Moral Codes

"We can come to understand that our feelings are not necessarily perceptions of the truth-they may be nothing more than the result of cultural conditioning." In The Challenge of Cultural Relativism, James Rachel provides readers with the idea of cultural relativism which is the principle that an individual human's beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual's own culture. We see this idea reflected in Beowulf and their moral codes. They value honor, fame, courage, and an ancestral lineage. Other cultures might not view these values as something of significance or something to die for. Different cultures have different morals and principles, we continue to have an ongoing debate on what can be considered right or wrong and by whose definition it is to be established.

            It's difficult to decide on what can be considered the "right way", we all have our perspectives, and some seem more flamboyant than others. "Eating your dead father’s body"? That would not be something I could even mentally digest. In Beowulf for example you had to retain several traditions and for go battles in order to gain honor. In today's culture in the United States, to some that would seem an exceptionally foolhardy thing to try to accomplish as your life's mission, but the principle of it is the same, people seek fame and honor, and the undergo several obstacles to achieve it. We maintain traditions and ways of living to reach an ultimate goal even if it is not the same as other cultures.

            The idea of Cultural Relativism is something that when taken in theory does seem to provide a better "insight" on other cultures. At first I did see sense in the morality perspectives of cultures, but when I weighed in the consequences that Rachel stated, I came to the conclusion that we will always have differing cultures and views, we cannot decide what is right or wrong, especially when most of us will uncertainly base it on the culture we were brought into, it blinds us from all other alternatives.

Social Classes

Oscar Wilde and Jonathan Swift provide their perspectives on social classes by ridiculing the social hierarchy of upper class England and Ireland. By using comedy of manners they showed varying sides of classes.  I believe class discrimination is of vital pertinence in today's society. It has grown to be of broader range than ever before. There is discrimination between races, religion, gender, relationship preferences, and of course social class.

In “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Lady Bracknell who is of high class society is a very pompous character.  She frequently brings up the issues of money and even more ridiculously backgrounds and characteristics when she tries to find out if Jack and Cecily are suitable spouses for her daughter, Gwendolyn, and her nephew, Algernon. The story also insinuates that marrying is sometimes about the name not the personality or compatibility. In “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift provides a fake proposal about eating babies to help feed Ireland. He voices of the problems between the people living in poverty and the elite upper class man. Both bring up ignored issues of social classes that they think should be fixed and people should pay attention to.

Although we have dealt with discriminatory factors throughout the years, more recent in society is gay rights. People are still fighting to be able to marry and be with who they wish without being judged. Those who are "straight" feel superior to those who have different sexual preferences, and discriminate them as a separate class in society. Discrimination in the workforce is also a big factor in today’s society. Because of color or status, workers are sometimes underpaid, overworked, and burdened in the workforce. The rich and elite are also hurting the poor and lower to middle classes they gain from those beneath them by taking advantage of their will less power. I see people around me going through this every day, people I know too afraid to speak up to those in power because of their status, but to keep silent is allow for more injustice in discrimination.

We can only hope to improve these problems with better solutions by enforcing more equality and allowing people to have equal opportunities. But unfortunately social classes have always been obstacles in gaining success; people go through their whole lives seeking to go up in the social hierarchy we live in. It may even appear that sometimes those esteemed as being in the higher classes have more value and control, thus giving them more power. I also believe that people everywhere want to keep moving up in life to gain better social positions; it’s a never ending system in which it is inevitable that we have social classes, but we can improve conditions.

How Discriminatory Are We?

I see the suspicious eyes, the superior stances, and the line that makes us different. I never understood why I was intended to feel this way, why others had to live through it and cope just as I did. Minorities always seem to be living in an oppressed society; even assimilation fails, the imbalance continuing to be ever present between those of color and the white race. Racism has always been prominent in society and no matter how much we deny it, it continues to consume America. For some, this prejudiced society we live in is one’s worst nightmare, for others it means living through a different lifestyle, a different being. In The Invisible Man, the narrator struggles against a racist civilization that tries to envelop him and his quest to find his identity. They wish to mold him into what society wants, because he is a black man and not white, the dominant race.

Much like the narrator shedding away his roots and natural way of living, people today face the same dilemma in which they are forced to alter their customs to fit their dominant society. The narrator also gets taken advantage of; either by the doctors at the liberty paints hospital, the brotherhood, Bledsoe, or society in general. In our society people get taken advantage of or discriminated against every day. “In 2010, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reported that African Americans receive 10% longer sentences than whites through the federal system for the same crimes.” People of color struggle to find their identities, to impress the overriding community. The narrator in the article “What it’s like being a young black man in America?”  has to frame himself around the role society throws at him and has to adapt to his discriminatory environment. Even with him doing that, he is still seen as criminal, and seen through untrusting eyes even though he is innocent and just the same as any other boy, in this case a white boy, his age. I've had to deal with similar things, people looking down at me as if I’m ignorant and can’t even speak the language. I struggle everyday trying to find a balance between my identity and what society wishes for me to be in shedding away myself.

I don’t think it should be this way; people shouldn't have to struggle to maintain their identity. They shouldn't live in fear, or be discriminated against because of how they look, their race, disabilities, and so forth. Equality should be reinforced to allow everyone the same treatments and opportunities. The invisible man didn't get equal opportunities; he had to join in illegal gambling fights run by white men to gain an education. He was denied job opportunities because of the color of his skin, he joined the Brotherhood because of the racial inequality being so high. Why should people struggle in this way, live in fear, assimilate, loose identities?