1. One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the major idea of the section.
Why study morality? Because we make decisions about morality so often in our everyday lives, I believe that, for several reasons, studying morality is vital to understanding who we are as moral beings (which just so happens to go back to Socrates' quote, "The unexamined life is not worth living."). First, because every person's moral code determines how they observe and react to various circumstances they encounter, understanding how we view morality can help us to see why we make the choices that we do and perhaps begin to make better choices. For example, if a person does not find drinking underage is morally wrong, that person will continue to drink because their conscience will not contradict them (that is, unless an outside force convinces that person to change his/her ways). Also, by observing the sort of literature, music, and movies that we find most appealing may help us to understand how each of us feels about morality. If, say, a person loves the movie, Mean Girls, and hates the series of Kill Bill movies, that person probably has a good moral stance on violence in the media. Lastly, it is extremely important to study morality because it is the only way that we can learn (mostly through authority) what actions/thoughts/etc. are considered moral and immoral and through this, we can strive to become better people. Through this semester's study of morality, I think that we can learn much about what it means to be a moral person.
2. List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.
a. Cite a song that has a strong moral message that affects you even today. - The song In the Beginning (from the musical Children of Eden) emphasizes the moral dilemma of possessing that virtue of free will. In the lines, "Our hands can choose to drop the knife/our hearts can choose to stop the hating/for every moment of our life/is the beginning..." Stephen Schwartz emphasizes the ability to choose good (dropping the knife, or not killing) or evil (killing people). Also in this song, the characters of Japheth and Yonah, struggle to find Eden which they know is, "the hardest journey". I think that Eden can represent a life where good moral decisions are simple and easy to make and a perfect world. It is every person's goal to search for "Eden" just like Japheth and Yonah, which we accomplish by living in moral stature.
b. Why do people do wrong? - I think that two of the most common reasons why people do wrong are first, because we would much rather help ourselves (even if it means lying cheating or stealing) than do what is morally correct and second, very often it is more fun to do things which are morally wrong. Some examples of these points alive in my life consist of the following stories:
1. A few months ago, I was working on a physics web-assign project with a friend of mine. We have an interesting relationship, such that we can be overtly competitive when it comes to some of the silliest things (such a clothes, or in this instance, a physics score). Well, because the project was so hard, I let him use up his submissions on web-assign so that we could get the correct answer while I took advantage of this and got all the correct answers. I used my friend as an "insurance" against wrong answers, which is morally wrong.
2. Talking about people behind their backs is something we never want to happen to us, yet most people have a lot of fun participating in. I am definitely guilty of doing this especially during Fiddler rehearsalsˇK (It is unbelievable how much theatre kids gossip!) This is obviously wrong because we are spreading ideas or news about people which may or may not be true, but is almost always hurtful to some degree.
c. Cite one value you have unconsciously acquired from those with whom you spend time. - I think that the most prominent example of me acquiring values from a friend was through Maria and Kevin Becvar. The Becvar family is very well known for being "the nicest family in the world", and I think that through spending most of my freshman year to the present with them has had very positive affects on me. Before this time, I was very shy, quiet, etc. and did not like to speak out very much until I met Maria and Kevin. By spending a lot of time around this family, I think that I have, in some amount, acquired their traits of outward and open kindness towards all people that I find so charming about them. I don't think that I planned on gaining these traits, but was a natural progression of my inherent nature which they helped to bring out.
3. One image that reminds you of key ideas.
"Kevin and Jon" by Lindsey Trout. Picture taken by Lindsey Trout during Youth Sing Praise 2005.
I think this image is a perfect example of morality because it shows my role model, Kevin Becvar, and me. It shows how through spending time with him, I have become much more like him (at least in the fact that he has made me a more openly nice person). The fact that we are wearing the same shirt is just coincidence.
4. One question you should keep with you to ponder.
In a world where “nice guys finish last”, how does studying to be more moral people help us to live fuller, happier lives?
5. What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study?
I think that I need to examine my actions towards others more carefully for me to become a more moral person. By making conscious efforts to keep my actions pure of lies, deceit, and cunning, I can help to find people who feel the same way as me and can help me grow in my relationships with good people who can help me to grow even more in my moral state.
