POLS 383 Blog

[importantsheepeagle]

Picking Our Heroes

I think it is hard to label someone as a hero. People are flawed and we want heroes to be like those of stories, but heroes aren't like that in real life. Heroes in real life are just as broken as everyone else. They just pushed themself to go past the bystander effect and do something to help someone else. I don't think our heroes have to have done something amazing like saving someone from being run over by the subway. I think that our heroes can come from the people in our own lives who we see making a positive impact on the people around them. They are making a concerted effort to help people and show people respect and kindness. I think that is what I am looking for when I am evaluating who my heroes are now and will be in the future.

[importantsheepeagle]

Ordinary People

We all like to see ourselves as the main character in movies. We run though how we would perform in certain difficult situations, but we really have no idea how would respond. I wish more people, including myself, had the natural instinct to act heroically. I would like to see more people, however, contributing the general betterment of society. This means engaging in activism and political conversations. It doeesn't mean just talking to the people we already no agree with us. Even if not every ordinary person can become a hero, I do believe that every ordinary person has the capacity to participate in their community and do what they can do better that community.

[importantsheepeagle]

Justice is not subjective

I would agree with the idea that justice is not subjective. I think justice should and is a universal concept that applies to everyone. I also think that justice transcends societal norms and laws for any given time period. I believe that what is right 200 years ago is still fundamentally the same in a modern situation. I also think it is unfair of modern people to not apply to same sense of justice to ourselves as we do to the past and the people around us. Justice means equality and freedom for all people. That doesn’t mean freedom and equality for the people that we like or agree with — all means all. Justice doesn’t mean people getting what they deserve either like karma. I think what justice ultimately means to me is assuming that everyone around me deserves the same respect as anyone else. I don’t think justice is a violent force. I think it is something we are actively contributing to or taking away from in the world with all of our actions. 

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The Downfalls of Imperialism

If you are a really powerful county, expanding into others areas of the world was a natural progression of power. England and Spain both did it. Rome was no exception. However, by the time of Antony and Cleopatra, Rome was no longer attached to a specific place, but the leader. In my opinion, the downfall of imperialism is the inability of leaders to adapt to leading a spread out and diverse group of people. Laws don’t always transfer culturally. The laws that govern Western Europe might not function well in places like India and Africa. I believe that Empires are destined to fall because of this issue. Centralization to a certain location is beneficial to a government system. Justice is better executed when the people governing actually have to interact with their constituents.

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Excessive Pleasure and Excessive Emotion

I find it interesting that excessive pleasure and excessive emotion is the ultimate downfall of Marc Antony. He is blinded by Cleopatra and her successful attempt to manipulate him into putting her and her family in a position of power. His life was simple and when given a challenge — standing. by Caesar in death — he failed. Marc Antony could have taken the difficult path, but instead made decisions for his own benefit. He then avoided the consequences of those actions and pursued a relationship where he was being used for political gain by Cleopatra. Marc Antony did what was best for Marc Antony. That pushed him to miss what was right in front of him the whole time. His want for pleasure and emotion pushed him to miss her scheme. 

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Suicide in Greek Tragedy

I am fascinated by this concept of “falling on your own sword” that is so pervasive in all of these tragedies. I think that it is this sort of cop-out used by Shakespeare to give characters who have made stupid decisions a way to die that somehow deems them admirable. In reality, however, they are just avoiding the consequences of their actions. Marc Antony’s failed suicide points to this exactly. He didn’t deserve the honorable death because his life wasn't honorable, but I don’t think most of these characters do and I don’t think suicide is an honorable death. The frustration that Octavius faces with both suicides is value. Suicide places the power in the person who kills themself, but they don’t hav to deal with any of the consequences of that action. I never like Romeo and Juliet because I felt like both of their deaths were meaningless. They complicated the lives of the people around them and then left. I find this element of Shakespeare very frustrating. 

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Pete Ricketts

Coronavirus is going up in Nebraska. There are many hospitals that have run out space for people and for the bodies of people who have died from coronavirus. All of these factors should, in theory, encourage a mask mandate from Governor Pete Ricketts. But in recent press conferences, Ricketts has failed to implement a state-wide mask mandate. Restrictions on social gatherings have increased. Lincoln will begin new restrictions soon. These new guidelines, though possibly beneficial, are coming too late. There are already many people across the state with coronavirus and are struggling. Justice in this case would have been putting in health guidelines when the virus was in the initial stages of spreading. Instead Governor Ricketts put partisan politics above the safety of Nebraskans and now Nebraska is dealing with the consequences of his inaction. 

[importantsheepeagle]

The Definition of a Hero

After reading everything this semester, I still have trouble defining what a hero really is to me. The conclusion I have come to however is who my hero is. My grandfather died when I was 11. He was an English teacher and high school principal who student taught at the same school he retired from in Mexico, Missouri. The stories I have heard from the people who were his students and worked with him are the reason he is my hero. He put others before himself and worked really hard to make everyone around him feel valued. He invested a lot in his community. That is the key detail in being a hero. Heroes are not the people who receive the most glory or fame, but the people that do what is best for the people around them. Heroes can be found in battle or they can be found on the frontlines of a global health crisis. They can also be found in schools and in government officials. All heroes have flaws. They are just humans who are doing what they can for their communities. 

[importantsheepeagle]

On Cleopatra

I think that we tend to see men as turning female characters into objects that only serve the to please and serve the men, but Cleopatra does the opposite. Cleopatra manipulates all of the men in her life to get exactly what she wants. She saw Caesar as up and coming in Rome and put herself in a position to capitalize on that later. When the time came, she used Marc Antony to solidify her plan and place her in a position of power. Cleopatra was a political genius. The men would never assume she was making a play for power, but she was putting herself and her family in one of the most influential positions in the world at the time. Cleopatra is one of my favorite characters from all of what we have read this semester. 

[importantsheepeagle]

What Resonated with Me

What resonated the most with me from our course content this semester was the emphasis placed on political participation in all of stories we read. I find political apathy to be a pervasive problem in modern American politics and all of the various societies from these stories were the opposite. People were extremely engaged with the government — whether that was for better or for worse is debatable. Political engagement keeps our government in check. It was really interesting to me to talk about political communities while the United States political community is in such divide. I found there to be a lot of content that you can pull lessons from for the modern world. 

The other discussion that resonated with me a lot was the one surrounding friendship. I agree with the idea that friendship should be based out of respect for one another and not for transactional purposes. In the time of coronavirus, I think we have been forced to narrow down who we really want to invest in when it comes to the people we have in our lives. It takes a lot of work to maintain friendships and even more work during a pandemic. It is also clear during this time what other people value. I have lost a lot of respect for people who aren’t obeying by guidelines and that has damaged those friendships. After this time in our lives, I think it will be much clearer what we prioritize. 

Overall, I found this class to be really interesting. I had read many of these texts prior, but the current global context and explanations made me see them in a different way. I still there is a lot to be gained from reading the work of these great philosophers and playwrights. 

[importantsheepeagle]

The Public Good

“Power grabbing” and too much power is an interesting concept both in Shakespeare and in modern politics. Julius Caesar was seen as “being too powerful” at least that is what the people who coordinated his assassination said about their reasoning. Throughout the last several election cycles, the term “power grab” has come up multiple times. This word has come from both from the Democrats in 2016, the 2018 midterms, and from Republicans currently. 

Republicans are saying that this election was a fraudulent power grab by the Democrats and that Joe Biden is not a legitimate president-elect. There is no evidence of massive amounts of voter-fraud in this election. Donald Trump lost both the popular vote and the electoral college fair and square. Joe Biden isn’t “stealing the election”. He won. That is who the American people elected. In 2016, outside of Russian interference, the American people choose Donald Trump. 

The case of Julius Caesar is different in the sense that Caesar wasn’t elected — Marc Antony was going to give him the corn of Rome. The conspirators convince themselves and Brutus that they are doing the best thing for Rome. That they are protecting their society from the hypothetical misdoings of Julius Caesar, but what they end up doing is deligimatizing their government and causing chaos. This is a classic tragedy for a reason. Their actions created their inevitable doom. 

I think one of the lessons to be pulled from this is play is the dedication to the public good is easily manipulated. In this situation Brutus was manipulated and then the public was easily turned against the conspirators. This is evident in the discussions seen on every major News network since the election was called for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. People are debating whether or not the outcome of this election will be beneficial for the American people. 

However, I believe that “public service” and the “public good” has been corrupted in the United States just as it is in societies with dictators. Politics has become a life-long career that has numerous benefits if you can secure power and hold on to it. There is so much money moving in and out of campaigns and from interest groups that determining whether a politician is doing something because they were told or because it is actually what is best for our country has become an increasingly difficult. 

Unlike the conspirators in the play, we have the opportunity to remove people from positions of authority that we see as being corrupt or not working in the best interest of the people. That is the beauty of democracy, but that only functions when we are actively participating in politics. That is now when it is convenient for us or reading Twitter headlines. True and active citizenship requires effort. We shouldn’t be turning the people against the system. People, like in play, should be turned against the people in power who have let exploited those systems for their own benefit. As citizens it is our job and political privilege to keep politicians in check. 

[importantsheepeagle]

In the News 11/12

https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-florida-e2a4431f7319afd037023d9a586aa291

This article talks about the missteps of former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta with the Jeffrey Epstein plea deal. Epstein was given 13 months in a work-release program instead of a life sentence in 2008. Then Epstein was charged again in 2019 and subsequently killed himself in prison. Epstein was known to be a sexual predator and the deal that they gave him allowed him to continue harming people for over another decade. Justice in this case wasn't served. Epstein was never tried for most of his crimes and given leniency on the others. This is an example of the US Justice system failing to actually serve justice. Because we have a system that allows for so many plea deals people who are clearly going to be repeat offenders are allowed to continue to harm people. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Senator, said, “Letting a well-connected billionaire get away with child rape and international sex trafficking isn’t ‘poor judgment’ – it is a disgusting failure. Americans ought to be enraged. Jeffrey Epstein should be rotting behind bars today, but the Justice Department failed Epstein’s victims at every turn.” I think Sasse is correct in saying that the justice system failed the victims in the case of Jeffrey Epstein. 

[importantsheepeagle]

In the News 11/10

https://apnews.com/article/eu-files-antitrust-against-amazon-8e0222555df76c36bfbeed3289222d94

The EU filed anti-trust charges against Amazon this week under the allegation that Amazon uses their data to harm competition to their own businesses on their platform. Anti-trust laws are really complicated surrounding data and there is a lot of grey area regarding platforms such as Amazon. The EU has also filed charges against Google. Justice and what is best for the consumer is difficult to define in a capitalist society because what is best for the consumer and what is most convenient might not ultimately be the same thing. It is beneficial for consumers to have Amazon, but it also hurts smaller businesses. Where does justice come into play when you are trying to protect capitalistic interests, consumers, and small businesses at the same time?

[importantsheepeagle]

In the News 11/5

https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-campaigns-1686896c09a50f8ea545f98a76a17dec

Trump is pushing is court case forward in several swing states. Biden has more votes than any other presidential candidate with over 71 million votes. Trump is pushing for the votes to stop being counted and claiming that he won the race already. Justice will be a free and fair election regardless of who wins. Whether that means Trump or Biden, it will be an outcome that the system we built created. There is unrest in many areas starting regarding counting votes or not counting votes. The fact that there is violence surrounding an election in the United States feels like we have lost our sense of justice as a country. 

[importantsheepeagle]

In the News 11/3

https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-virus-outbreak-ad7ce3a5d6502bf73556f55a53b9e3a1

This article is discussing the amount of anxiety that Americans have for the election occurring today. On top of anxiety regarding mail-in ballots, there are so many unknown factors for how the the fall out from the election will be handled. People are afraid that Trump won’t leave peacefully or that there will be violence will occur in major cities. Justice feels like it has reverted to something that feels similar to that of the civil rights movement. Hotlines to report voter intimidation are every where and many cities have had business board up their windows in preparation for rioting. It is hard to see a future of true justice in the United States with another four years of the Trump administration. Biden, though not ideal, appears to bee the lesser of two evils. After tonight Trump or Biden will win but is does not feel like the American people will either way the election swings. 

[importantsheepeagle]

On Friendship

I see friendship as an activity because it is something that you are actively pursuing. Complacent friendship is not really friendship. In order to be truly friends with someone, you need to be involved in their life and wanting to participate in their lives. I never went to high school with my best friends. All four of us went to schools at least 20 minutes away from each other. It took a lot of effort to be friends and to say connected. Now we all go to different colleges. When I say that I think friendship is an activity, I don’t mean that you have to be with your friends all the time to make them your friends. I believe that friendship is always making the effort whether you are a 10 minute walk or hundreds of miles away. 

[importantsheepeagle]

In the News 10/29

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-north-carolina-election-4820caf0f0e8a7aaa3488f242b633cdf

The article talks about the recent decisions by SCOTUS regarding the upcoming election. The deadlines for absentee ballots were extended in two of the three states that were up for debate. North Carolina and Pennsylvania were the two whose deadlines were extended. Wisconsin was a no. The Trump administration was attempting to shorten the time frame to accept ballots. The court ruled that election rules should be up to the states. Justice Barrett did not take part in these decisions. These rulings are favorable for justice in two states, but not in Wisconsin. I think there should be equity between states in election procedures. Every citizen deserves the same right to vote in the United States. How can our system be just if not everyone has the same opportunity to participate?