Justice and the ongoing search for a Good Life

In a CCTV video from Thursday, from eastern Zhejiang Province of China, a couple on a scooter is seen riding along a city street when suddenly they are hit by a vehicle.

Then I see an update to my roll and oh how awesome it was. Hopefully, in my rush to get ready for class, I can formulate my thoughts clearly.

While my opinion on heroism has changed since September, I feel the need to push back right now. While I respect the idea that hero is thrown around to much today and I find myself screaming at the tv every single time I hear, there are circumstances when it can be applied in the way we have come to see it. The comment from politcalscience383 "I think the use of heroism would be inappropriate to describe those who helped save the woman" just set me off. 

I will call these people heroes, screw the definition we've discussed in class! They helped save a woman who was trapped. The represented what can be good about our species. They were not at personal risk but she was, they saved her. The idea of heroism means something different to everyone, that is allowed. To put this into an academic box and ruin the feeling it gives people is terrible. They are example of heroes to me, in this context. This article, for me, represents what can be wrong with education, it can tarnish and diminish an idea which is so powerful that it can motivate people to change their own world. It can force one to analyze to much and remove feeling, to become sterile.

It’s been 70 years since we fought a war about freedom. Forced troop worship and compulsory patriotism must end

This article was interesting to read. We have discussed heroism a lot in this class and what actually constitutes heroism. As it is written about it Greek mythology, heroism requires great deeds and confrontation with one’s own mortality. In the present day, we use the word hero to describe a lot of people who do not fit this description – “hero” has largely come to mean a good person who is willing to make sacrifices to help others. Simply being a good person is not the kind of heroism the Greeks admired.

Soldiers, arguably, may be the closest thing we have to the Greek heroes. They are undertaking dangerous missions for the sake of America. This article questions the assignment of the word hero to all soldiers. I think that is not entirely correct.

The police for one is more susceptible to criticism even though they may have committed less heinous antics compared to their military counterparts. The fact that their lives are less ‘jeapardous’ than soldiers paves the path for more acceptable criticism. 

If utter brutishness or “Greek heroism” is the standard for heroic praise, then the soldiers in the Spanish-American war of 1898 should be equitably labeled as duds for catching Yellow fever and returning home. If the more acceptable modern interpretation of heroism which includes all the good stuff like - valor, courage and sacrifice is the standard for heroism, then American soldiers, for its sheer size and puissance, are always the antithesis of the aforementioned when it comes to war. I’m not saying that just because the American military is perhaps the most potent in the world, that it should not be considered heroic by default. I’m saying that the lack of any outstanding use of most parts of the military is why it should not be considered heroic by default. 

It’s also unfair to strip American soldiers of their reverence just because they were instructed to conduct dirty drone wars or unwarranted invasions in the Middle East. Many soldiers fight in the belief that their sacrifice is for the trade-off of the good life of the citizens.

There was a video that once went viral of an American soldier defending a Muslim cashier from a patron that refused to make a purchase from him. Although it was staged, it brought out the commendable values of the soldier’s sacrifice - the refusal to accept that his service was for a racist society. 

I am a veteran, am I a hero? No. I agree with the author in that this society has used service members as a catch for the hero tag and to promote some sort of internal patriotism. I sit back and watch the pats on the back on Veterans Day and Memorial Day and wince. I cannot stand the useless banter of Sean Hannity saying "our brave men and women in uniform" every 5 minutes to bolster his patriotic stand in society. 

I am shaking right now, with absolute anger. In another class of mine this same topic came up followed with some bullshit about how so and so hates this country and blah blah blah. Just put that in here because it was rattling in my head and needed to come out.

At some point this morning, a fellow classmate mentioned what should we call those that sacrifice? How about Americans? Does that work? 

I never defended your freedom, not once, in fact I met not a single sole in my time that did. It doesn't exist. What we represent is our country, that's it. It is an idea, something larger than ourselves. Some take more pride in that than others, I for one fit into the former. I loved putting that uniform on every single day I was privileged to. It took me many years to fully respect what I belonged to. I didn't sacrifice anything, please stop with that nonsense. Sacrifice is such an overused word much like hero. I did a JOB, plain and simple. I chose that job like anyone can choose what they want to do. My job was amazing, it came easy. In fact, most of the time we don't do our JOB, not combat branches. We TRAIN to do our JOB. We go to work, we do physical training, we bitch and moan and spend more time doing paperwork and preparing for meetings than anyone on the planet. We drink and have fun, spend time with family and friends and we get to go to the most amazing places on the planet and meet the most amazing people you could ever hope to meet. 

While in this job, I did do awful things, I did amazing things. I helped my "family", I would have given my life for so many of them because I loved them. Very few jobs expect that, maybe that's why people look to the military with reverence sometimes. I wish they didn't, I hate it. I hate freebies and the fake patriotism that I've witnessed. I hate that people who criticize what we do are themselves vilified as traitors. I encourage it, I can handle it.

I respect those that came before me and did their job, I respect anybody who does their job regardless of what they do. There are good guys and bad guys in all facets of life. The author seems to enjoy picking apart the sexual offenses or civilian killing that happens. I would like to punch him in the face for that. It is our business, not yours! We handle it in a way that you can't possibly imagine. I've laughed at videos, one's like those mentioned in the articles and again, it is our business. It is a way of dealing with some awful things we see and do. Things we are told to do because we decided WE would do them. Not this pansy ass piece of shit. 

People join the military because it offers benefits that no other company offers and at a pay that most never see. Eighteen year old's make $1500 a month after taxes, free place to live, free food, free healthcare, and a family if they never had one. Tell me where else this happens? If they are told to go to a useless war to kill people for no good reason, then they do it because it is their job. My school is paid for, I retired at 36 and experienced more than most people would in many lifetimes. I got paid to do all of this and "sacrificed" very little for it. I loved it.

None of this makes me a hero. I risked my life for my friends when it was required, doesn't make me a hero. I simply protected my "family", my brothers and sisters, I looked out for them and they for me. I did my JOB, the JOB I asked to do, that I wanted to do. I did the JOB I was trained to do. Quit trying to pick apart what we do, it doesn't look good for you. Unless you have put that uniform on it is difficult to grasp what it means, what we do, who we are. This doesn't make us better, is makes us American, just like anybody else in this country. We belong to a group, much like any other group. Lawyers, doctors, janitors, teachers, cashiers....all members of a group. All with quirks and inside jokes. All with good and bad members.

I am proud of my service, not because of some ridiculous holiday I now get to experience. I am proud because I did my best. I did things I didn't know I could. The saddest day of my life was taking my uniform off for the final time, I haven't washed it and it still hangs the same way. It represents something bigger than the awards or badges I earned. It doesn't represent heroics, it represents my country. A country I didn't love as much as I probably should have. It represents everyone that has a voice, it represents the good and the bad in our country. 

You won’t find this map in your U.S. history textbook.

Since it is Native American History Month, and the recent school shooting in Alaska, I’d like to highlight a historical example of injustice that had carried on to the present day.

While the American indian tribes may not have had defined, deed-esque claims on the land, the land was theirs. One of the greatest injustices ever done by this nation was the displacement of the First Nation. The US is not alone or original in the injustice. 

Fun fact, our state (Nebraska) would be split primarily between migrating Teton/Lakota (Sioux) and Umomhon (Omaha).

I think a huge part of the problem is how long ago this was. What do we do to correct it? The article’s title implicitly (my interpretation, anyway) suggests that the US reorganize itself based upon (former) tribal identities. What? Structural changes aren’t the answer to the question of how to right our wrong of murdering who knows how many million people through war, disease, and forced displacement. What does changing Nebraska’s name to “Umonhon” (which is just the un-anglicized form of “Omaha”) do? 24 states have names rooted in Native American etymology anyway. Plenty of county and city names come from Native American languages. Does the article suggest we just hand over power to Native Americans? Sorry, but that’s ridiculous. It’s legitimately confusing.

There’s very little structurally we can do to say “sorry.” Sure, there are the reservations, but how do those work out? Not well, if you ask me. From what I’ve heard most live in poverty. Alcoholism is rampant, education isn’t well-funded. From the outside, to me, it seems bleak.

So I prescribe a sort of rehabilitative justice. In another class of mine we’ve been talking about transitional justice, i.e. what to do after a genocide/crimes against humanity. What ought to happen is a full-blown recognition and re-evaluation of what we (European immigrants) did to the Native Americans. I mean, do away with the Thanksgiving narrative, talk instead about how we slaughtered millions and gained a bunch of land, and therefore we were able to become the most powerful country in the world. Alongside that, talk about Native American cultures, languages, facilitate discussion and respect for native cultures (there are a lot so this is probably the difficult part). I’m particularly concerned with dying languages. There are some native languages that are literally a generation away from extinction. Some effort ought to be made to revive it.

Isn’t that the point of these “________ history months?” To discuss and respect the different cultures that make up our country?

The ballot initiative will hike the state’s minimum wage to $8 per hour in 2015 and to $9 an hour in 2016.

Seeing as election day just passed, I think it is perfect timing to talk about the minimum wage increase. Personally, I am happy about it (I work at a children’s museum of course I would love to be paid more for dealing with those brats), but I am somewhat surprised that it passed. Embarrassingly I was not as informed as I should have been for these elections, and only really felt passionate about the result of this vote after seeing an ad on TV for it. But I was caught off guard by Norman Anderson’s, who voted against the raise, statement near the end

[Minimum wage should] be a good start for kids in high school, not a wage for adults supporting families.

In response to agentsmokestack, I would say that, in addition to what I and thenothingnessthinks said, in this country, the minimum wage is required as many people who work minimum wage jobs often don’t earn a living wage. Some people don’t have the qualifications for another, higher-paying job, or the experience. Everyone ought to be able to work 40 hours per week and provide for themselves and their children. In some other countries, minimum wage is negotiated based upon industries. In Germany (which also recently instituted a national minimum wage, effective 2015) there are powerful and positively-viewed unions which can negotiate with companies in their industry to provide a minimum (living) wage for workers in that industry. Since we live in the United States, labor unions are (seen as) evil, so our option to ensure a living wage is to use a government-instituted minimum wage law.

Reading through I agree with and disagreed with everyone and I must admit, I did vote FOR this initiative. I am a bit torn about this though because I am not an idealist, I'm a pragmatist. Ideally this is a no brainer issue which would give those making minimum wage a nice little boost to help their lives. Realistically, this will do no such thing, it is 3 quarters extra an hour, if you think that that little extra is enough to stimulate our economy, please don't vote, I am serious. While it does make sense that more money on a paycheck would mean more spending, this isn't the case most of the time. People save, they don't splurge. In addition, the realist will understand that in order to maintain crazy big profit margins and avoid paying more tax, most businesses will reduce hours for those employees that need it. Not to be assholes but because it is simply business.

Small-business owners will feel a bit of a sting, higher pay and more taxes and possibly enough to slow small business growth. Is this realistic, probably not as much as some conservatives believe, but it is a concern.

US advises against Ebola isolation

I've been through quarantine before, not a big deal. What would make this a bigger issue is if those persons are losing pay or benefits, then it would be terrible. Then we could bitch rightfully.

The Dearborn Heights District 7 Board of Education chose a less severe punishment for the honor student who was initially expelled after a pocketknife was found in her purse at a football game.

This is certainly a moral dilemma that has never been brought up in politics and now I hope it is. I for one am opposed to the death penalty, not because of some moral qualm but because it is extremely expensive and does nothing to curb heinous crime in our country. My resolve is much greater now and I would like to pose a question to those that support this, would you execute them? Maybe have the family members do it. Or politicians that stand on a pedestal and say this is a good deterrent. 

I do not envy those that have this profession though I understand how there can be disconnect. It has to be there or insanity sets in. It is reasoning with yourself because the alternative is a suffering like no other.

This man, according to most accounts, knew he had been in contact, knew the law regarding infected people and disregarded it. He got on an airplane full of people, a sealed aircraft which has no quarantine equipment and possibly exposed everyone on board. While he showed no signs or symptoms, is this a risk you would take? Would you want to sit next to someone who had been in contact with an infected?