Week 10

Directions:  Week ten comes in two parts. 

The first part asks for 5 recommendations you would make to the United Nations and the US Government to focus their efforts over the next 10 years.  The second part is a statement by you which describes your view of the world.  This is purely your call.  Read the notes for Week 10 and the examples below.

Recommendations and World View
(An Example for Week 10)

Chris Fitzgerald

Humanities 100

Week 10 Assignments

Assignment 1:

1. I would encourage the UN to make its Ten Principles of the Global Compact international law for businesses to follow, not just suggestions without repercussions. I would also make violations of these laws punishable offenses, enforced by the UN.

2. I would encourage the UN to set stricter standards on Oceans and the Law of the Sea committees. Again this should be international law enforceable by the UN.

3. I would encourage the government of the US to take a look at a much tougher environmental policy. The budgetary issues in the US have sidetracked these very important issues and we need to get on track. This goes for the UN as well.

4. I believe that the US and UN need to look at Social Democracy as a logical answer to issues arising out of inferior governments. Global healthcare, jobs, and the ability to seriously regulate big business are necessities if we want to avoid the downward trends in our economy and health.

5. I would encourage the study of philosophy and rhetoric as a premium in the US schools to create generations of leaders who can think, argue and pursue political ideals in a rational, logical, and ethical way.

Assignment 2:

My World View

John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” That is in a nutshell what our planet lacks, true leaders. Leadership is not a pursuit with a primary goal of gains of material wealth or to be in charge to stroke one’s ego. Leadership is also not for everyone at all times. Nor does being in position of leadership mean that you are either competent or a leader.

The ability to inspire is the premier character of a leader. He may do this by bravery, example, or even by speech or writing. A leader must be ethical (virtue), honest to an extreme, and be able to go against all odds or popularity to do what they deem is right. The leader’s motivation must be first and foremost towards the betterment of those that follow and humanity as a whole while her needs are secondary. Finally a leader must be consistent when they are right and be able to admit when they are not.

The world lacks leaders like this. This is why there are so many problems that we as a country and a world are facing. Greedy men who have obtained power by money, family name, or part membership have piled greed on top of greed. Men and women were afraid to say no, this isn’t right. Pockets were/are lined and repercussions are few. Some will say that if there is nothing illegal about an action then it is not wrong, but this is inherently false. Some say that the ends of say, a war justify the means but this is not so. Any action that is based on false premise or unethical behavior does not, ever get justified by the outcome.

Leaders should be nurtured by the social fabric of society.  From birth and family environment to schooling we must nurture the minds and health of our future. This generation should in and of itself rise to make change. This may be in the form of voting for third parties, donating, volunteering, teaching, protesting, and any number of other ventures. We must be proactive before our nation and our world is totally in the crapper. My world view is this, we need more leaders. Teachers, politicians, clergy of all denominations, businessmen, and the average human need to rise up and show one another how to be kind, truthful, and ethical in all of our interactions with other peoples and our treatment of this planet.

Assignment 2:  Example

My World View by Mark Coker

“Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.”  I don’t recall if this quote is exact, however it does sum up my belief.  It makes a much more beautiful world when it is shared with joy.  Sorrow is a simple thing to find; it doesn’t hide.  The world is full of sorrow: unemployment, homeless, murder, rape, robbery, death, famine, child abuse....the list goes on.  The nightly news and newspaper headlines scream out about the unjust in the world.  The feel good stories are buried, a synopsis here and there, never the first or leading story.

This is sad. All I have to do is look around; beautiful things are happening around me.  The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing.  I go to the park and see all the parents out with their children. I watch them rooting on their kids at the soccer and baseball fields.  I attend crowded auditoriums full of parents watching their children perform in school musicals and plays.  I watch grandparents strolling through the park, hand in hand, enjoying their latter years together.  I see volunteers cleaning streets, business owners keeping graffiti removed from their store walls. 

The beauty is all around us. At some point we just need to open our skeptical eyes to see the little boy picking a flower for his Mother just to make her happy, and the Mother taking the flower, which in all actuality is probably just a piece of clover or dandelion, and smile and give him a hug to know that within the hearts of us all is a beauty just waiting to surface.  Walking through the world with our heads held high, a “hello, how are you” on our lips, and a smile always there to be seen, is certainly a better option than walking through the world waiting for the next crisis.  Sorrow is easy to find. Take a minute to find the joy--it is ever so much more rewarding.