Five Person Party

          If I was allowed to invite any five people to a party I would invite Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, Mother Theresa, my grandmother, and Benjamin Franklin. I would consider the truly heroic “people of conscience” to be my grandmother, because she is the person that has always been there to teach me right from wrong. I would like to talk about the mistakes these people made in their life and how they overcame them. I think all of these people share in common a good sense of judgment that makes them good models to follow in life. In conclusion, these five people would make a great group of people to invite to a party so that I could learn more about morality judgments.

Saint Katherine Drexel

            

           Katherine Drexel was a saint who helped to improve the world though her works of kindness.  Saint Katherine Drexel was born on November 26, 1858 to a rich father who left her everything when he passed away.  Katherine decided that she would use this money for missionary endeavors.  After talking to Pope Leo XIII, Katherine became a nun in Pittsburg to begin a missionary for colored peoples.  Over the course of her lifetime she gave over twenty million dollars to establish sixty missions to care for the education of Native and African Americans.  She passed away in 1955, leaving behind her a set of great accomplishments that would change the Church.

Saint Katherine made a strong effort to create educational places for African and Native Americans, and through her works she accomplished that.  She influenced the Church today through the forty-nine convents she set up and the sixty-two schools, including Xavier University.  Through Saint Katherine’s outpouring of love and monetary donations, it serves as an example to us all to donate money to worthy causes as Katherine did. The way Saint Katherine lived her life can show young people today to always have perseverance towards dreams, to never be afraid to try new things, and give your love and possessions away to others.  In conclusion, Saint Katherine Drexel is a perfect example of the way we should all live our lives today.

http://allformary.org/katherine-drexel/
http://www.bridgebuilding.com/images/mi416x.jpg

Out of Control Train!

      
              If I was driving this out of control train, I would chose to move to the side track and hit the one person there. This is a really big moral dilemma for me, especially since I am horrible at making decisions in a short amount of time. I think that as I moved to that track though, I would make my best effort in screaming at the person and attempting to slow down the train in anyway that I could. In reality, the choice matters enormously, because I don’t know what kind of people that are standing on the track. For all I know the one person could be a priest and the five people could all be escaped from jail. In the end though, I would choose to switch to the side track, because technically one life is fewer than five lives, so more lives would be saved through my decision.


http://wings.avkids.com/Book/Vehicles/intermediate/trains-01.html

Jesus in the Nativity

The artist is Giotto Di Bondone and time of creation is from 1304-1306 for this oil painting, but it can be found in Firenze. It is simply titled, Nativity- Birth of Jesus. Christ is depicted as a child and I am drawn to this image because it reminds me of family and loving relationships. To me Christ, is like a loving son that will always remember me and always love me no matter what. For these reasons I believe that Christ is a loving person just from looking at this picture.

Bullying

         All but six states in America have passed a law that prevents bullying in schools by offering programs. This law was implemented after a fifteen year old girl committed suicide. However, the teachers must constantly work on being aware of the relationships students have in their class, or this won't succeed. In other countries, like Norway, these laws have already been implemented and the suicide rates have decreased dramatically. These laws seem to provide a bridge between the teacher and the student dealing with bullying, and that is a bridge America needs to cross.
         I believe that laws should be passed against bullying in every state. Bullying is a highly preventable problem, and I believe that we as Americans need to stop the bullying that goes on in our school systems. I think that implementing these laws is a great first step, but the teachers need to follow through with a program against bullying when children are younger. I also think that parents must be aware of their child's feelings and online activity to prevent any suicidal thoughts from the child. I believe that if a parent is paying close enough attention to their child's attitude, depression will be noticeable. In conclusion, the United States should work harder to end bullying.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/opinion/23engel.html?_r=1&ref=bullies
http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~jgamble/No%20Bullying%20circle.gif