It's a question of 'Morality'

Someone once told me that ‘morality is a test’ and it got me thinking of tests that people are given. Catholics believe their ultimate test if given by god and their success of being a good catholic will get them to heaven. While those who don’t believe in a heaven do believe that it is society that is testing them to see if they can survive. Students, as well, are tested on all sorts of material to see how well they have learned and can apply the material.

If we accept this metaphor then we are accepting that there is a test for goodness. But, what does it mean to be good and how do we use our findings as a universal definition?

The thing is, we can’t. There are just too many factors (cultural-values, religious-values, political-values, family-values, philosophical-theories) that come into play when asking the question “what is moral?” Depending on your belief of any of, or any mix of the aforementioned factors, what you approve of is ultimately what you deem moral, but may be immoral to another who is basing their opinion on the same categories.

For example, if someone approves of cannibalism, incest, or sacrifice to satisfy the gods than those actions cannot be immoral solely based on their approval of it.

In addition, the morality of prostitution is also based on the individual. To say prostitution is immoral because it is illegal is basing morality on legality, but just because it is illegal does not make is immoral. If we based morality on legality than technically slavery was once a moral act. Even today, some people may still believe slavery is moral; and who’s to say they’re wrong?

In the Mariam Webster Online dictionary, you will find the word moral defined as “of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior” (). This definition does and does not work. It does work because it doesn’t suggest what the definition of right or wrong is. However, it does not work because it leaves it’s interpretation to the individual and so the word or term ‘moral’ can truly have millions of definitions and therefore, can never be universal.

Junot Diaz

Sitting in on Junot Diaz's talk was surprisingly enjoyable, not that I didn't think I'd enjoy hearing him after reading his novel, I was just expecting a suit and a straight edge type of speech. Instead, Diaz came out with his guns a-blazing, wowing and shocking his audience with his speech, mostly, and his extremely laid back personality. Personally, I loved ever second of it. I was engaged from begining to end and was left wanting more, wanting anything he had to give me. I would've loved to be able to sit down and share conversation with him over a meal or maybe, and even better, a beer or two. What stuck out to me was when he said he wasn't political but had very strong feelings toward political people and politics in America. What I did agree on, strangely enough, was that he was angry with Obama for not giving American citizens a "story". Diaz explained that the American people thrive off of stories and we don't care what they are, but if it's a good one we will believe it. It's true in a sense, just try reading a fiction novel; part of you will want try to convince yourself that it must be true because the author did such a phenomenal job of detailing this lie they poured out for you to believe as true. Obama has been seemingly absent since he has been in office and the American people need a story. They need to hear anything, to feel involved and they wont care if it's good or bad because if they know, they believe they have a say. Diaz is strong spoken and he feels no need to put a mask on and cover up how he feels and exactly how he wants to talk about it. I admire him for that and am extremely happy to have had the honor to sit in his presence.

Writing Weaknesses

My writing skills are above average but there is room for improvement and technical expansion. The first and most obvious weakness is my lack of detail in much of my writing. I don't usually pay attention to detail in my own life so I find it difficult to incorporate it into my writing. I also feel like it seems forced when I put it into my writing. However, I know how important detail is to help guide the reader through my reading and help them in-vision what actions are taking place. The second thing I need to work on is not being to critical of what I put into my writing. I chose to keep certain things out thinking they would be irrelevant but it seems as though they might have done a world of good. I suppose taking chances might help me instead of trying to play it safe.

DPS Editorial

It's no secret that Detroit Public School's are struggling. As a future educator it breaks my heart to see this happening in a city I grew up next to and often visited. Detroit, to many I meet out of town, is my home. I do not wish to see it go down in flames and I refuse to allow it to happen.The children in the city did not choose to go to school there and the poor education available is not their fault. They deserve better. There are so many programs to help to improve this situation that not only high school and college students can be apart of but many graduates who are looking for something to fill up their days.

I  plan to write my editorial on the problems of DPS and how, as an ordinary citizen, one can help make a difference. I used to volunteer for a program called Beyond Basics that helped k-8 with writing and reading. I will probably mention this program as a starter for those looking to dive in and help. I will also use the experience to show my readers how rewarding volunteering can be.

Feedback

Out of the 3 person group I only ended up with one feedback paper to look at while working on my final draft. I sent my final draft to the other girl in my group so she could fill out her feedback sheet and e-mail me back a more in depth feedback because I only had my first two, very short, paragraphs done last week. However, the girl that did give me my sheet filled out was very pleased with what I had written. She did pose a few questions that I was able to work off of and make sure I answered in my memoir and listed a few comment I could work with. There is nothing she said that I will disregard but one question that stuck out to me as extremely important that I didn't think to make my reader aware of was that this was the first time I discussed this topic with someone and it was the first time I was experiencing it. It will absolutely help to make my story more clear and easy to understand by my readers. Until the feedback from the other girl is mailed to me that is all I can really comment on.

On Writing

I really enjoyed and agree with King when he says to use plot as an absolute last resource. Often in my writing I have a pretty good idea of what I want to say and where I want it to go , or so I think, but I often find that it does not go the route I intended. Normally I become frustrated when this happens but King has opened my eyes to the fact that it may be for the best. He states that as a writer, we are not the creator of a story but merely a discoverer and interpreter of that story. I felt that he had just let me in on writings biggest secret. Why hadn't anyone told me this before? Why were people not running through the streets shouting it from the tops of their lungs? I wish they were. I wish I was amongst them! I know I will keep that bit of information with me and as a future Educator I will be sure to pass it along. It'd be selfish of me not to.

Memoir Choices

So thinking back on my life there were really only a few big events I thought were worth telling. I thought about writing about my parents divorce but it was a typical story that, frankly, I am sick of telling and sick of writing about so I immediately scratched that off. I also thought I might write about almost losing a cousin of mine but that happened in 2002 and though that doesn't seem too far back my memory of that day and the months our family endured at the hospital everyday is jumbled. So what it comes down to is:

1) I lost my grandfather a year and a half ago. He was 78. He had gone to the hospital for knee replacement surgery and began to crash during recovery. Doctors discovered a really bad ulcer in his stomach and planned for an emergency surgery. He was in the ICU for 15 months battling infections and trying to heal. My grandmother, of 93,  was at his side from noon to about eight o'clock everyday he was there. The family, all 22 of us, came to his side to say goodbye the day he was scheduled to be taken off life support.

2) My friend Clay passed in 2007. A few months later My friend Morgan's mother passed, and the day after the funeral her life long friend, and one of my best friends, Sara's dad passed. It was the end of the school year and everyone was coming home and getting ready for a summer that was bound to be epic. Clay had gotten into an accident at the end of finals week, our friends skipped their finals to be with him in his last hours. Sara was away and working at a camp in Philadelphia when Morgans mom passed and when her father passed.It was a rough summer for all of my friends and me.

3) Throughout my childhood I had a friend named Anna. We were very similar and very different in many ways but always managed to keep an amazing relationship and have a great time together. We found ourselves in trouble quite often throughout high school and were dubbed with the nickname Trouble when we were together. Luckily we never got into anything serious with the police. We loved to go to concerts and 2 of our favorite bands were coming to St. Andrews Hall in Detroit for the Jagermeister Tour. I picked her up from Wayne State after class and we headed over. I through the car into park and she pulled out a liter of Jager and said "In the name of the tour". I laughed and began to unscrew the top. An hour and a half later the bottle was gone and we were inside waiting for the concert to start. As far as my memory, that's where it ends. I had to be told the next morning the events that took place the previous night and why we had to drive back to Detroit to get my car and, upon arrival, why My back window was smashed.

4) This last one is the most personal and most recent of events. I have realized that my attraction is not just for the opposite sex and have recently began dating someone of the same sex as me. Though I am telling you this now, I have only confided in my older sister and two of my close friends, one of which lives in Spain. What you must know is that I have a very close relationship with my entire family and a few of my friends but I can not seem to fathom the idea of them knowing. I am afraid my father wont be able to look at me. My mother lives out of state and her boyfriends daughter is gay but I still do not know how my mother would take the news. I am sure my brothers wouldn't care but it's still hard for me to tell them. It's not that I am ashamed or embarrassed of the person I'm with, I wish I could bring them to family events and introduce them to my friends but I go through phases of being absolutely terrified of people knowing and then thinking "well who really cares?" But you don't know peoples true feelings about this kind of stuff until it smacks them right in the face and who knows how they'll react. Anyway, it was and still is a huge eye opener to life as well as something I am struggling to incorporate into my life without causing harm or stress to those I care about most.


Thanks for the future feedback!

Crucial

I love writing but I don't necessarily love the rules and regulations for sentence structure and such. Maybe that's why I love poetry so much because in poetry you don't have to follow the rules. However, I know how extremely important it is to know, understand, and execute the rules of writing. Why is it so Important? If you can not correctly piece sentences together and create a nice flow to your writing people will lose interest. If you are writing an argumentative paper, how do you suppose you'll convince someone that you're right if they can not understand what you are trying to say simply because your grammar is off or you're lacking important punctuation? If you are not writing poetry and you are writing for an audience it is crucial to know and use all elements of writing to ensure a well rounded and interesting piece of writing. The Elements of Style was not the most interesting and exciting thing to read, to say the least, but the information within was well worth the read. It is a great piece to reference when writing anything really and I will be doing so with most future writing adventures.

If interested:
http://www.crockford.com/wrrrld/style.html 

Give It All

Annie Dillard's work "Write Till You Drop" was extremely inspirational to me. I have always loved to read but only recently have I gained a passion for writing. I have only written poetry which only seems right to me because I will pick up a book of, or on, poetry before anything else. Don't get me wrong, I love a great non-fictional piece of work or an Epic of sorts, but poetry is where my heart calls home. When Dillard quoted a poet saying, "One line of a poem, the poet said - only one line, but thank God for that one line - drops from the ceiling.", it really struck a chord with me because I know that feeling; whether it's in my own poetry or someone elses. I may be enjoying a poem but then BAM, you get ONE line, or two lines, that really just bring it all together and you can't help but nod and say, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes."  It has the potential to pull on every heart string, make you feel like you've been punched in the stomach, or make your heart race. This feeling is one I would not trade for anything.

I also really enjoyed how she pulled from all different aspects of art to inspire people to write. She quoted painters, sculptors, writers, scientists and even used sports as a parallel, which I could relate to. I do believe my favorite part of this work is the second to last paragraph: it left me breathless. "Spend it all" she says. Don't save anything for later because something more, something greater, will lend itself to you then. I have so often "saved" things for later pieces and most often never end up using them. It is a piece of advice that will stick with me throughout the rest of my life. 


I hope that most people find inspiration and courage to write after reading this, and if not in this than in something.

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