Hi everyone!  great discussion on day 1 for MIRIAM! 

Your homework was to read it AGAIN at home.   read actively with pencil, highlighter...
Have at least one question for the class for next week for discussion.  Examples:

§  Why is Miriam so prim and proper and Mrs. Miller so drab?

§  Why doesn’t the man find Miriam in the apartment?

§  Why does Mrs. Miller do _____?

o   Log on to the blogspot that I have set up for the class.   I have now added everyone so the biggest thing I want to see is if you can all log on!

o   Blog:   list one thing you find disturbing to either yourself or Mrs. Miller.

We'll be looking for symbols in this story on Wed, so if you feel you see something that is symbolic, make a note of it.   Enjoy!   Stephanie

Where Did it Go?

Hello everyone. I am just posting this to show you guys that I did check the blog, but there was nothing to blog about. See you at class!

-Elijah Lewis

Pacifism

     What is pacifism? Pacifism is defined as "opposition to war or violence of any kind". It is only practiced by few and the world is need of more, now than ever before. I myself am not a pacifist nor do I know any. They are breed to come across, but there has been a few very influential pacifists is the past. Such as: Jesus, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King jr., Mahandas Ghandi and Henry Dunant. These people all "fought" for a cause without actually fighting. They believed non-violence was the answer to the current problem that plagued the world, in each of their respective eras. And for the most part, their plans worked. Pacifism have answered problems in the world before, and I believe that it can once more.

What is a Pacifist?

     On all of the definitions, pacifist means strongly and actively opposed to conflict and especially war. there were small variances, but they all meant the same thing. People who are opposed to violence, and therefore do not participate in it. Non violence means abstention from violence as a matter of principle. You agree that both of these terms have great similarities, yes? Pacifists are the embodiment of non violence. now here is the tricky part, are pacifists people who do not believe in unnecessary violence, or all violence? If a pacifist is the first, then I could be classified as one, but if it is the latter, I am most definitely not a pacifist. I do not have a violent disposition, but I am willing to resort to violence to protect myself and those I love. There are definitely different levels of non violence and pacifism, but the purest form of both has serious moral issues. They will refuse to fight for themselves in a dangerous situation, and will not protect an innocent man being attacked or killed. This absolute pacifism is not only dangerous to the individual, but it can also be dangerous to those around them. Maybe violence is wrong in a perfect world, but ours is far from it since pacifism believes in the goodness of human nature even thought the past has proven time and time again that human nature can be just as cruel as it can be kind.

The Melians

The google definition of a hero is "a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities". I believe the Melians were heroes because they refused to submit themselves to the Athenians without a fight. They did not ask for war, but offered peace and seeked to avoid the destruction of lives, standing up for what their freedom. They courageously attempted to overcome a mightier Athenian Army, rather than submit to slavery. The Melians were heroic for attempting to do what the Athenians perceived as impossible.

Melians vs Athenians

            In my opinion the Melians are neither heroes nor fools. They posed a very logical and ethical argument, given the choice between slavery and death they chose to fight, however this does not make them heros it makes them brave. While I was reading the story I had thought for a moment that the Athenian representatives had created an argument that both appealed to as well as threatened the Melian magistrates enough to have them submit to the rule of the Athenians. However the Melians were able to counteract their opposition with a similarly threatening argument, planting the seed fear that the mighty Spartan General Brasidas could invade their mainland, this gave the Athenians something to think about as they prepared their invasion. While I don’t think the Melians are heroes for opposing their oppressors they certainly weren’t fools given how they went about counteracting the Athenian representatives.

Utopia

Freud was of the opinion that war had been woven into the fabric of humans since the dawn of time. He said that, in the beginning, "conflicts of interest between men [were] settled by the use of violence" where the strongest man, or "the one who had the better weapons or who used them the more skilfully, would win (8-9). He went on to explain that a group consensus became stronger than the will of the individual. Freud would also say that "human instincts are of only two kinds:...'eros'...and...the aggressive or destructive instinct" (12). Freud did not believe that the human race would ever stop warring, and would continue to be a community vs. community world.
Unfortunately, I agree with Freud, although not necessarily for the same reasons. The world is full of people smarter, wealthier, healthier, etc. than others. Because of these differences, and others like faith and moral differences, I do not believe that the human race will ever create a utopia that satisfies the needs of everyone. In my mind, attempting a 'perfect world' is unrealistic, and your time would be better spent improving the lives of others; not making them 'perfect'. But back to the topic, because humans are undeniably flawed and have varying views on what is right or wrong, ethical or unethical, fair or unfair, we will never stop fighting to spread our own views throughout the world. People are filled with so many conflicting differences I do not believe we will ever be able to create a global community and end war entirely.