Humanities

All of my life I was raised with the idea that everyone is equal. I remember when I was younger my parents used to say to me that I wasn’t better than anyone and no one was better than me.

In “Ethics for a Whole World” by the Dalai Lama, the thesis is, when thinking about justice compassion is the most important aspect.. I believe that when we look at something with a compassionate mindset, then there is a lot more justice and this leads to peace. The Dalai Lama talks about fundamental equality, strength, compassion, and of course justice. All of these relate back to Ethics for a Whole World.The Dalai Lama says, “Forgiveness is an essential part of a compassionate attitude, but it is a virtue that is easily misunderstood.” Dalai lamas point out that everyone is capable of change no matter what they do or did. I can agree with this to some degree. Most people can change with an open mind and some help, however there are some people who are born a certain way and with mental conditions and they can’t change even if they may want to. But forgiveness is a key part of this and when we can learn to forgive, we can truly see the good in some people.

In “Ethics for a Whole World” by the Dalai Lama, the thesis is, when thinking about justice compassion is the most important aspect.. I believe that when we look at something with a compassionate mindset, then there is a lot more justice and this leads to peace. The Dalai Lama talks about fundamental equality, strength, compassion, and of course justice. All of these relate back to Ethics for a Whole World.The Dalai Lama says, “Forgiveness is an essential part of a compassionate attitude, but it is a virtue that is easily misunderstood.” Dalai lamas point out that everyone is capable of change no matter what they do or did. I can agree with this to some degree. Most people can change with an open mind and some help, however there are some people who are born a certain way and with mental conditions and they can’t change even if they may want to. But forgiveness is a key part of this and when we can learn to forgive, we can truly see the good in some people.

In the film, True Justice, Brian Stevenson fights for equality for all. This is specifically in the criminal justice system. Brain’s goal is to help criminals get off death row and help them change for the better because as the Dalai Lama would say, everyone is capable of change. In America's history there is not a lot of equality when it comes to the criminal justice system.There are still to this day people of color being sentenced the Death Penalty with clear eveidence of inocence. This is not what equality is, I think it's funny because there are a lot of people who turn a blind eye to this and say that America has ample equality. Bryan Stevenson said, “It's about truth telling in a way to get us to remember.” I believe when you look into the facts you uncover the truth and can clearly see that America and the world as a whole still has a very long way to go. We as a society are capable of change, but we need to stop hiding things and truly try to change society for the better.

The world is dying, slowly being destroyed by the actions of humankind. There is so much that we could be doing to protect mother Earth, yet all we do is make it worse. Humans have this mindset that we get to use everything on our planet without consequences. However, not everything's meant to be altered by human kind.

In the reading Environmental Ethics, Joseph R. explores a question that we should be reflecting on: “Who carries the burdens of environmental harms, and who benefits from the practices that cause them?” This is the question that we sound be asking ourselves before causing more harm to the environment.

There needs to be common respect for the land. The Amazon Rainforest, one of the main sources of air for our world, is slowly being destroyed causing thousands of animals to go extinct. The destruction of this forest not only decreases breathable air, but when trees are cut down, they release CO2 that further contributes to greenhouse gasses. This is another source of climate change. National Geographic predicts that if we don’t put a stop to deforestation then almost all of the forests in the world will be gone within the next one hundred years. How will we breathe then?

Environmental injustice not only affects the animals, the climate and the land, but it affects the world's people. In the film Human Element, they bring our attention to air pollution, specifically in the lower income areas of Denver Colorado. The poor population has an increased likelihood of asthma because of the air pollution from factories and the interstate.. In the film, journalist interviews one of the local mothers who has dealt with this issue. She talks about how the pollution has affected her and her children. All of them have severe asthma and are now indoor people because of it. The fact that they avoid going outside is sad.Their everyday routine has changed because of pollution. They start out every day by taking all of their medications. They have to go to a school that is specifically designed for kids with asthma because of all the medication and care they need throughout the day. She says in the film, “Although you need it to survive, it is also killing you and your family.” This is how she talks about the air she breathes. You may be thinking, why doesn’t she just move? It's because moving takes money and instead they have to use it to pay for medicine to keep themselves and their children alive. .

To promote common respect for the land. The solution comes down to change. Like finding sustainable energy sources, reusing materials, and creating awareness. We must also learn to balance our economic needs with our environmental needs.These new ideas may take time and effort to implement, but isn’t it worth it in order to save our earth, our climate, the animals, and human kind itself?