Importance of Perspective

For the better part of the last year I have made it an issue to remind myself of the truth that I, along with everyone I know, will eventually die. I think it is an effort to attain an acceptance of death rather than live in fear of it. On our first day of class Professor Hobby mentioned someone (I forgot to write it down) who said that if we considered the death of ourselves and the people around us then we would react with care to others, rather than hostility, when altercations arose. I think this shows an important lesson on the necessity of having perspective. By gaining a better perspective on the world and our cultural and sociological surroundings we can become dignified human beings. 

In watching Examined Life there was one particular interview that stood out. Peter Singer’s discourse on ethics in the modern world, especially in his imagined scenario in which you come across a child drowning in a small pool, made me question the role of morality in daily life. Luckily, one of my favorite radio shows, Radiolab (if you've never listened to it, please do, it's awesome), had an entire episode dedicated to the issue of morality and its biological background. Here is a preview for the podcast:

According to Dr. Frans de Waal (professor at Emory University specializing in chimpanzee behavior), empathy is the single most important trait that evolution has created in humans that allows for morality to even exist. So if this morality inherently exists, how is it that we have come to a situation where we can accept that children are dying around the world (even in our own country) and still spend unnecessary amounts on luxuries on a daily basis?

Kwame Anthony Appiah’s discussion surrounding world citizenship and our evolution follows Singer’s questions directly. We evolved to deal with problems directly facing us, but now we live in a global economy where decisions made in the first world directly influence the lives of those in the third world. Instead of viewing our responsibilities as an American citizen, we need to view ourselves as a citizen of the world. Singer believes it is our duty to aid those in need, as shown in this BBC article where he says “If you are living comfortable while others are hungry or dying from easily preventable diseases, and you are doing nothing about it, there is something wrong with your behavior.” I think that even the simple act of becoming AWARE that these beliefs exist places you in a different perspective that most of contemporary society is lacking. 

Side note: This is something I truly treasure about my education at UNCA. There is such a huge emphasis in many of my classes to become an aware and informed individual. While an obvious priority at UNCA is academics, there is also a focus on awakening students intellectually that I think is equally important.

Peter Singer’s idea that by reducing unnecessary suffering and pain for others you can create meaning for yourself is an important one. When I ask myself what is meaningful in my life my conscious replies, “being a good person” and “having a positive impact in the lives of others.” But what do I mean by this? What choices can I make in my life to “be a good person” as I see it? This is when my internal, emotional self comes into conflict with the current cultural understandings of what choices contribute to a successful life.

As I see it, the capitalistic society we live in today defines a successful life as one where an individual makes a lot of money and is able to provide for his or her family in a comfortable way. While this may work for some individuals, I do not believe this encourages behavior that benefits humanity. I feel there needs to be a complete shift in the moral values of our society. As it is now, there is hardly any value placed upon jobs that directly benefit citizens of our country and the world. Teachers and social workers, for example, have extremely demanding jobs with high societal implications, and yet they are receive some of the lowest salaries for requiring college degrees (and in some instances graduate degrees). I realize that this is a highly idealistic view of the world, but I truly believe that if the majority of people even considered this with an open mind there would be a huge change in the politics of America. 

With regards to Kozol’s The Shame of the Nation here is an Oprah clip where she had students from an urban high school in Chicago switch places with students from a wealthy suburban school.

While I usually find Oprah’s show to be overly self-indulgent, I think the idea behind this clip is important to revealing the educational inequality Kozol describes to Oprah’s huge audience. Simply reading his descriptions of the injustices faced by Black and Hispanic youth makes me personally want to go to Harlem and become a public school teacher. “But would I make any money?” I ask myself. This reveals one of my biggest concerns about my life and about our culture. If our society placed the same amount of concern on social welfare and justice as it does on money I believe a lot of suffering would be eradicated from the world.

I hope this blog does not portray me as a raving idealist or as a person disappointed in humans. On the contrary, I have such high hopes for the future and to see how my generation influences society. I am greatly looking forward to my last semester at UNCA, and this class will certainly be a high point during my weeks. I am extremely excited to tutor for the I Have A Dream Foundation. I really enjoy working with children and I hope to become a good mentor for the Dreamers. I am positive that I’ll learn more from them about humanity than I can teach them about math or English.