Value Conflict Debates-- Part I

Ok, so today's class was great... the discussion was spot on... I know its not easy and you guys are kinda unsure of how to get things started and keep the discussion from getting bogged down. But overall, good work...

Pd 2: The excitement vs. safety discussion... very interesting, lots of twists and spin off discussions all very relevant to you guys and your lives in the next 5-10 years. How do you want to live?? And does that change as your relation with your family (both present and future) shifts. Right now, its mainly about getting you ready to go out and be away and apart and independent. Standing on your own for the first time. College is that first big push out of the nest. Followed by more and more independence.

I'd like you to capture some of your thinking along these lines in your journal. Remind me next class.

The practicality vs. creativity debate blended into things very nicely as well. Lots of ideas wrapped up in that one. How you react it could have a big impact on you future. Do you choose a practical path with a solid and steady career? Or do you take a few more chances, be a little more of yourself than what others expect you to be and take what comes of that? Do you play game by the rules or make up your own? It's the lucky few of us, I think that end up doing something we really truly enjoy for our life's work. Most people alive don't get that lucky. Be aware that opportunity in your reach in the next few years. Make the most of it and follow where your heart leads.

The Church and State discussion was another one where we really only brushed the surface. More on that Friday hopefully. It is mostly framed in the context of US government and issues. But on a global scale, its another whole spinoff. How do other countries navigate these issues? Do some places do a better job of it than others? Where in the world do you find little if any separation of church and state? What are the consequences of that?

Pd 4:

Again , great first round of debates. Completely different in tone an topic from 2nd period, but no less thought provoking.

The humanity of war debate... Wow, get the feeling that that could be a whole class in itself? Again, there are many spinoff issues. It is difficult to reconcile the gut feeling that war and taking of human life is wrong with the nagging possibility that war has been a necessity.... to defeat Hitler and fascism. To found this county... To preserve it in times of civil turmoil... Can the horrors of war be seen as a necessary evil if it eventually leads to a greater good?

As long as there is inequity and scarcity of resources (land, water, oil, etc), there will always be aggression. How we deal with that aggression, via diplomacy or violence is yet to be determined. Will we as a species learn how to settle our differences and overcome tyranny? Around the world there are many places where this is being tested... Iraq obviously, the political unrest in the Ukraine, the rebuilding of Afghanistan amid tribal confrontations and an re-emerging opium trade, the struggle for reform in Iran as students are pitted against a hard line theocracy, North Korea, Pakistan vs. India, the list goes on...

Again, I hope you will capture some of your thoughts in your journal.

The patriotism vs. morality debate was very engaging as well. I'll see if I can dig up Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience", as I feel that it particularly relevant here. There is much more that can be explore and I hope was can circle back to this topic in the 2nd semester and probe it with a bit more depth. Draft dodging, consciencious objectors, civil disobedience, etc... again a whole college class in the making. Self-immolation as a form of protest... while particularly gruesome, it is also, fascinating to read some of the rational behind it. We touched on this briefly in class. Though, the act of people burning alive is enough to turn one's stomach.

Again, good stuff everyone... I hope it has at least gotten you thinking.