The Evil In Us

            Do we all have the potential to be evil? Evil like Hitler or Kony? This is one of the topics that we have been discussing while talking about human nature. I think that the majority of our class seemed to agree that our human nature is often based upon our upbringing, and the things that our written on our “slate”. A couple times we thought about whether any us would have the potential to murder someone, and if any of us were one moment away from becoming a murderer. I honestly believe that we one moment away from doing that, because I would consider intentionally murdering someone as evil. I also believe that every one of us has at least some evil in us, but an act of that magnitude could not just occur because of one event. A long process takes place before a person is overcome by evil, and I think that it has everything to do with a person’s surroundings and influences. Kony raises young boys to be evil. Those boys do not murder people because it is how they were born; they do it because it is how they were influenced. At the beginning of Dorian Gray, Basil sees Dorian as pure and beautiful, but in the end Dorian is a monster who is full of evil. I think it is possible that Dorian was as pure as Basil saw him, but there was a process that led to the monster that he became.

Something interesting that I thought about during class was whether or not we are all born with equal human natures. If eighteen years ago a different baby was born into my family and situation, would that baby grow up to be just the way that I am? How much of our human nature stands unaffected by our outside influences? It is something that we honestly are not able to experiment on, and will never know for sure. I think that believing that our upbringing influences our human nature and who we are can help us solve the problems that plague our society because we will know that we need to raise children effectively into adulthood.

Passing it on

There was a quote that we had to respond to from Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own that really stood out to me.
      "For masterpieces are not single and solitary births; they are the outcome of many years of thinking in common, of thinking by the body of the people, so that the experience of the mass is behind the single voice."
I began to think about the many different issues that have affected out society that still exist today. The main reason why I think these issues still survive is because of the concept described in this quote. For example, there is racism. Contrary to what many assume, racism still exists today, even in our high school. According to the quote, the voices behind those who are racist are not of that person, but of “the experience of the mass.” Parents teach their children to be racist, or friends influence their friends to be racist. People are not just born with the instinct to be racist, but that instinct is created by their influences. Virginia Woolf is trying to say the same thing here, except about the treatment of women. Just like racism, the stereotypes and restrictions that plague women today still exist because they are passed down through generations. I believe that if we focus on instilling ideas into the minds of children that all humans are equal, then they will grow up believing that. The same effect that keeps racism alive will do the same for how women should be viewed. It will become part of our culture that influences our instincts.

Sports and Superiority

In America, the advances that women have made in how they are compared to men are immense. Today, many women hold jobs and roles that they would not of even thought of having one hundred years ago. Yet still, one area that is still completely segregated by male and female is sports. In class we discussed the differences in the requirements for boys and girls on the presidential fitness test that we take in our gym classes. Just this past week a seven year old girl was kicked off of her little league baseball team just because she was a girl. Is it realistic to think that women can compete with men when it comes to sports? One example where it may be possible is in Baylor University’s basketball star Brittney Griner whom some believe would be able to compete with men. Personally, I can’t resist the reality of the evidence that I see of men being able to physically perform better in sports than women. I ultimately agree with the gender segregation in sports. Do I think that kicking a seven year old girl off her baseball team is alright? Not really. There have even been cases when girls are more athletic than many guys when they are younger. On my fifth grade football team, the person that won the MVP award for our team was a girl. My twin cousins used to always beat guys in basketball when they were younger, but as they grew older that did not happen anymore. I see it as a biological influence.

            In class, we have been discussing different literature such as, The Awakening, A Doll House, and A Thousand Splendid Suns, in which a woman is faced with limitations because of her gender. I have really been wondering about how the entire gender superiority began. What was the ultimate factor that began to convince men that they were superior to women. My guess is that it was the whole physical thing. As humans, we see bigger and stronger as better. So my point ultimately is that even today I think that one of the reasons women are still not completely treated equally is because of something as simple and unimportant as sports. When a guy realizes that he can physically out perform another girls in sports, he feels superior, and a mindset is created that he is better than all women in everything. This I believe is why women like Nora, Mariam, Laila, and Edna feel restraints on their goals and ambitions.