The so Called "Melting Pot"

"The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" by James Rachels reminds me a lot of the saying "we agree to disagree". Throughout the article Rachels made strong points about the different beliefs and morals throughout different cultures in the world. Like he said, there is no right or wrong in our world. Everybody has their own reasoning as to why they act they way they do, or why they do what they do. I personally found the example about eating the cows striking. Rachels tells us to think about a culture where they don't eat cows even though they may be starving. He says this is because they believe that humans get reincarnate into the body's of animals. So for them, they could be eating someone else's grandmother which makes everything sound perfectly logical, after all I wouldn't want anyone to be eating my nana. This article greatly relates to Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Throughout the story, Christians came in and tried to present to  the natives about their religion. Rather, they tried to FORCE their religion onto them which I feel was the most unjust way to do it. But then again, there was those Christians who came and tried to teach the natives about the religion, rather than forcing it upon them. This approach seemed to be better, and I think that this is what we need to do in our own world. We need to teach others, not force them. I agree with Rachels statement that there is never a right or wrong answer to some things. I think that everybody is entitled to their own beliefs especially here in America where we are the so called "melting pot" of different cultures. Rachels made a statement that some cultures believe that the world is still flat, but that belief is outdated and can be proven wrong because of science. Science is a crazy, amazing thing that somehow can prove answers to questions that people have been asking for as long as humans have been around. But somethings science will never be able to prove, maybe because simply there doesn't need to be an answer. Like why is the sky blue? Who knows, but then again who really needs to know? As humans we are born with this thirst for knowledge and to understand the unknown. But we also believe in something greater than ourselves. For most cultures, this is a God figure. For some people, this is science and only science. They won't believe in something until there is a proven reason as to why something had to happen. But like Rachels said, there's never a right or wrong answer. We can try all we want to change other people's beliefs, but like we saw in Things Fall Apart, that doesn't always go over well. Faith and beliefs, and morals and customs all come in different ways and sure, it's in our nature to question how or why, but we cannot judge. Like this time of year people are fighting over wither they should be called "Christmas trees" or "holiday trees". I personally think that this is ridiculous. I went to catholic school for ten years and was raised to say Merry Christmas and I personally do not think that there is any harm in saying that to someone. If you know that someone is Jewish and doesn't celebrate Christmas then saying "Happy Holidays" is perfectly acceptable but if you don't know the person and you say "merry Christmas" I do not believe that there is any harm in that and that person should not feel violated, because your trying to spread holiday cheer. This holiday season is supposed to be a season of joy and people need to learn how to respect and honor that. We all need to realize that we live in a culturally diverse world and if we do not learn how to accept and embrace other cultures then its not going to be peaceful.  We don't always understand why they believe what they do, but maybe that's because we don't try and learn about it. As humans I think we all need to take a step back and stop comparing ourselves so much, and rather learn about each other and fix the things about ourselves that truly need fixing. 

Our choices are our Fate

We've all heard the saying "What's meant to be will be" right? Fate is a funny thing. There are people out there that have this strong desire to believe in something more. They think that everything that happens is supposed to happen the way it does. But then, there are those people out there that think we make our own fate. That every decision they make has an impact because they chose to make that decision. For me, I believe that there is something greater than ourselves. I think that God has a plan for us before we are even aware of what that plan is. I think that God gives us our parents because they help shape us into the people that we become. Every decision they make regarding us helps decide the rest of our lives. Just like Oedipus' parents decision affected his life, our parents decisions affect our life. When Oedipus' parents found out his destiny, they tried to do everything in their power to make sure their baby didn't actually kill his father and marry his mother, but because of this he actually did. Fate plays a funny role in our lives. We all like to think that we can make our own path and do what pleases us, but sometimes it's hard to not think that everything that happens to you happens for a reason. Some people in our lives come and cross our path momentarily and some people stay with us for a long time. Every decision you make, and every person you meet, changes your life forever; and it's hard to not believe that this is all fate. Oedipus showed us that we cannot avoid our fate. He showed us, no matter what we do, what is supposed to happen will. Even though time has changed since the story of Oedipus, the thought of fate never go away. Everyone always questions the unknown but one thing remains forever: our fate is who we are meant to be, and there is no way to escape that.

Our Real Heroes

What truly makes a hero? Is it like the heroes we read about in Beowulf who were strong, and greater than the average man? Or are heroes the kind of people we see everyday, the ones that will go out of their way to make someone else's day, or even life better? I think that in our society we have all sorts of beliefs on who are heroes truly are. On days like today, Halloween, we see all the little boys that are dressed up as their favorite superheroes because they truly believe one day they can become like them. These superheroes are the ones like in Beowulf that posse a quality that normal people cannot obtain. I think in society we always like to idolize those types heroes because that's the way humans have always been. It's fun to be able to believe in something greater than the truth. But I also think that we have moments in our society that make us feel like everybody in our lives is a hero. Our nation has come together to praise our heroes on several occasions. These heroes are the people we see everyday; our brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, neighbors, etc. We praised our cops, and firefighters and all forces when things like 911 and the Sandy Hook shooting happen. Traumatic times like that when some people have to risk their life for the safety of others help us realize who are heroes truly are. Our heroes should be those sitting and fighting wars for us right now, so that we can keep our freedom and everything we take advantage of.  I think that back in the time of Beowulf it was okay for heroes to be boastful and egotistical. If they weren't like that, than nobody would realize their true greatness. But in today's society, word can spread so fast and there are so many ways to access it, that it is seen as rude if someone boasts the way that Beowulf did. No matter what our society says, we would never want a hero that thinks he is better than everybody else. Today, we want heroes that we can relate to. We aspire to be these people, these are the people that children want to grow up and become. I think today's society verses the society in Beowulf help play a big role in why most of us as readers did not enjoy the story. Heroes like Beowulf are not relatable. We do not get the triumphant feeling of growing with the hero, therefore we don't feel attached to the hero. Bob Riley once said, "Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the hero within us is revealed." and I think this proves my point that we don't really want a hero with super natural powers, we want a hero who starts like the rest of us and makes himself seem super natural. 

We Need Others, Just like they Need Us

I think as we all grow older we realize how important other people are to us. When you're young and growing up, you rely on everyone; your friends, your family, your teachers, your coaches. It's hard to go throughout life without someone standing beside you pushing you to go further, accomplish more. I love the topic of individualism verses collectivism because I feel like it relates so well to everyone's life whether or not they know. In my own life running cross country is a perfect example of this. Although it is a team sport, it is also an individual sport. At practice it's your teammates and your coaches that push you to go faster, to go longer...but in the race, it comes down to one person and that person is you. YOU are the only person that can push yourself to your limits, and YOU are the only person who can stop yourself. Question 53 of the Power of One Socratic seminar questions asks..."does the strength and influence Peekay finds in his companions impact the power of one? Or does "one" not refer to individualism at all? Is the theme of this novel the power of one- as in an individual? Or does Peekay owe his power to other forces in his life?". I feel just like in real life, Peekay needs others to help build him up. In real life, we all try and surround ourselves with people that only build us up, but will be there to catch us if we fall, and I feel like Peekay did just that. Hoppie, Geel Peet, Doc, Grampa Chook and even Nanny and Inkosi Inkosikazi all influenced Peekay in a positive way. They all watched him grow and struggle to find his way just like a lot of the influences in our lives. We need other people to help find ourselves, and I think that is perfectly displayed throughout the novel. Even the people that tear us down, make us stronger. We saw this with Peekay and the Judge, and at the end of the book when Peekay triumphs over the Judge. We all want our lives to turn out like that, with the triumphant happy ending and the people standing beside us are the ones that will help make that happen. Peekay did get a lot of help from others, but in the end he was the one standing alone in the boxing ring. He was the one that got rid of the Judge's swastika, and he was the one that changed his own life. We all need others, just like others need us. We all help other people, just like others help us. Peekay helped all the prisoners and their families and in the end that made him a better, stronger, person just like everyone that helped Peekay became a better and stronger person. What people don't realize when we talk about collectivism verses individualism is that everybody needs a little push to get to where they're going, but some people just need a forceful shove. Everybody needs someone to build them up and someone to tear them down, but in the end YOU are the only one who can take that last leap of faith. We do it for ourselves, almost as a thank you for those who push us to get to where we needed to be.