Time and Time Again

Prompt: Human Rights v. Majority Rule

If you look back through the years, you will clearly see we have had this dilemma almost as long as our country has been established. It has not always been about gays though. Majority rule has been a major "player" in our country. Our founding fathers did try to avoid it a little by adding in the electoral college. That way the majority would have a say but not the say. What the majority thinks is not always right. At one point in history the majority wanted African Americans not to be citizens or vote and at another point the majority did not want women to vote or play an active role in politics. They had to campaign and protest for their rights. Martin Luther King Jr. and Susan B. Anthony come to my mind as great leaders who fought against majority rule. We know now that this was not the right moral decision but at the time it was the majority decision. I know Americans are not trying to stop gay Americans from voting but without allowing African Americans or women to vote we would never have had our laws concerning discrimination.

In our country employers or colleges or any other public place are not allowed to discriminate against race or gender. So why should they be allowed to discriminate against sexuality? They shouldn't. Many people do though. If the sexuality of somebody was to be public information then employers would still discriminate even though they are not allowed by law to discriminate. They would just do it secretly and come up with another excuse to why that person should not be hired. If by chance an employer does not discriminate then the public does. I know the example many people use is a teacher and I think this is a perfect example. Simply because a teacher has direct contact with a child. Parents actually rely on a teacher to help instill morals and values into their child but for some reason parents usually think a gay man or woman can not instill those same morals and values. I had a middle school teacher that was gay and I learned so much from him. He taught language and I can still quote stuff he taught us. I did not know at the time he was gay. I learned that in high school. But I look back and he was a great teacher because he was so opened minded.

Growing up in the south, I have seen quite a bit of discrimination and unfortunately frequently it has been toward homosexuals. I know all discrimination is wrong but unfortunately I am not always in the majority rule.

Fifty vs Thousands

Prompt: Hijack!

I make the decision if Americans live or die. This is a very hard question. This is a question that deals with moral issues. Should save every human life you can and give in to a group that is against everything you believe in or should you let some people die to prove a point?

Even though you don't have much time to react you have to stop and think about a few things. First is the United States policy on terrorism. It's a no tolerance policy. Which means do not make a deal at any cost. Which means let the kidnapped people die. Second you have to consider the families of the people on the plane. Somebody could lose parent, child, sibling, or just a close friend. No little kid should have to lose a parent, right? Then you have to consider the soldiers at war. Do you want to set free somebody when thousands have lost their lives to capture him? Do you want to set somebody free when soldiers have left their families and friends for month's even years to capture him? After that you have to consider the people who died on September 11. You could be setting somebody free who helped plan that attack. Somebody who sent the guys to attack the United States. That's not fair for the families of the victims, correct? Lastly though you have to consider what the prisoner can or will do if he is set free. Will he attack America again? Will he just leave us alone? Not likely but a possibility.

When reading the prompt I personally thought that is was easy to answer. Save the lives of the people on the plane. You should not let Americans die. But when I sat down and thought of everything involved in the situation it wasn't that easy. Yes it would be great to save the people on the plane but that's about fifty lives and we have already lost thousands to terrorist. It would not be fair to lose thousands more to save fifty. I know it would be hard on the families of the victims that we will lose. I also know it is hard on every family that has already lost somebody to terrorism. My choice would be to not make a deal. To not give in to a group of people that already has caused hell for many Americans.

Can Americans be Absolutist?

Prompt: Right or Wrong?

By definition an absolutist judges every moral issue by the same standard but as humans I don't think that is possible. I am a relativist. That is very easy for me to say. I don't obey every law that our government has passed. I don't think anybody has. I know that rules are in place for a reason but as people often say "Some rules are meant to be broken". My mom would disagree with me. She has always tried to say that if something is "wrong" it is wrong under all circumstances.

My mom doesn't always practice what she preaches though. I go to the base to shop for shopping. The rule is only people with base IDs can shop there. But I take my mom all the time. My mom breaks the rule every time she goes with me. I don't think I have ever met somebody who follows that rule .I know that is a very little rule to break.

When it comes to murder only really extremist are absolutists. Our government wants us to be absolutist. Any murder is supposed to be punished by law. Now don't get me wrong. I don't believe somebody should get a way with murder for no reason at all. It's one thing if it's a random murder or a murder over an argument but if it's a person who has been abused by the other person and they kill them to get away, then I (and most or Americans) tend to see it different. If it's self-defense then juries will find a person guilty of a much lesser crime or let them off.

Another issue that I don't see is the same is telling a lie. I know any lie is supposed to be bad. I have gotten grounded many of times for telling my mom a lie. I don't fully agree though. If you tell a lie to keep a secret, such as a surprise party, then that's ok. Or if you tell a lie to keep from hurting somebody’s feelings then that should be fine. A big lie that could potentially hurt somebody is wrong. Or telling a lie to just tell it is wrong. Like when your mom asks if your room is clean and you know it's not but you really want to go to the movies so you say "yes ma'am". That lie doesn't hurt somebody but it also isn't helping anybody.

I believe that ninety-nine percent of Americans will agree with atleast one example I just wrote. That makes me question can Americans be absolutist? I know I can't.