Directions:
1. Write your response to at least ONE of the 4 bullet pointed queries below and,
2. Respond to TWO posts by your classmates.
2. Respond to TWO posts by your classmates.
- What does Doug Porpora argue are the primary ways/reasons we allowed ourselves to become a party to genocide (as discussed in Chapter 6)?
- Define “neighbor.” Having done that, what is your response to Porpora’s assertion on p. 181?
- It takes a positive morality of radical commitment to one’s neighbor to extend the concept of neighbor to those one does not see face to face, to extend the responsibilities of neighborliness to suffering peasants in a remote country. It takes such a radical commitment to neighborliness to care about the effects of political decisions on our neighbors everywhere. That, however, is a commitment that is largely unknown in mainstream American Christendom.
- Comment on Porpora’s assertion on page 197 that:
- Most people are not used to considering knowledge a responsibility. When it comes to responsibility, we tend to focus on our actions, not on what is inside our heads. We tend to assume that if we act in good faith, that is, if we act on whatever knowledge we have with the best of intentions then what we do is not really blameworthy, even if it has negative consequences.
- What, if anything, do you take issue with Porpora about in his book? Explain your reasoning fully.
I take issue with when Porpora talks about how the Natzis were only doing their jobs when they were killing the jews and being a part of this genocide. Porpora tells us that the german way of going at a job is just to do it and to leave all other factors out, even if it means you have to kill someone. He is in a way excusing the Natzis for what they did. Although he does mention they must have some sort of human emotion and guilt to say no or disobey orders he still gives several accounts explaining how they would have done the job no matter what it was and that disobeying orders was unheard of in any situation. I believe it is true that some people had to do their jobs but when it comes to the lives of others any human would realize that it is wrong and it should have been obvious to do something about it and stop the genocide instead of just taking part in it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Porpora is sympathizing with Nazi citizens or excusing them when he says that they were simply following orders. Rather, he was criticizing the citizens of Nazi Germany's willingness to be complicit in clearly immoral acts. In fact, it was because they were complicit and followed orders that the holocaust in Germany occurred.
DeleteI see where your coming from on this post. When i first read through it i felt the same way. I was surprised to see Porpora give reasons behind the Nazi's actions, feeing almost as an excuse for what they did. However, i tend to agree with what jake is saying. He is definitely focusing his criticism to the way the germans followed the Nazi regime. It is mind boggling to think so many people "jumped on the band wagon" in committing such heinous crimes. I think Porpora is criticizing the fact that no one stopped to think what they were doing was horrifyingly wrong.
DeleteI agree, because I think Propora risks seeming a little hypocritical here. He in a way "excuses" an aspect of nazism as simply a manifestation of German culture. Yet he strongly critiques America for being thoughtless and not wanting to get involved in the issues in Germany. These actions of America could also be defended as an aspect of American culture. I'm not saying it is right, but I think it does not stand up to his criticism if he thinks people's actions can be excused as a part of their culture.
Delete2. A neighbor is an individual one has a moral obligation to assist despite any strong relation. Porpora argues that the source of holocausts is not the policies of a particular state, but an apathy among the citizens of that state. Therefore, evil is not radical, but a function of thoughtlessness. The source of this thoughtlessness is the lack of direct contact with one's neighbors. Porpora asserts that apathy about unseen neighbors is not unique to a time period, but systemic to American thought. Throughout history Americans have expressed little discontent with the harsh treatment of neighbors such as Central Americans, allowing the American government to continue practices of exploitation. Thus Porpora's assertion is correct and verified.
ReplyDeleteI agree Jake, especially about America's mistreatment of South America. In fact, we can look all around America and see thoughtlessness. I believe many Americans treat migrant workers with a complete lack of compassion, even though they work some of the hardes jobs in the country that most Americans do not want to work. They are severely mistreated by the people who the work for, yet many Americas turn a blind eye to them because many of them entered the country illegally. I think this is a heartless way to think about human beings. Americans should start to realize that you have a responsibility to get informed about the injustices occurring around them.
DeleteI think that idea of holocausts being the result of apathy is really insightful. There are a lot of times throughout history when crazy dictators take power or there is the potential for lunacy to rule a country, yet holocausts do not happen constantly. When they do happen it is the result of this "blind eye" and the willingness to submit.
DeleteI agree with you in that the idea of following and supporting neighbors does not seem to be a common thought for America's decision making. I think for the American people (not the government) this mistreatment comes mostly from ignorance and deception from the government. People chose to take the most popular viewpoint because not only is it easy, but it will cause fewer problems. To Madeline about the mistreatment of fellow workers, I think in the United States in particular, people tend to think more about themselves than their neighbors simply because they want to get ahead of their neighbor in terms of success or because they are different from them and people are afraid of change.
DeleteComment on Porpora’s assertion on page 197 that:
ReplyDeleteI think Porpora's assertion creates an interesting perspective on negative affects of certain decisions people make. According to him everything is opinionated and everyone acts on the best of their knowledge. If people are simply acting off their knowledge in good faith what gives someone the right to judge them on this. I agree with this statement but also feel it can be misinterpreted. If someone does something in good faith, having good intentions in mind then i feel no matter the result the person cannot be at blame. However, a persons action have to remain strictly "in good faith" this does not give someone an excuse to do harm and expect not to blamed. Many times people act out of their own knowledge causing premeditated harm. These specific actions are not in good faith and are deserving of blame and i feel Porpora would agree with this. Porpora also brings up a very good point that people tend to focus solely on actions and not what is inside our heads. I also agree with this and feel people including myself should look for the underlying meaning in peoples action, not immediately jumping to conclussions if things do not turn out as intended.
I completely agree with you on this point. I do believe that people act off their knowledge and that although they may do something in good faith, it does not mean that it is ok to harm or to let their harmful actions be ignored.
DeleteI definitely agree that people use their own knowledge to make decisions. But, this even if people have good intentions when they make decisions, it does not excuse them from doing harm and receiving blame for it. It is true that people tend to focus on the actually actions people take, not their reasoning behind it (even if it is in good faith). I also agree that Porpora's sentiment can be misinterpreted because I did not understand it when I first read it!
DeleteTots agree.
DeleteQuestion #3
ReplyDeleteI agree with Porpora on the idea that people focus on actions more than mental intentions or knowledge. However we need to understand that all actions come from a mental belief or mental knowledge. In his argument, he believes that people tend to act with the best intentions if if they know that there will be consequences or negative backlash on the action. He believes that people should know that the outcome will be positive before performing the action. Not knowing how bad the outcome would have been is never an excuse for the misdeed according to Porpora. He believes that after mass destruction like the Holocaust, knowledge must become most important before we act. He states "no matter how well-intentioned, our actions may do more harm than good," which I completely agree with because the action will always leave a bigger mark than the words that defend it. In terms of the Holocaust many people believed that the government was correct and their ignorance led them to putting their faith in the government even though years later, they realized it was the wrong thing to do because of seeing the death toll and the effect, but by the time they realized it was wrong, it was too late. Even if these people believed it was "in good faith" to act like this, the deadly consequences still put these people at fault.
I too agree with what Porpora had to say on this. People should definitely think about the outcomes and about their actions before they act or follow a government or people. It's important to have a moral and intellectual side to thoughts and ideas because that is what you are thinking and feeling and you are questioning what you believe. Just following something blindly and doing the job is not enough because it will eventually end horribly and you will still be responsible for your actions
DeleteI think Porpora offers a unique insight towards the human thought process, and how it could be different. If you follow something blindly, much like members of the Nazi party, it's hard to imagine the repercussions. However, if we think like Porpora and analyze whether or not our decision will have a negative or positive impact, the world will be better. We have the mental capacity and knowledge to think about our decisions, we just have to take the time to evaluate them.
DeleteI completely agree. I think often people focus in on the concept that ignorance is bliss, and try to live their life in this way. People think they have a moral responsibility to act on what they know, not to actively seek the truth. If they don't know about something, how are they expected to do something about it? I think people try to stay in the dark about major issues, because they don't want to feel a responsibly to do something. This is a sad fact about human nature. As Porporta described, many people think that what they do is not really blameworthy as long as they approached it with good intentions.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with this mentality. I think people not only have a responsibility to act on their knowledge, but to also actively seek out the truth. Say for instance the genocide in Guatemala that America helped support. Many Americans did not know this was what their government was doing, and thus many people did not protest their government’s actions or try to do something to stop them. I think people havw a responsibly to seek this knowledge out, to try and learn what covert actions their government in is taking in other countries. If people had done this they would have learned about the horror occurring in Guatemala on America's watch, and they would have done at least something to stop them. For another example, the issues with free trade in African countries like the Ivory Coast. In these countries slave labor is used to produce chocolate that is then put into Hersey kisses and candy bars, which Americans then buy and provide a demand for. Many people choose to not investigate this information, because they don't want to know because then they will feel bad about eating chocolate. This is another example of people not thinking that knowledge is responsibility. I think this is immoral. You should always seek out the truth, no matter what actions it might make you take.
I agree with you Madeline and believe that ignorance is bliss is a great phrase that accurately sums up the human disposition towards responsibility and action. If we are to continue to progress as a people and as a culture we must be more willing to act on the truth, as gruesome or hard to believe in it may be. Altruistic actions are what will continue to shape the human civilization not ignorance of world issues.
DeleteI agree. More times than not, we are reluctant to pursue the real intentions as to why things happened. we are constantly trying to find reasons that are easier to swallow than the truth. Max and Madeline are right, in order to grow as a civilization we need to pursue truth, not ignorance.
DeleteI generally think of my neighbor as someone or a group of people who are next to me, whether I'm sitting next to them, living next to them or just near them, a neighbor in my opinion is generally someone who is close to me (in terms of vicinity). I try to respect and be nice to everyone, but especially my neighbors or people I'm with. I would agree with Porpora to the extent that we have to think about our countries' decisions on a global scale and how that might affect our neighbors, however, I don't think we should necessarily make decisions that are in favor of our neighbors, they should be beneficial to our own country too. In other words, I think it's important that we recognize how certain decisions can impact other countries (our neighbors), but our priorities (as a country) come first. I do agree with Porpora, however, that a commitment to neighborliness is a radical one, especially in the minds of the modern American. As a people, we are generally indifferent to the fate of others, granted we have no relation. the "lack" of care we have for others (neighbors) resulted in a massive genocide, which is what Porpora discusses were the main proponents of American involvement in WWII, "Selfishness, nation-worship, anti-communism." (68). Thinking "neighborly" is essentially an unpatriotic mindset, which is why it is such a radical commitment for Americans.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your stance on how making a commitment to a neighbor can be a bad idea. However, i feel it is a commitment that is necessary. In terms of our country we are know to have one of the strongest militaries in the world but there are still many countries who can do us harm. I think we need to make a commitment to our neighboring countries in order to get their commitment in return. We need allies in this world or else we can go from the strongest to the weakest in a short amount of time. I feel this is more of where Porpora is getting his feelings towards making a commitment to our neighbors in general.
DeleteI think that neighbors are more than an individual or group that happens to be in the same vicinity as another individual. Porpora's point is that the standard to describe an individual or group as a neighbor needs to be lowered from close vicinity to nearly all men and women. As a result of decreasing the standard of neighborship (?), there is a greater moral obligation to assist groups in need. Yet, I agree that this understanding of neighborliness is absent from the American psyche.
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ReplyDeleteWhat does Doug Porpora argue are the primary ways/reasons we allowed ourselves to become a party to genocide (as discussed in Chapter 6)?
ReplyDelete-lack of knowledge- for example, America didn't know whether or not we were supporting or not supporting El Salvador government in Nicaragua. Even though there was so much propaganda and media about it, Americans still did not know what was going on.
-people in America do not know names or senators/congress representatives or which party is in control. This shows that we are unaware of what is truly happening politically in our country.
-Politicians put forward arguments, not that are right, but that appear to be right and easily understood by people. This gives the government the ability to easily manipulate its people.
-There are inequalities of wealth, which ultimately makes people have unequal say.
-Images from Holocausts movies gives genocides a certain image. Everything looked normal in America, therefore they assumed nothing like a genocide was going on
Because of these reasons, we allow ourselves to become a party of genocide. Politicians have the ability to deceive the people, and in return, we believe what is said much easier. The propaganda also plays a huge role in manipulating our beliefs. Americans did not realize that, for eight years, the Reagan administration was pursuing genocidal policies in Central America. But, the society during the time did not recognize the policies in Central America because of their lack of knowledge, and the manipulation of the government.
I agree that politicians can easily deceive people that appear ignorant. People choose to follow leaders blindly because it is the easier thing to do rather than to challenge the issue and take the unpopular viewpoint. This idea can be seen firsthand with Hitler and the people of Germany falling into the propaganda and Nazi party simply because they were vulnerable and ignorant. I totally agree with you in that the government has full responsibility in deceiving people into agreeing with the government's action that may include genocide.
DeleteQuestion #3.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Porpora that knowledge has become, and is a responsibility. Although knowledge may point to one decision or action, if its overbearing affect on society is harmful you must take responsibility to act in a different way. The problem with this is also that good faiths vary from person to person and culture to culture. In Asian and middle eastern cultures women are looked down upon and viewed as less, even though their is no premise for this except for a difference in gender. It should be within the power of those with knowledge to become activists and change what they know is wrong.
I also agree with Porpora's assertions that knowledge is a responsibility. Obviously, the burden of knowledge is that it is not enough to merely acquire knowledge but its even more important when you understand how to use that knowledge critically. Activism, as you say, is very important.
Delete2. A neighbor is someone who aligns with your geographical or political interests. Essentially, it is someone with who you share a particular and usually singular experience. Porpora's assertions about the duty of neighbors truly speaks to the commitment it takes to really call yourself a neighbor. There is a certain universality that one must acquire because being a neighbor can apply to many different situations so those who are neighbors must keep an open mind when evaluating other people. Porpora criticizes mainstream American Christendom for failing at those neighborly encounters that do not occur "face to face" and require deeper critical thought. For example, there is a great hypocrisy in those Christians who criticize other Christians in their community who are gay or get abortions but pretend that they love all according to the teachings of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you're definition of a neighbor and feel as though the Porpora criticisms stem further than that of face to face encounters. Essentially, the phrase "love thy neighbor" is one of the 10 Commandments, making it part of the fundamental biblical principles that we learn today. Porpora looks into the idea of neighbors in a deeper way and is even able to subliminally attack one of the main ideas of a prominent religion in America.
DeleteI also agree with your definition of a neighbor. I also like Max's reference to "love thy neighbor". It is important to create a level of commitment to your neighbor, in order to create mutual trust. America has to really understand their political decisions, but also their effect on different countries (neighbors) in order to truly be a neighbor to them. We have to be true to our decisions and understand their consequences.
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