Cameron Treharne
As the rounds kept going the workers started to get treated a lot worse, like kids under 14 could work for us, they could not have unions, and they only got 1.50 an hour. Also as the rounds went on Lori started to keep getting a better deal. This is pretty bad because we sold out the workers and cut their money and banned their right to form a union because Lori didn't want them to be able to form a union. We started focusing more on want Lori wanted and way less on fair treatments for all the workers. I feel that if this is how it actually works in our world that it is really bad for the workers because as the rounds went on we started to give them less and less profit and we gave it to Lori.
I agree and disagree with this statement because I feel that is some ways that a poor country do need transnational companies to help them make money, but I also feel that the country won't be making any money (only the transnational companies will be making money). I also feel that the country might even be loosing money because everyone is spending their money at the transnational company. I also feel that the transnational company might be taking to much profit from the country that let them be there. This in turn would end up making the poor country even more poor.
Wealthier countries will try and lower the price so that the poorer countries can't have the transnational countries because they won't be making any money because all the prices will be low. This would be what I would do if I was a wealthy country and I was trying to get a transnational company. This basically makes it so that the poor countries won't be able to have the transnational company keeping them still poor and unable to make any money. A problem with this that I see is that when you tax them to low the wealthier county that got the transnational company will be loosing money and then the wealthier country will become a poor country just like the one it was competing with.
I think Galtung would use either a really fancy way to define the "the race to the bottom" or use just a really basic definition. I feel that his really basic definition for it would be "the race to the bottom" is the fastest way to sell out your people for a company that MIGHT make you some extra money for your country. I really like this definition about "the race to the bottom" because I feel that this is what happens when we want a transnational company to be apart of our country.
Omelas
Seminar reflection part 1
Cameron
I kick open the door with all my force. I see it, just sitting there in the corner of the room. It had never seen anything like me before. It was once afraid of mops because it was something that has always been bigger than it. The mops have always just being sitting in the dark corner movement less as if they were staring at the little creature like they were plotting when they were going to attack. I run over to the barley lit corner that it was in. I picked it up and threw it on my back. As I did this I could hear the worried cry he let out. I ignored it. As we started running for the door it slammed shut. I kept running. I lowered my shoulder as to try and break it down for the second time. As my shoulder hit it I felt my shoulder pop and fall way out of place. I awoke a little bit latter to see that I had passed out from the amount of pain that I was in. As I start to look around I can see that I'm laying on a the door that I broke down. I keep looking around and then I see the little creature pulling on my clothes. I tried started to get up. I ignored the intense pain that I could feel moving through my back and arm. I picked up the creature and continue to leave Omelas.
Once we left the actual building that it was being kept in we started to notice that Omelas looks a little different. We couldn't help noticing that everything now was lacking in color. Everything had a dark grey hint to it. All of Omelas was now a dark and evil place. Everyone in Omelas started to act different. They started attacking each other in anger. They had no reason for their actions. They were just starting to kill and destroy everything that their society once stood for. We kept running through the city. The farther we got to the outer rim of the city the worse everything got. Even the weather started to get bad. What was once a bright and shinny day was now a dark and rainy one. We we are so close to the end of the city we can see where everything starts to become sunny and less disappointing. Right before the edge of the city I see a crowd of people staring at me and the creature. I keep running as fast as I can holding onto to the little baby. The closer we get to the crowd of Omelas citizens the more I realize that their not fighting each other they are really staring at us. Once we get close to the crowd they all start to grab at the baby. One of the people almost ripped the baby of my back. The only thing that kept it on my back was the will to finally make this baby feel happiness for once in its life.
Once we reach the the outer rim of the city. I set the creature down and we look back at the city. We start to notice the the city slowly starts to crumble. We turn to look at each other and realize that without the little creature suffering for everyone the city cannot stand.
Seminar reflection part 2
I feel like I am one of the ones that stays. "but they seem to know where theybare going, the ones who walk away from omelas." I feel that If I left Omelas I wouldn't know where I was going. The ones who walk away don't like that one little baby has to suffer and take everybody's sadness. Also I wouldn't mind to much if someone was putting up with all my sad just so I could be happy. I think that the only thing that I would feel for this child is just of a feeling of happiness. I would feel this way because I would be happy that it wasn't me that had to deal with everyone's sadness.
another reason that I feel like I am one of the ones who stays is because if I was happy with Omelas why would I leave? Why would I give up everything I had like my house, my nice warm bed, my friends who lived in Omelas, and having food on hand? I would never give up that stuff just so I wouldn't feel guilty that one baby was suffering for me. "sometimes also a man or women much older falls silent for a day or two, and then leaves home." what I think she is trying to say is that the people who leave can't deal with the fact of one suffering for the most. Also I don't understand why they would just leave with out saying anything to anybody for a day or two. I suppose that the reason for this is because they can't handle talking with people who are ok with the idea of one suffering for the most or because they are trying to think about everything they could to to help the baby and the best way to help the baby in their mind is to just leave so that it is one less person that it has to suffer for.
Being Peace
Seminar reflection Cameron Treharne
I feel that if I did try and follow these trainings that I would reach happiness to some extent. I also think that trying to follow some of these trainings would bring happiness in some aspects but would bring unhappiness in others. My definition of happiness is the feeling of accomplishment/pride you get when doing something that benefits you or someone else in a positive way. I feel that in a lot of ways I have reached this happiness but if I chose to follow some of the trainings then I will is this feeling of happiness and gain a whole new happiness that I can only get by following the trainings. This definition of happiness is giving happiness and peace to receive this feeling of happiness and peace.
An example of this would be in sports. I feel a great seance of accomplishment when I can out run the defender that is suppose to be covering me and I score. This brings me my definition of happiness. I wouldn't feel this happiness if I was following the trainings because in the trainings one of them is to find your self and to not be distracted in sports and tv. If I didn't get my definition of happiness I would be getting the other definition of happiness. I feel like people should try and fallow both what they feel and the trainings so that way they get a feeling of both happinesses.
Part 2
Buddhism is nice
It is the key to piece
You will enjoy it
Buddhists live calmly
Meditation is the way
Live in the moment
Focus on the world
Help anybody you can
Then you will be happy
Live in the moment
Only the present is true
These are words to know
Understanding life
Knowing what your impact is
Is the only way
Violence VS. Non-violence
What's The Best Way to Change an unjust situation
Cameron
The best way to solve an unjust situation is by going at the situation with a solution/response that challenges the opposing forces way of thinking. This is what Gandhi did. In the movie Gandhi a cop walked up to him and told Gandhi that he was going to arrest him, and the first thing that Gandhi said to him was " On what charge?" when he said this the police officer had no idea how to respond because the police officer thought that Gandhi was going to react in a violent way and when he didn't the unjust situation was stopped in the best possible way, a non-violent way. Usually the way that changes how the opposing force thinks is in a violent way and when you react in a non-violent way the opposing force as no idea how to respond because they were expecting for you to resort to violence, like most other people do.
When you are faced with a problem a lot of people will take the easy way out which is, a lot of the time, the violent way. Most people will always resort to violence because of this reason. also the reason non-violence is harder is because it takes effort and a critical way of thinking and this is why it works. " You get what you put in." Kid Rock. I take this as the more effort you put into something the better the out come will be for you and for what ever it is that your doing. Also if its a good enough cause then you will want to put forth the effort to what it is you feel so passionate about.
Another reason i feel that non-violence is the best way is because when you help someone else you have a feeling of happiness and when both you and the other person feel happy there will never be a conflict to begin with. "Aware that looking deeply at the nature of suffering can help us develop compassion and find ways out of suffering, we are determined not to avoid or close our eyes before suffering." The Fourth Mindfulness Training, Being Piece. As long as we follow this mindfulness training we will be constantly resolving conflicts with a non-violent resolution and you will have a feeling of happiness.
the final l reason why i think non-violence works the best is because of how it changes the way that you and the opposing forces way of thinking. It changes how the opposing force looks at the problem by posing a new way to respond to it. this is what Gandhi did. He posed a new way to look at a problem and it didn't matter what the problem was Gandhi's solution for it was non-violence. The reason he did this was because it worked. I gave an example of this in the first paragraph and it worked for him there and will continue to work.
With non-violence no one gets hurt and you reach the solution that you want. Also with non-violence a lot of people don't expect you to not react in a non-violent way. This is because it is an easier way of handling things and because a lot of people think that the way you change someones mind is by forcing them to think like you do. This is bringing people down and when you do this people don't feel happy and when people aren't happy they will try and fight to make sure that they will be happy. The best way to solve an unjust situation is by going at the situation with a solution/response that challenges the opposing forces way of thinking.
I remember during the seminar Britney and Helen said that they didn't think that Billy Pilgrim was really kidnapped by aliens or became unstuck in time. i never even thought about this idea until they said something. I'm really glad that they said because i completely agree with what they said.
I don't think Billy Pilgrim really was kidnapped by aliens or became unstuck in time because i think he was just dreaming or he became crazy. He went through a lot of things right before he first became unstuck which might have caused him to unconcesly make up a world so he can escape from reality so he didn't have to face what just happened. That makes me think that he never really became unstuck in time in the first place.
There was also no proof that he actually became unstuck in time. Other proof that he never time traveled or was kidnapped is how did he know he was about to be abducted, this was right before the first time he was kidnapped.
a connection I made to this book was a video I watched where the main char rector traveled through different parts of his life trying to make a meaning of it. The name of the movie was called the butterfly effect. It made me really think about what he was experiencing throughout the book and the movie. The only thing that was different from the movie was that there were no aliens that kidnapped the main character.
All Quiet no the Western Front (AQotWF) was an anti-war novel and so was Slaughterhouse 5. Another reason why I think of AQotWF and slaughterhouse 5 are related is because I could see Billy pilgrim and Paul to be really good friends traveling though time and being kidnapped by aliens together.
During the seminar I heard a couple people say that it was bad when the horses were getting killed because the horses can’t defend themselves or they don’t even really grasp what’s going on around them. When I was listening to hunter and a couple of other people say this I felt the same way. I would think that watching a helpless animal that really had no choice whether or not if it wanted to fight or not. It had to fight there was no question and it couldn’t even defend itself. It was enlightening to see that my classmates had the same reaction to this part of the book as I did.
When Paul died I didn’t know if it was the best thing for him or not, because I feel like he took the easy way out. He could have gone home and start a new life and try to make a good life for him, but instead he decided to take the easy way out and die. I realize that trying to go back to civilization after war is really hard for some because of the effect of seeing all your friends die right in front of your eyes, but we’ll never know if he would have been able to start a new life because he didn’t even try.
On the other hand I felt that after all your friends from childhood are dead and u no longer have a family then there is nothing left to live for and dying would be the best way to end it. It even says that Paul was smiling when he was found and as long as he’s happy then he ended it the way he wanted to which is the best way for Paul to go out.
When Paul died in my mind I related it to the part of the movie we saw in class. I related it to when one of the soldiers got up and said “I am going to die like a man” and started to pee standing up in the middle of no man’s land. The relation between the two was that if there’s nothing else to fight for then dying seems like the best way to end everything. I would think the worst way of dying in war is to die being a coward sitting in a trench not fighting. If I knew I was going to die I feel like I wouldn’t want to die cowering. I would want to die taking some people with me.
“We stand jammed in together, shoulder to shoulder, there is no room to sit.” Chapter 4 page 51. I feel that this is the truth of war because it kind of explains how close everyone is and how easy it would be to kill a group of people with just a simple automatic weapon. It also shows you how “lucky” you are like if the person you’re shoulder to shoulder with gets killed it’s his life and your life separated by 5 in. I would think that would be one of the scariest moments in war.
