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Patriotism
An egotist, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is one devoted to his or her own interests and advancement. Everyone is an egotist in one way or another. Even when a person commits the most selfless acts of altruism, the act usually benefits the person in one way or another. Humanity is not, by nature, altruistic; humanity is, by nature, egocentric. This is evident in Yukio Mishima's "Patriotism" with the main characters, Reiko and Shinji. People are egotistical in the choices they often make: choosing friendship over patriotism, choosing to trust a spouse, and choosing one's personal freedom.
The patriotism one feels for his or her own country is not as strong as the bonds of friendship. A country provides safety and a sense of belonging; however, in times of war this is all shattered. Shinji's colleagues are among the insurgents. The war has, no doubt, caused these men to resort to extreme measures. Living in a country that can no longer provide the safety and sense of belonging that these men seek, they turn to each other. Friends provide the safety and belonging even in times of war. People betray their country in their everyday actions, they deceive their employer, they lie to others, they cheat, and steal; but, one always thinks twice before betraying the trust of a friend. Shinji and Reiko remain loyal to what is important, their friends.
Not only do Shinji and Reiko choose their friends over their country, they also find happiness in choosing each other rather than continuing in a world in which the two could not be together. This perfect union between the two illustrates something people search for everyday. Everyone is looking for his or her own Shinji or Reiko. This need to find a "soul mate" has spawned books, movies, songs, and plays. The "boy meets girl" scenario is a part of everyone's life. In "Patriotism", boy did meet girl, and this is a part of what makes this story universally appealing. People simply want someone with whom to share there lives.
The movie “Cotton Road” is about the way American grown cotton that is sold to China and then made into products that are sold back to America for the publics use. The movie also shares the perspectives of multiple people involve in the “Cotton Road” from the growing of the cotton to the transportation to China, and the transformation from raw cotton to clothing products. The cotton is grown on a farm in South Carolina, and there are perspectives given of that farm owner and the main farm worker. When in China there are perspectives given from dock employees, transporters and cotton factory works such as the cook, fabric imperfection checker, and main clothing maker. I was shocked to see what happens and the hardships that occur in this
In China, Kelsey Timmerman spent time with a couple who worked at the Teva factory, traveled to the countryside to meet the couple’s son, insert name, who hasn’t seen his parents in three years due to his parents working long hours and it being expensive to take a train ride. In the US, the author visited one of a few clothing factories in the US to talk to the workers about his shorts, and the decrease of American garment factories. Timmerman wants the consumer to be more engaged and more thoughtful when mindlessly buying clothes. By researching how well the brands you want to buy from monitor their factories and what their code of ethics details, you can make a sound decision on if this is where you would want to buy your clothes. The author writes about brands that improve employers lives like SoleRebels, a shoe company who employs workers and gives them health insurance, school funds for their children, and six months of maternity leave. Brands like soleRebels that give workers benefits most factory workers have never even heard of help improve the lives of garment workers and future generations. From reading this book, Timmerman wants us to be more educated about the lives of garment workers, bridge the gap between consumers and manufacturers, and be a more engaged and mindful consumer when purchasing our
Selfishness is a common trait in the world, it’s not a hidden factor, but very well-known as being one’s self-interest. The story “Hunters in the Snow” by Tobias Wolff, discusses how each character in the story deals with different kinds of selfish ways. One character, Tub, deals with eating problems and lies about it. Frank deals with a secret life that he is hiding from his wife. Kenny is always comparing something to his liking and if he does not like it then he will complain. Self-absorption is when someone is focused on their self and only themselves. It is known to be a regular’s human’s condition, it’s something majority of human beings have. Selfishness may also kick in during survival incidents. For example, a boy and his friends
Arrogance; an insulting way of thinking or behaving that comes from believing that you are better, smarter, or more important than other people. Arrogance is an attitude that can describe any individual with overbearing pride. However, American Psychiatric Association notes that people who are also narcissistic are frequently described as cocky, self-centered, manipulative, and demanding. According to Paul J. Hannig, Ph.D, Narcissistic Personality Disorder is “a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy” (Ashmun). By examining the relationships, behaviors, and internal conflicts within, Willa Cather’s Paul’s Case, Paul’s “case” can be diagnosed as Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Simon Keller argues in his essay "Patriotism as Bad Faith" that patriotism is not a virtue but it is actually a vice. Keller begins by splitting the views on this philosophical debate into three different representations. The first being the "communitarian patriot", where patriotism is not only a valued virtue to someone's self but that it is actually an essential virtue. The second representation is a radical contradiction of the first, known as the "hard universalist. The hard Universalist sees patriotism as a vice instead of being any type of positive virtue. They think that everyone should be valued the same, and that there should be no favoritism. The third representation is the idea of the first two combined, to form what is called the "soft universalist." This view is understood as patriotism is allowed, and is not seen as a vice, but also that one has an obligation to the rest of the world, almost to try and treat them as a loyalty that you would have towards your own country. (p.112).
Brothers tend to have a unique relationship, one that is incomparable to a friend, but in the story “The Red Convertible” by writer Louise Erdrich, shows us how war can alter the friendship between two brothers, when one of them comes back from war. The Author takes us through the struggles that two brothers will face, and try to overcome after on of them, Henry, comes back from war. Upon Henrys’ return, Lyman will try to fix his relationship with his brother, until both will give up and accept, the consequences of the experiences they faced through the story. war can benefit a relationship, the red convertible shows us how the friendship between two brothers is before the war, and how it changes after it, and all the damages that causes to someone’s mental state.
If one wishes to be a psychological egoist, then one needs to explain why people do certain actions that appear to be genuine acts of altruism.
Patriotism for your country comes from your personal beliefs. It is when you really love and remain loyal to your country no matter the cost. The men and women that fought to defend the honor of our country are the true patriots. War is not supported by everyone, but these men still risk their lives to protect the freedom of the citizens that don’t believe in what they are fighting for. For them it is all about remain loyal to America, and standing up for what they believe in.
The exploration of what patriotism is and what represents patriotism is an important one more people should embark upon. If Americans are to examine patriotisms true meaning, we will be able to abolish this faux patriotism, which is represented by intimidation, censorship, and majority rules attitudes or actions. This can be replaced by feelings and actions of caring, compassion, acceptance, rationality, and nonviolence, or in other words, patriotism.
• Once more, the ordinary science’ proves itself as the master of classification, inventing and defining the various categories of Egoism. Per example, psychological egoism, which defines doctrine that an individual is always motivated by self-interest, then rational egoism which unquestionably advocates acting in self-interest. Ethical egoism as diametrically opposite of ethical altruism which obliges a moral agent to assist the other first, even if sacrifices own interest. Also, ethical egoism differs from both rational and psychological egoism in ‘defending’ doctrine which considers all actions with contributive beneficial effects for an acting individual
For example, if a flashlight was sold at Radio Shack for only $3, the real cost of making this flashlight was not captured within the price. Furthermore, the metal was prepared in South Africa, the petroleum was produced in Iraq, the plastics were produced in China, and the overall flashlight was assembled in Mexico. Hence, only because the overall product is on the shelves at a market, this means extensive labour was a significant factor in producing such a cheap product. A significant portion of women are oppressed throughout the film, this is due to the fact that these factories only cater to the female gender; as opposed to males. Also the women working in these factories are exposed to carcinogens, and this is why the leading number one toxic contaminated nutrient is breastmilk. In sum, this documentary gave me a better understanding of the lecture in class and helped me realize that sweatshops is a feminist issue. Women throughout the film are not given an equal window of opportunity compared to men. Factories have physiologically imbedded, an idea of income to women workers, thus resulting in an overall investment in time for the work
The men of the story were ordinary citizens put into an extraordinary situation and came out on top. These men often bonded together through some of the harder times, for example in the text there was a time where one soldier was able to be sent home to the states but refused it because he wanted to stay with his friend. “It’s either I stay here or he comes too,” those were the feelings of many people in the war that shared a special attachment with another man.
Each individual born into this reality is engrained with an ego that has the potential to inflate one’s identity to a grandiose sense of importance. If not kept in restraint, the self-pride may hinder one’s ability to sympathize and conceivably dominate man’s morals in the face of adversity. In his allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding expounds on the inherent illness of narcissism and its effect on those who are altruistic. Truly, it is altruism that transforms the egotist, giving him a new sense of humility in relation to others. Despite such philanthropy, it is man’s ego that heightens the desire of self-preservation in the face of adversity.
One way to define patriotism is to look at an example of my enlistment in the Army and the training that I received in Basic. I decided to join the Army in 1996 after an unsuccessful attempt at college. I decided I wanted to serve my country by defending our freedom in the event that a war should happen and help other countries abroad defend their freedom also. It was in Basic Training that I was taught hand-to-hand combat, how to accurately fire a M16 machine gun, ground tactics and camouflage. The training I received prepared me to be ready to defend America. I was committed to serve and protect the country where I lived. I was displaying my patriotism for America by defending the freedoms that I and other Americans have in this country.
Psychological egoism, a descriptive claim about human nature, states that humans by nature are motivated only by self-interest. To act in one's self-interest is to act mainly for one's own good and loving what is one's own (i.e. ego, body, family, house, belongings in general). It means to give one's own interests higher priority then others'. "It (psychological egoism) claims that we cannot do other than act from self-interest motivation, so that altruism-the theory that we can and should sometimes act in favor of others' interests-is simply invalid because it's impossible" (Pojman 85). According to psychological egoists, any act no matter how altruistic it might seem, is actually motivated by some selfish desire of the agent (i.e., desire for reward, avoidance of guilt, personal happiness).