I think that the key idea of the section would be bringing all of the three topics, just war, medical ethics, and business ethics, together, and looking at how to apply them in our lives. I really thought that the movies we watched, whether on the My Lai Massacre, the challenges doctors in hospitals have to make every day, or the way some businessmen run their companies that it moral and just, were the most helpful. One can study all they want about a particular topic, but until they see real situations, like those we saw in the videos, they are unable to grasp the true difficulty that sometimes presents itself in trying to find what is right. Furthermore, I think that, while these are greast guides, they too can only do so much. For me though, they were the most helpful because they gave physical tangible situations that we can look at and try to apply to our own lives when we have to make a decision of the sort.
2. List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this section.
First, I think that the video on the Mi Lai Massacre was very touching. Vietnam was never something that I really thought about, yet this video taught me a lot about it, showing interviews with soldiers, and showing footage. I think that our history book makes the men out to be awful criminals who are completely indifferent to what they did. I'm not saying that what they did was right, but I really saw the emotion in some of the men, and how much they really resented what they had done, even trying to commit suicide. I think that this really taught me to make sure I don't get "caught up in the moment," no matter what I am doing, whether it is driving, or in an argument. This could lead to me doing something that I would really resent, and I don't want that.
Second, Tim O'Brien's book "The Things They Carried" and the exerpt we read from it. I thought it was really interesting to get a glimpse into the mind of someone who was seriously troubled about the draft. It made me wonder what Iwould do if I were put in that situation. To be honest, I'm really not sure. I know that I should go serve my country, and ultimately I would, but I don't think it would be for the right reasons. I would never be able to be brave enough to volunteer my life for my country. I would like to think so, but I know it would be hard. I wonder if I would do it more out of fear of the law, and because I am ordered to do it. I found it very interesting, and hope to have time this summer to look more into it.
Third, I would like to remember Aaron Feuerstein and his Malden Mills. I was really impressed how he kept paying his employees full wages, even when the factory was being rebuilt after burning down. It was a sad that he was considered a hero for doing the right thing. I thought that it was cool that he let his religion influence his choice. I think that people like him do so much better with their empleyees not only because they treat them well, but in turn, their employees respect them, and I would hope that if I am ever privelaged enough to be in that situation, that I would do the same.
3. A picture that reminds me of a topic in this section.
Next time I am presented with a tough moral dilemma, how will I react? Will I remember what we looked at in class? Will I think rationally, yet productively? Will I make the right decision?
I will not be able to know until a time like this comes along, but I would hope that I will.
5. To make me a better person after studying this, I would especially like to remember all of those who did make the right moral choice. They seemed so content, and like such role models, rather than those who made the wrong choice and wound up in jail. I would like to be like one of those role models, like Jim Goodnight.