Ignorance vs. Tolerance

Ignorance is the root of many problems in today’s society. This topic is discussed throughout the article, “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism”. People think that their approach on things is the right one and that everyone else who has a different approach is wrong. People think they always have the right solution, but in reality there isn’t always a right and wrong solution. There can be multiple solutions, and multiple ways to reaching a solution.  However, many people are so thick headed that they are unable to see that there are more ways to do things, other than their own. People do not care about anything besides what affects them, or what their opinion is.  These differences come into play when different cultures mesh together in one area.

            Each culture brings its own morals. These morals are important to the people of this culture, but people outside the culture don’t respect the morals. The reasoning behind this is that it is an instinct to human nature to reject something that is unfamiliar.  This disrespect or ignorance is what creates many issues in society today.  An example from this article would be the Eskimos. In their culture, it is normal to do things such as leave elderly feeble people out in the snow, killing female babies with parents’ discretion, and the head of their tribe was able to “get regular sexual access to other men’s wives.”  The people outside of the culture did not look upon these things fondly.

            These traditions lead into the classic novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.  In this novel the missionaries come to Onkonkwo’s village and try to take over with their Christianity, schools, etc. However, Onkonkwo does not allow this to happen willingly. This is an example of how conflict occurs when multiple cultures collide.  Because the missionaries were forcing what they viewed as “right” upon Onkonkwo’s people, conflicts arose.

            If people would not force their opinions and such upon others then the world would be more peaceful. I personally don’t like to be ignorant toward things, which are unfamiliar to me. I like to embrace newness with open arms, as I see change in a positive light as opposed to change being bad. If we never allow change to happen then we will never be able to make the world a better place.  I found this article incredibly interesting because on a daily basis I see cultural differences and how people deal with them. With the new year approaching I hope that the amount of tolerance people have out numbers the amount of ignorance.

Speaking the Truth

Oedipus was a truthful, legendary man. He was given the plague to protect his people and fight the man who killed their great leader. Little did he know that he was protecting his people from himself. The man he killed was his father, and not knowing this he continued on with his life as if nothing happened. That was until he realized that he married his mother, and that he was the one to murder his father, the great king of the land. Initially Oedipus was astonished that he was the one who he was actually searching for. After long contemplation, he gouged his eyes out and then exiled himself from others. This act demonstrates honoring the truth. Oedipus told his people that he would punish the man who killed their leader and that was what he did. He followed up on what he promised his people he would do. Essentially he spoke the truth and stuck with it, and did not shy away from it but face the truth and learn to accept it.

Truth is a concept that is difficult for mankind to wrap their head around. For each person has their own personal definition of what truth is and what it should be. According to the dictionary truth is a noun that means “sincerity in action, character, and utterance.”  The truth is the opposite of a lie, it is what is real. Sometimes, the truth is difficult to find in today’s society. People like to stretch the truth in order to make them look better. Is this the right thing to do? Well, that answer is differs depending on the person who you ask. For me, I feel that the pure truth is more important than a lie that makes you look good because ultimately you should do what is morally right not what will make you look socially better than others. In today’s society, I find it difficult to find many people who honor their word. You often want to believe that people are telling the truth and honoring their word, but in reality you know that they are not. This disappointment and unsatisfactory let down is a constant. I try my best to always honor my word and tell the truth and I wish my peers would do the same. I find that lately people not telling the truth is becoming more frequent. Not telling the truth can hurt people, but those who are telling these lies do not realize their impact. It is unfortunate that this is what our society has come down to. Will the truth ever become pure again? Will the truth ever over power lies? I hope that these things occur, but until then I keep hoping that the future becomes better than the present.

Leaders Contribute to the Destiny of Their People

               Is a leader a person who holds a position in office? Or, is leadership something that comes natural to people? Who defines who our leaders are? Leadership has a large amount of meanings for everybody seems to have their own definition of what a leader is. There are people who hold positions of leadership but are not necessarily qualified leaders. The position of leadership just allows people to be heard by those who are followers. According to the dictionary leadership is defined as the capacity to lead. I personally feel that a leader is one who goes first and then leads by example, in order to motivate those who follow them. A leader must have a commitment to the goal that they are striving to achieve regardless of how many follows they have accumulated. In essence, a leader should lead based upon what they think is right and not for the status, recognition, or any other perks that a leader receives.

            In today’s society people do not know what to do unless somebody tells them what to do, what to believe in, what to wear, what not to wear, what is deemed as acceptable and unacceptable, etc. Where people look for these answers is from their leaders. Leaders can be presidents, teachers, peers, celebrities, etc. is all considered to be leaders. If people do not have someone to look to for advice then they become lost and some are struck with a feeling of panic. This is the reasoning why leaders are so important to society because they maintain justice, order, and provide people with a sense of security.

            People follow their leaders religiously causing their destiny to be defined by their leader. If a leader does poor job leading then society will come crashing down. Leaders have to fight for their people even if it means they must put themselves in harm’s way. Leaders must have the ability to take risks and not be afraid of the possible repercussions.

            In the poem Beowulf the main character, Beowulf, is the leader to his people, the Geats. Beowulf battles three antagonists throughout the poem. In his first battle Beowulf defends his people by killing Grendel. Grendel is a beast who has killed several Geats and has been attacking the home of warrior in mead hall.  In Beowulf’s third battle, he puts up a fight against Grendel’s mother because she is threatening to attack the Geats. In order to protect his people from being harmed, Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother. Beowulf’s third battle is against an unnamed dragon. However, the outcome of this battle is not favorable for Beowulf as he ends up dying as a result. Beowulf refused to accept help from his warriors in this battle because he wanted to fight the dragon himself so that he would be harmed instead of any of his people.

               Beowulf exemplified leadership qualities numerous times throughout the poem. He was constantly risking his life in order to save his people. These acts that Beowulf performed were crucial to the destiny of his people, the Geats. If Beowulf had not fought in these battles then the Geats would have been in danger. This shows how the destiny of society can be dependent upon the actions of a leader.

What defines an individual?

What makes you different from the people around you, or is there even a difference between you and your peers? Do you like to be different from everyone else, or do you wish that you could be more like the people you are surrounded by? What separates us from the people who we are surrounded by is what is known as individualism. Individualism is a concept that has always been and will always be difficult for people to conquer. In today's society people pride themselves on being an individual. But I ask myself what truly defines someone as being an individual? Is it the people you are friends with, your family, the clothes you wear, where you live, where you go to school, how intelligent you are... What is it? There are always people that attempt to help others become an "individual", but in reality these people are just trying to guide others to become more like them.

This summer as I read Invisible Man, The Fountainhead, and Power of One the concept of weather to be an individual or blend in with the crowd was a theme that was reoccurring throughout all three works of literature. The characters in these novels were continuously faced with hardships which helped define them as individuals. People that were influential in the characters' lives would try to guide them and help them become an individual, with the intentions that they knew what would be best for this character. Growing up in today’s society you want to be an individual, but you also want to please people as well. I found that this topic was really apparent in Invisible Man. The main character in Invisible Man was craving to have his own identity. However, he did not want to be different from other people, which is why he joined the brotherhood. As a member of the brotherhood he would give powerful speeches about topics which sometimes he has no opinion about, but because people cheered him on during his speeches he continued to speak. This character did not necessarily agree with the motives of the brotherhood, but because he wanted to belong to something so bad he allowed the opinions and thoughts of others control his life. Throughout this novel, the invisible man constantly searched for his identity but was never truly successful at holding onto it.

There is a fine balance between fitting in with others, and being their identical twin. I think it can be challenging to find this balance, but I personally came to terms with who I am and how I want to live my life after sophomore year. I enjoy being, what I consider to be, and individual. I don’t allow the opinions of others to influence how I live my life. I am sure that some people view me as a conformist to my peers, but I would disagree with them. I am content with the fact that I do things which are not seen as the norm. I enjoy setting trends as opposed to following them. The way I dress is solely based upon my own style, the way I treat others is how I would like others to treat me, I don’t judge people based on what others think of them, and I enjoy having my own independent thoughts and feelings. I believe that people discover their identity and how to be an individual at different ages. Some people may discover this at the age of ten while others it may take them until they are eighty years old. I think in high school everybody likes to believe they are unique but in reality everyone knows that all a teenager wants is to fit in with their peers. From reading Invisible Man, The Fountainhead, and Power of One I was inspired by the ways the main characters in these novels dealt with being an individual and how they were strong enough to fight for what they believe in.