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DoingWrongByNotDoing 6 - 25 Mar 2010 - Main.AerinMiller
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| | I keep thinking back to something Eben brought up in class last week (Tuesday)- namely, the idea that if you see a problem, or something that you don’t think is OK, you should be doing something about it. I think Eben’s comments resonated with me because they struck a chord with a sort of guilty feeling I’ve often had. The guilt doesn’t come from actively doing anything wrong, but from not actively doing anything that seems particularly right. I’ve often felt uncomfortable with the idea that my life could be considered a moral life when I don’t really think I do anything to correct problems that I see around me. I think the issue boils down to a question of inaction as a morally culpable offense. I do think there is a moral imperative to act when we see something that we think is wrong. I think this idea leads to guilt because I don’t think that I do enough to act, and it’s something that I hope to change if I can figure out how. It made me start thinking about ideas that I’ve struggled with before- for instance, what difference is there between letting someone die before your eyes and not giving them (for example’s sake) the five dollars in your pocket that could save them by buying them food, and not sending food or support somewhere when you can spare it and where it could have a similar lifesaving impact? When does not doing something become as wrong as doing something positively wrong? It’s hard for me to figure out the difference- maybe this is because there isn’t a meaningful one.
I’m wondering what other people think about this. If a person sees something wrong in the world and doesn’t do anything about it, is he or she more culpable than someone who simply doesn’t see the wrong, by choice or by chance? It sort of reminds me also of the philosophical question- is a person brave who isn’t scared in the face of danger, or is a person truly brave who is scared and proceeds anyway? I can’t really articulate how these are connected, but I think it has something to do with making active choices and being aware of situations and choosing to overcome them (as opposed to not facing those choices whatsoever). | | | I both agree and disagree with what you say. I think that using our licenses to help make systemic changes is of vital importance. Eben certainly has stressed this. But at the same time, I think that Eben has also stressed that we need to use our power on an individual level as well, especially in our discussion about Joseph Stack. Working to make big changes is important. There are a lot of problems at the macro level, and if we don't work to solve them, it is hard to see who will. At the same time, we must work at the micro level as well. There are a lot of individuals who have issues that we can help them find solutions to. They need one good lawyer who will work with them. This can be the difference between life and death. Finding these people and helping them get through their problems today is of vital importance as well. It is very easy to get caught up at the systemic level, trying to make changes that will affect people 20 years down the road, but to forget about the homeless man who doesn't have dinner and a warm bed today is a huge mistake. Figuring out a way to balance these two is important, and it is one of the things that I have taken away from this class thus far.
-- DavidGoldin - 11 Mar 2010 | |
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> | Hm I might not have been phrasing my main point clearly enough - I definitely recognize Eben's emphasis on this "micro level" change. It came up again (abstractly) in our discussion about the Mignionette, when he pressed us to drop all the moralizing and think about how we would try this case, where the crime was, if anywhere. This emphasis on case-by-case decision making and on thinking before each and every decision is nothing if not good works on the smallest level. What I was saying was merely that it took about three weeks of Eben's class before I understood the difference between working for the big picture Good, and doing good every day, in every decision. And I am glad that distinction has been made, because I think it is a critical one, and not necessarily one encouraged in college, or here by those running public interest programs. |
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