To act or not to act: the will of a gentleman

When I was a young man in my early 20s I began courting a lovely woman whose name I cannot recall. One day I took her to an outdoor screening of The Sound of Music at the Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto. At the very last minute I decided to take my brother along with us. He is aspiring to become a film major and he loves The Sound of Music. The film was marvelous and the night air was crisp. My favorite scene was when Rolfe found them and captain asked him to join them. He had an opportunity and chose not to act, a feeling I found soon understand later that night. Being the gentleman that I am I drove the lady home and walked her to her door and we reflected on the evening. She said something about my brother but in all honesty I wasn’t really listening. Her neighborhood didn’t have many working street lights and was very dark. If it wasn’t for the obvious cries for help we would not have known what had happened just a few blocks over. An old lady walking home was robbed. The thief had snatched her purse and started running down the street. I could’ve easily told myself that I was too stunned initially to react quickly enough but the truth was I was too afraid to act. I bid the lady a farewell, got back in the car and ask my brother what I should have done. He had not seen anything because it was dark and partly because he’s rarely aware of his surroundings. When I told him what had happened he said “you should have done something, obviously”. I remember something my English teacher once taught me: he said “injustice take happens when great men do nothing” or something like that he may have quoted someone but it made me think. Before tonight if someone asked me “would you try to stop a thief if you had the chance?” I’d say yes instinctively. It seems there is an unspoken code between gentlemen: Invite a film lover to a film, escort a lady to her door, and stop a thief. But the difference between gentlemen is their will to act. My brother called me a coward that night, and although I hate it when he challenges me like that, I couldn’t agree more.

-Men are all alike in their promises it is only in their deeds that they differ

            Molière

Human Rights

Martin Luther King Jr

Martin Luther King was raised in Georgia and graduated high school at the age of 15. He then attended Morehouse College; a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. In 1954, Martin Luther King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. From 1957 to 1968 King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. He directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream" he was awarded five honorary degrees and was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure. At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement. On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.

I chose Martin Luther King Jr for this blog post because even though on paper he seemed to have had it better than the average black man at the time he till fought injustice. Many people don’t realize that injustice against one black person is an injustice against us all. Martin Luther King Jr believed that every American no matter their race deserved the same opportunities and if they should fail it should be by their own hand and not someone’s intolerance or ignorance. This has inspired me to take action as a Canadian against ignorance. Not just in race or religion but in any time a person makes a snap judgement or bullies because they are not well educated on the matter. In this anti-bullying and information age, not being knowledgeable of a subject is no excuse to be offensive. My strategy is to simply listen more carefully when my colleges speak and if necessary inform them on topics they don’t fully comprehend. I hope others will follow my example.     

Becoming A Global Citizen

In an interdependent world everyone relies on each other to maintain a global community, but everyone is also influenced by each other positively and negatively. Although we have not yet become a completely global community we still impact people we may never meet with our actions. In an interdependent world no one says to themselves “I won’t recycle or take shorter showers because I am just one person and it won’t make a difference”. They’ll know that while one person doesn’t usually make a difference, by working together and thinking as a global community we can affect the earth in a positive or negative way. If even half of the world’s population didn’t litter, burn fossil fuels, or waste water in their own day to day well a lot of today’s global issues might not exist. It isn’t easy for some people to take the lead, but by creating a more earth friendly lifestyle for yourself, your positive influence will spread and we can change the world.

Interdependence

"We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations, far away.... We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt, Former US President, 1945.

Even in 1945 there was a President that knew that the world was becoming more interdependent. He understood that we rely on the economic, political, agricultural success of other countries. This day Roosevelt's words have only become more accurate. Like the photo above we are all connected and rely on everyone to maintain what we have created. If one country was to fail then everything would collapse. Even though over 60 years have passed most Americans still don't think about what country their household products come from and what state that country is in. they don't realize that their way of living depends on countries miles away that they never think about. As world trade increases, so does the distribution of wealth and our reliance on other countries to maintain our lifestyles.

AIC Reflection

In the Arab-Israeli conflict simulation is a way for students to act as nations involved in the conflict and attempt to resolve it. Each member of a group is assigned a political figure in their country and must communicate with other countries discussing, foreign policies, alliances, military action, press releases and more. I really enjoy this simulation because it forces you to research the current state of your country so you can act accordingly as events take place. In my experience of learning history and world issues the AIC simulation is the best way to learn, understand and pay attention to current event and I hope so see more activities like this as the year progresses.

My summer





This summer I wasn't really involved in world issues. I have had conversation in passing with acquaintances about African politics, international business and such but it was pretty uneventful. I decided to visit Toronto one day and I took a photography class there in the month of July, I visited many many art galleries and museums with new classmates and future colleges. After the class ended I began to rollerblade more at skate parks and such. My rollerblade supplier was opening a branch in Toronto and it was during there Thursday Night Sessions that met a man who was looking for photographers to film and photograph for his company. I suppose getting employed and contibuting to the economy is in relation to world issues. The man who hired me aparently had some trouble finding a job in his fields so he started his own business. To this day I'm still not exactly sure what the company is or really sells.