Allen 241). This goes along with what I believe as well since I said earlier that a good citizen is someone who tries their best to obey the laws that are just, and peacefully fight the laws that are unjust. We have to deal with unjust laws this way because “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Allen 239).
Works Cited
Allen, Paul, and Jennifer Bauman. It Begins with Our Questions: A Thematic Introduction to the Humanities. Plymouth: Hayden McNeil, 2013. Print.
2. Explain your personal philosophy regarding your individual rights, freedoms, morality, values and responsibilities, especially to the LAWS, your COMMUNITY, and your COUNTRY. What responsibilities come with being free? Who decides what these responsibilities are? Do these responsibilities require enforcement? If so, by whom? (500 words minimum)
My personal philosophy on my individual rights is that every human being has certain eternal, natural rights and these rights should be protected so that they are never taken away. Freedoms are the same way. There are freedoms that every human being is entitled to and these freedoms need protecting. Our country sets laws in place to try to protect our rights and freedoms. People in each community should obey and support the officers who are there to enforce the laws so that we can all be safe and our rights and freedoms will not be abused.
My philosophy on morality is that it is knowing the difference between right and wrong and trying to follow what is right. I think that everyone is born with a conscience and knows deep down what is right, but it is their choice if they follow it or not. Some people might have twisted conceptions of morality and will ignore their conscience until it might even leave them. Thoreau believed that everyone was given a conscience to decide for himself if what he did was right or wrong. He said “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then?” (Allen 148). My belief is that if everyone was to listen solely and purely to their consciences, there would never be any problems. People would help each other and do only good because I believe people are inherently good. The problem is that there is the adversary that is trying to cloud our judgement and make it so we do not listen to our conscience as well as we should.
Values go along with morality. I believe values are principles and standards that we try to guide our lives by. I think most everyone has a certain set of values that they try to stick to, to guide their behavior. The values we set for ourselves keep our ethics and moral standards in check. If everyone lived up to their morals and values, everyone would obey the just laws that the government has set and our communities and even our whole country would be a better place to live in.
Responsibilities are different for everyone as individuals because we all have different roles in life. Our responsibilities differ with our families, friends, job, school, religion, extracurricular activities, and so on. I have different duties that go along with each of the things I choose to participate in. I believe responsibilities give us goals because we can always strive to live up to the level expected of us. If we live up to our responsibilities as citizens, our laws would be kept and we would take advantage of our right to vote. We would be more involved in using our rights as people to feel like we are taking part in governing.
There are many responsibilities that come with being a free nation. Because of the many rights we possess we have equally the amount of responsibilities to protect those rights. It is our responsibility as a nation to defend our constitution and the rights we are given. Another responsibility of being a free country is respecting other’s rights. We need to understand that they have the same freedom that we do and need to respect them in their differences of expression, religion, and other choices and opinions. Our responsibilities also include being informed on government issues, voting and sharing our voice in political decisions, defending our country if it is under attack, and paying our state and federal taxes.
I believe the people and the government both come up with these responsibilities so we can keep the freedoms we enjoy in our nation. If we don’t abide by the laws and responsibilities then there is enforcement by state and government officers that is needed or else people would abuse their freedom and our country would fall apart. I believe we have to be united and enforce the laws of the land or there would be lots of chaos, confusion, and war.
Works Cited
Allen, Paul, and Jennifer Bauman. It Begins with Our Questions: A Thematic Introduction to the Humanities. Plymouth: Hayden McNeil, 2013. Print.
My personal philosophy on my individual rights is that every human being has certain eternal, natural rights and these rights should be protected so that they are never taken away. Freedoms are the same way. There are freedoms that every human being is entitled to and these freedoms need protecting. Our country sets laws in place to try to protect our rights and freedoms. People in each community should obey and support the officers who are there to enforce the laws so that we can all be safe and our rights and freedoms will not be abused.
My philosophy on morality is that it is knowing the difference between right and wrong and trying to follow what is right. I think that everyone is born with a conscience and knows deep down what is right, but it is their choice if they follow it or not. Some people might have twisted conceptions of morality and will ignore their conscience until it might even leave them. Thoreau believed that everyone was given a conscience to decide for himself if what he did was right or wrong. He said “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then?” (Allen 148). My belief is that if everyone was to listen solely and purely to their consciences, there would never be any problems. People would help each other and do only good because I believe people are inherently good. The problem is that there is the adversary that is trying to cloud our judgement and make it so we do not listen to our conscience as well as we should.
Values go along with morality. I believe values are principles and standards that we try to guide our lives by. I think most everyone has a certain set of values that they try to stick to, to guide their behavior. The values we set for ourselves keep our ethics and moral standards in check. If everyone lived up to their morals and values, everyone would obey the just laws that the government has set and our communities and even our whole country would be a better place to live in.
Responsibilities are different for everyone as individuals because we all have different roles in life. Our responsibilities differ with our families, friends, job, school, religion, extracurricular activities, and so on. I have different duties that go along with each of the things I choose to participate in. I believe responsibilities give us goals because we can always strive to live up to the level expected of us. If we live up to our responsibilities as citizens, our laws would be kept and we would take advantage of our right to vote. We would be more involved in using our rights as people to feel like we are taking part in governing.
There are many responsibilities that come with being a free nation. Because of the many rights we possess we have equally the amount of responsibilities to protect those rights. It is our responsibility as a nation to defend our constitution and the rights we are given. Another responsibility of being a free country is respecting other’s rights. We need to understand that they have the same freedom that we do and need to respect them in their differences of expression, religion, and other choices and opinions. Our responsibilities also include being informed on government issues, voting and sharing our voice in political decisions, defending our country if it is under attack, and paying our state and federal taxes.
I believe the people and the government both come up with these responsibilities so we can keep the freedoms we enjoy in our nation. If we don’t abide by the laws and responsibilities then there is enforcement by state and government officers that is needed or else people would abuse their freedom and our country would fall apart. I believe we have to be united and enforce the laws of the land or there would be lots of chaos, confusion, and war.
Works Cited
Allen, Paul, and Jennifer Bauman. It Begins with Our Questions: A Thematic Introduction to the Humanities. Plymouth: Hayden McNeil, 2013. Print.
3. What
should be done with people – preachers, iconoclasts, educators, or anyone else
– who seemingly undermine the values of the society where they live such as
Thoreau was doing in New England, or Martin Luther King, Jr. in the South? What
seems to be the proper relation between the individual and the community, and
between the local community and society in the broader sense? Consider Kay
Anderson’s attempt to stop Michael Moore from speaking at UVU a couple of years
ago because “this man does not represent the values of this community.”
It’s hard to know what should be done with people who undermine the values of the society where they live. Thoreau did this by refusing to pay taxes and writing books about controversial issues, Martin Luther King, Jr did this by starting non-violent campaigns to protest slavery and the segregation that existed, and the student body president and vice president at UVU did this by asking Michael Moore, a liberal, to come speak in Utah, a very conservative state.
Idealistically, the relationship between the individual and the community should be synergistic. The individual should uplift and support the community and the community as a whole should help the individual aspire to something greater than what an individual can do on their own. It goes both ways. The local community should then uplift the society and the society should uplift the government. With everything and everyone working together to make the nation greater.
I think the thing we need to remember is the United States is a free nation where each individual has the freedom to express themselves and speak out. Freedom isn’t free, we have responsibilities as citizens and one of them is to respect other’s views and opinions even if they are different than our own. I think most people have a hard time with accepting that.
When Kay Anderson tried to stop Michael Moore from coming to UVU to speak, he was taking away the liberal’s freedom of speech too. I think most of American’s can relate to Kay because I think he felt it was his civic duty to protect his community from someone who’s beliefs differed from the majority of the community’s views in which he lived. I can’t say I agree with Michael Moore’s views, but I know that part of living in America is giving everyone a chance to say what they believe in and respecting the differences from our own personal beliefs.
Just like Michael Moore going to UVU and being asked to speak about his liberal views in one of the most conservative states in America, Martin Luther King, Jr encountered a similar situation in Birmingham. People would not listen to him, and even threw him in jail because he believed slavery should be done away with. Martin Luther King, Jr was acting on his freedom of speech, but was denied it at Birmingham. It was hard because Birmingham was “probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” (Allen 239). People did not take the time to look at the big picture, consider what he was saying about the blacks, or realize the injustices that were happening to them. They did not want to listen to his beliefs and denied him his freedoms.
To be free, we need to respect everyone’s views and remember that everyone needs to have the freedom to speak. We should have the respect to listen impartially, even if we do not agree, and hope others will do the same for us when we express our own views. Part of being a free nation is accepting that we will be exposed to a variety of opinions. We do not have to support the other view but we need to respect it.
Works Cited
Allen, Paul, and Jennifer Bauman. It Begins with Our Questions: A Thematic Introduction to the Humanities. Plymouth: Hayden McNeil, 2013. Print.
It’s hard to know what should be done with people who undermine the values of the society where they live. Thoreau did this by refusing to pay taxes and writing books about controversial issues, Martin Luther King, Jr did this by starting non-violent campaigns to protest slavery and the segregation that existed, and the student body president and vice president at UVU did this by asking Michael Moore, a liberal, to come speak in Utah, a very conservative state.
Idealistically, the relationship between the individual and the community should be synergistic. The individual should uplift and support the community and the community as a whole should help the individual aspire to something greater than what an individual can do on their own. It goes both ways. The local community should then uplift the society and the society should uplift the government. With everything and everyone working together to make the nation greater.
I think the thing we need to remember is the United States is a free nation where each individual has the freedom to express themselves and speak out. Freedom isn’t free, we have responsibilities as citizens and one of them is to respect other’s views and opinions even if they are different than our own. I think most people have a hard time with accepting that.
When Kay Anderson tried to stop Michael Moore from coming to UVU to speak, he was taking away the liberal’s freedom of speech too. I think most of American’s can relate to Kay because I think he felt it was his civic duty to protect his community from someone who’s beliefs differed from the majority of the community’s views in which he lived. I can’t say I agree with Michael Moore’s views, but I know that part of living in America is giving everyone a chance to say what they believe in and respecting the differences from our own personal beliefs.
Just like Michael Moore going to UVU and being asked to speak about his liberal views in one of the most conservative states in America, Martin Luther King, Jr encountered a similar situation in Birmingham. People would not listen to him, and even threw him in jail because he believed slavery should be done away with. Martin Luther King, Jr was acting on his freedom of speech, but was denied it at Birmingham. It was hard because Birmingham was “probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” (Allen 239). People did not take the time to look at the big picture, consider what he was saying about the blacks, or realize the injustices that were happening to them. They did not want to listen to his beliefs and denied him his freedoms.
To be free, we need to respect everyone’s views and remember that everyone needs to have the freedom to speak. We should have the respect to listen impartially, even if we do not agree, and hope others will do the same for us when we express our own views. Part of being a free nation is accepting that we will be exposed to a variety of opinions. We do not have to support the other view but we need to respect it.
Works Cited
Allen, Paul, and Jennifer Bauman. It Begins with Our Questions: A Thematic Introduction to the Humanities. Plymouth: Hayden McNeil, 2013. Print.