Today we talked a lot about the phrase known as turning the other cheek. It is a phrase in Christian doctrine that refers to avoiding violence when confronted by an aggressor. In class we discussed if it was possible to follow all of Jesus’ ethics and we came to the conclusion that it was not. The main reason why we decided that it was difficult to obey Jesus’ principles was that they are not realistically useable in today’s society. Dr J. gave the example that if someone steals your pants, you are not going to give them your shirt. Even though we cannot use all of Jesus’ principles realistically in our lives, I feel we can use parts of them. Specifically, I believe the ideas based on the principle of turning the other cheek have, and will continue to be used successfully in society.
I think that people need to realize the benefits they can receive from using certain elements from the principle of turning the other cheek. I feel the most important element of this principle is the idea of pacifism. I think that if people responded to aggression by being passive then things would work out a lot better. People like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi confronted problems by being passive instead of trying to solve situations with force. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” I believe that if people used this principle in their lives, things would work out a lot better for them. I feel a major way in which people can use this principle is in dealing with others. If I were in a situation involving others, where I wanted something to work out in my favor, this principle would be extremely useful. An example of this would be any situation with a roommate. This principle could come into play if I told my roommate not to drink the last soda in the fridge, but he did anyways. Most people in my position would get mad at my roommate and start an argument. The reason why I say this is because I have seen numerous experiences in my life where people have had heated arguments over small issues such as my example. What people do not realize is that situations would work out much better if they avoided an argument all together.
Being passive in these types of situations works great because fighting negativity with negativity will not accomplish anything. If someone confronted me and called me a loser, saying something negative back will not accomplish anything. All that will happen is the negativity will be escalated until we get into a more intense argument or even a physical altercation. On the other hand, if I acted passive and kept positive then things would have worked out much better. Many people that I know will get into bad situations because they lack passiveness. Most people would be surprised once they realized how common this lack of passivity is in people’s lives. The other day, one of my friends received a message on his Facebook from someone we both knew in high school; he was a person that used to bully my friend a lot in high school. This other person saw my friend in person and was friendly, but his message said that things have not changed from high school, and he said many insulting things to my friend. My friend told me what happened, then he said that he responded with his own insults towards the other person; I was not surprised when he then told me how the situation escalated and he received negative messages from others. He was extremely upset and wanted my advice. I could not give him advice because he should not have responded to the insults in the first place. This situation basically describes my friends high school experience; he could never back down from any insults and this only caused him to be more hated. If he just turned the other cheek and ignored his aggressors then things in his life would be working out a lot better.
People like my friend have shown me the importance of turning the other cheek and that the principle needs to be used more often. For some reason, humans seem to want to win confrontations because they feel like they are losing if they act passively. I feel this way because I used to be a person who avoided acting passively. It is difficult to avoid responding to an aggressor because acting passively feels like you are backing down from a challenge. Even though it is difficult in most cases, people need to realize the benefits of turning the other cheek; backing down is well worth it.
Is there any situations in life when you should not act passively towards aggressors? And, If so, when should you not act passively?
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
In Response to Jennifer Johnston (2/5/10)
Q:"Are we really able to live how we want, or do we all just suck it up and go with the flow of society?"
This question is difficult to answer because different people have different ways of how they want to live. Some people feel that as long as they have a chance to better their life every day, they are able to live how they want; these people feel like they can live how they want as long as they have freedom. Most Americans feel as though they can live how they want because America offers the freedom to go after your dreams. This leads to the interesting idea that America’s opportunity may just be an illusion. Dr.j said that we are a country which has statistically, the least amount of people that have changed their socioeconomic status during their lifetime; this means that if your born lower-middle class, you are probably going to die lower-middle class. Even if America’s opportunity may be an illusion, it seems that you could still live how you wanted. I feel that many Americans put too much emphasis on great materialistic achievement instead of just being happy.
The question raises an interesting point on whether we can live how we want all while being in the flow of society. It seems that the question assumes that we cannot live how we want and go with the flow of society; it is difficult to prove that this statement is true because almost everyone goes with the flow of society in someway, and many people still seem to feel that they are able to live how they want. Many people feel that there are too many opportunities within society to feel as though it is impossible to live how you want. Even with that said, there are still groups of people that will argue that we are never truly free while we live within society. They believe that society tells us how to live our lives and it is not fair. It seems that this idea may be true because most of us have similar plans on how we are going to live our lives. Most teenagers who graduate from high school will go to college because society tells them it is the right thing to do. I believe that many young adults are not ready for college once they start. These people should only enter college when they are passionate about it. Most young adults think that once they graduate from college they will get a great job that will pay the money they want. Most of these people will realize that this idea for the future is just an illusion. Illusions like this are one of the major problems with our society today.
Even though I feel that society has problems, I agree with the people that think we can still live how we want within in society. With that said, I believe that people need to stop falling for the illusions that society provides. I believe that students who go to college are able to pursue real futures, but they need to make the right choices. These students need to pursue a dream that they are passionate about, and not just try to set themselves up to make money after college. I feel that we can all live how we want because we have opportunities to achieve whatever we want. There are too many examples of people achieving major things to feel that we cannot live the way we want. Even though success in the material world will not bring happiness, I believe that if a person achieves success with something they feel passionate towards, then they will be happy.
How much control does society have over our lives, and what types of control does it have?
This question is difficult to answer because different people have different ways of how they want to live. Some people feel that as long as they have a chance to better their life every day, they are able to live how they want; these people feel like they can live how they want as long as they have freedom. Most Americans feel as though they can live how they want because America offers the freedom to go after your dreams. This leads to the interesting idea that America’s opportunity may just be an illusion. Dr.j said that we are a country which has statistically, the least amount of people that have changed their socioeconomic status during their lifetime; this means that if your born lower-middle class, you are probably going to die lower-middle class. Even if America’s opportunity may be an illusion, it seems that you could still live how you wanted. I feel that many Americans put too much emphasis on great materialistic achievement instead of just being happy.
The question raises an interesting point on whether we can live how we want all while being in the flow of society. It seems that the question assumes that we cannot live how we want and go with the flow of society; it is difficult to prove that this statement is true because almost everyone goes with the flow of society in someway, and many people still seem to feel that they are able to live how they want. Many people feel that there are too many opportunities within society to feel as though it is impossible to live how you want. Even with that said, there are still groups of people that will argue that we are never truly free while we live within society. They believe that society tells us how to live our lives and it is not fair. It seems that this idea may be true because most of us have similar plans on how we are going to live our lives. Most teenagers who graduate from high school will go to college because society tells them it is the right thing to do. I believe that many young adults are not ready for college once they start. These people should only enter college when they are passionate about it. Most young adults think that once they graduate from college they will get a great job that will pay the money they want. Most of these people will realize that this idea for the future is just an illusion. Illusions like this are one of the major problems with our society today.
Even though I feel that society has problems, I agree with the people that think we can still live how we want within in society. With that said, I believe that people need to stop falling for the illusions that society provides. I believe that students who go to college are able to pursue real futures, but they need to make the right choices. These students need to pursue a dream that they are passionate about, and not just try to set themselves up to make money after college. I feel that we can all live how we want because we have opportunities to achieve whatever we want. There are too many examples of people achieving major things to feel that we cannot live the way we want. Even though success in the material world will not bring happiness, I believe that if a person achieves success with something they feel passionate towards, then they will be happy.
How much control does society have over our lives, and what types of control does it have?
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