Final, yet not so final, thoughts

Over the course of this semester I, along with my 20 classmates, dove deep into the topic of human dignity. We were forced, but rightly so, to explore theorists' perspectives of dignity, violations of human dignity, examples of dignity upheld, and many controversial situations in which the concept dignity could be applied.  We read Kant, Kateb, and Singer.  We discussed dignity as it pertains to healthcare, prison systems, and the media.  We debated over whether dignity was innate or gained or whether or not dignity could be lost or gained.  A group of my classmates underwent a project called “Post-It Proud” to improve other’s self dignity, and the rest of my class also participated in human dignity projects.  It seems a lot to do in a semester and I know I did not even mention everything out course consisted of.  I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in such empowering, fascinating, and intellectual colloquium about Human Dignity.  So what did I learn?

Most importantly I learned that dignity is dignity- no matter what situation dignity is applied to.  As the semester continued and we were asked to blog about certain issues and how dignity pertained to them I struggled with coming up with new things to write about.  I was always drawn back to the idea that every human deserves dignity.   Every human is unique and all humans should be treated equally.  I definitely think Kateb said it best when he said, “the truth of personal identity is at stake when any individual is treated as if he or she is not a human being like any other, and therefore treated as more or less human. [An individual should be treated] as if he or she is just one more human being in a species, and not, instead, a unique individual who is irreplaceable and not exchangeable for another.”  We are all unique and different and, especially when it comes to dignity, no human should be treated as any more or any less human.  Whether or not you live in a culture with unique traditions different than traditions of other cultures, whether you are a famous actor or sports figure, whether you have a mental illness or life threatening disease, whether you have money or you are struggling to find income, whether you are a prisoner or a victim of a crime- you are still a human.  You still deserve dignity.

I titled this entry final, yet not so final, thoughts because while it is technically my last blog entry for the class, there is no way these are my last thoughts regarding human dignity.  While i learned that dignity is dignity, i also learned that people's dignity is violated everyday.  Everyday people are treated as if he or she is more or less human than others.  I know I am not perfect, and I know that no one is perfect; however I also know that if we all become more conscientious in the way we treat others we could make a difference.  It may just be a little at a time, but if we developed insights and mindsets that all humans are equal and should be treated the same the world could become a more dignified place.

When I think about human dignity in any context I am always drawn back to the fact that no matter what the situation, every human deserves dignity.   All humans should be treated equally and no human should be treated as any more or any less human.  In deserving dignity and being treated equally, all people also should have equal opportunities.  This photograph that I took of my mom on the beach reminds me of human dignity because as I look at the picture I feel as though I am reminded that the world has endless opportunities.  I feel like in the picture my mom is ready to scream, "LIVE LIFE!"

Looking back at the picture I am motivated to grab hold of the opportunities presented to me and embrace life.  While it may be a stretch, this pertains to human dignity because I often get caught up in school or work and I loose sight of myself and the things that make me- well me.  One of the most important things I have learned about dignity over the course of the colloquium class is that recognizing ones' self dignity is just as important in recognizing someone else's dignity.  People need to need to embrace what makes them unique and be true to themselves.  This photograph is a reminder for me br true to myself and to take advantage of all the things the world has to offer.

America's Brutal Prison Clips

I would like to think that in a perfect criminal justice system a criminal could be both punished for his or her crime and yet have his or her dignity still upheld.  The key words: in a perfect world.  Today's society and criminal justice system is not perfect and there are flaws.  I do not believe that a criminal's dignity is upheld  in prison. 

When it comes to dignity I always try to remember that every human is a unique individual.  No matter how unique a person is, he or she is still human and all humans should be treated equal.  That is a hard concept to grasp, especially when dealing with prisoners.  A person is more than the crime he or she committed.  Regardless or whether that person was right or wrong or innocent or guilty, that person is still an individual who deserves dignity and should be treated with dignity in prison.  Not only do people deserve to have his or her dignity upheld, but Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.  Why then do we still hear of horrible stories in which a criminal's dignity is stripped away?



Is using electric cattle prods on humans dignified?  Is shackling a prisoner to death dignified?  Is spraying prisoners with pepper and tear gas for banging on a door dignified?  I believe there are many factors that play into dignity in prisons.  First, there are many types of crimes with varying degrees of punishment.  There are non-violent crimes, violent crimes, crimes against other humans, crimes against society as a whole, crimes that strip away other peoples' dignity, and many more.  The point is a crime is a crime, but should all criminals be punished the same?  How can someone with a non-violent drug offense be treated the same way a someone who murdered his or her entire family? 

Not only are there a number of different crimes, but there are different criminals.  There are criminals who are remorseful, criminals who regret what he or she did, criminals who have no regrets, criminals who are not remorseful for his or her crimes, and even criminals who believe he or she is innocent.  Should they all be treated the same?  The answer is no they should not be; however, they all should be treated humanely- with dignity and respect. 

I'm sure everyone has heard the phrase, "one person can ruin it for everyone."  Not that it is that pretty common, but I feel like it is what occurs in prisons.  There are some prisoners who are well behaved in prisons and work towards a better future, but there are still other who have no desire to better their lives.  They join prison gangs, abuse other inmates, smuggle drugs into prisons, and in general just do not follow the rules.  It has to be hard for prison employees to work with all these different types of prisoners- to have to distinguish between those who are compliant and those who are non-compliant.  To have to determine who is really trying to make a better a future for ones self and who is just trying to look for an easy way out.  I feel like often times the abuse that occurs in prisons occurs because guards take the easy way out- they do not try to distinguish between those who are compliant and non-complaint.  Often times they automatically jump to extreme measures and inflict cruel punishments on prisoners- punishment that strips the criminals' dignity.  Like I said, in a perfect world I would like to see the criminal justice system uphold criminals' dignity while still punishing criminals for his or her crimes, but today's society is far from perfect.

10 Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew

Since World Autism Day (April 2nd) is quickly approaching, I found it appropriate that i talk a little bit about autism in terms in human dignity. Did you know that about 1 out of ever 110 kids has autism? According to, Autism Speaks, autism is more common that childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. Austin is a broad term typically used to describe a variety of disorders formally known as Autism Spectrum Disorders. Some of the disorders grouped into this category include Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified), Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, there is a variety of characteristic that children with autism may have, some of which including impaired social interaction, inability to respond to their name or make eye contact with others, engaging in repetitive movements such as rocking or twirling, and many more. I found this video called 10 Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew and it speaks a little to how dignity can be linked to autism.


The part of the video that really hit me, especially in terms of dignity, was the beginning.  So many children with autism are labeled "autistic."  More importantly, the video also raises the question, "are you a person with thoughts, feelings, and many talents?"  More often than not individuals with mental illnesses are defined by those mental illnesses and not by the unique personality characteristics that make that individual a person.  People with other illnesses such as diabetes are typically not identified just for having diabetes, so why is someone with autism typically identified for having autism?  Not recognizing someone for being a person is essentially stripping away their dignity.  This kind of goes along with Kateb who, I believe, would say no one should feel as if he or she is any more or any less a person than he or she really is.  We need stop judging people for being different and instead embrace and value people for their differences, especially if that difference is a mental illness. 

I believe very strongly in organ donation.  I am an organ donor, I have convinced family members to become organ donors, and I have given a few persuasive speeches on organ donation (so hopefully I have also demonstrated the benefits of organ donation to my peers).  Typical organ donations occur once the donor has deceased; however the number of living donations that occur is increasing.  According to Donate Life America, living donors are able to donate their kidneys, a lobe of a lung, part of their liver, a piece of their pancreas, or a section of their intestine.

I believe strongly in organ donation but would I actually be able to undergo the knife to save a stranger’s life?  My immediate reaction is YES!  I am healthy, I can live a pretty normal life after the donation, so why not offer someone else a second chance at life.  It would be selfish not too, right? 

After recently reading an article titled, “The Kindest Cut” written by Larissa MacFarquhar all of my thoughts surrounding donation began to stir.  The article focused on a website, MatchingDonors.com.  MatchingDonors.com is a website that people waiting for organs can go on to post their story and see if anyone is willing to help them by donating an organ.  The article explored stories of people, often times complete strangers, who underwent a living donation.  The article also explored some of the criticisms living donors face.  You think people would be praised for donating their kidneys to strangers, but in reality, that is not always the case.  Sometimes living donors are looked down upon because other people view them as trying to play God- they are deciding who lives or dies.

What would Peter Singer say about all of this?  Well for a man who argues that peoples' surplus to essentials should be given up in an article titled, "The Singer Solution to World Poverty", I believe he would also argue that peoples' extra kidney should be donated to help decrease the number of kidney transplantation candidates on the donor list.  He argues that the money used to pay for a new car could save children's lives, so I believe he would also argue that the extra kidney in someone's body could and should be used to save others' lives. 

Now it comes down to do I agree and would I offer a kidney to someone else?  I'm contradicted.  I do agree with what I believe Singer would believe.  I do think not giving up a kidney is selfish, but that being said I do not know if I would actually be able to go through with the process.  I went on Matching Donors.com and I was overwhelmed.  Who would I pick?  What should I type in my search box?  Just because I live in Pennsylvania, should I eliminate the recipients in California?  If I did give up one of my kidneys, what should the criteria I look in the recipient be?  But most importantly, I thought of all of the lives I was not able to save.  Who am I to decide who lives and who dies?

Progress is Measured by More than Grades

One of Carlow's Core Values is Student Progress.  As defined on Carlow Univerity's website, Student Progress is to "educate, challenge, and expect all students to uncover, expand, and realize their potential."  I feel that Student Progress is one of Carlow's most important Core Values, so I chose to practice this value for a week.  I chose to pick this value because discovering myself, my potential, and what I want to do with my life is something I have been struggling with lately.

I came to Carlow knowing I wanted to be a doctor.  That passion is beginning to fade- not because I do not think I can do it, but because I fell in love with so many other things I think I want to peruse.

While practicing Student Progress I made an extra effort to really learn in my courses.  Instead of doing the bare minimum to get by, I challenged myself to really learn the information being taught to me.  For example, instead of just studying my notes, I tried to make connections between what I was learning in one course with what I was learning in another. Not that I do not think school is a priority, but I waste so much time worrying about getting good grades that sometimes I lose sight of actually learning, enjoying myself, and my life.

In addition to working a little harder when it came to school work, I tried to fully commit myself to other things I was passionate about.  For example, I love running.  I used to run at least three miles a day and I tried to run at least two 5Ks a month.  Since I have been so busy with school, I have not been able to run the way I used to.  While practicing Student Progress I thought it was important to realize that although school is a priority, it is equally important be passionate about other things.  This is why I tried to make sure I ran and studied every day.  It took a little bit of getting used to but once I managed my time a little better, I realized it was not impossible.  I think this really helped me grow and learn my potential as both a person and student. 

What does this have to do with dignity?  I think realizing one’s potential is extremely important to self dignity.  We live in such a competitive word that people are so consumed with “doing everything right” and “trying to make it” that they lose sight of themselves and the things that they enjoy.  Student Progress is an important Core Value because progressing as a student is not just important academically, but Student Progress is also about realizing one’s self potential in life. 

Upholding Human Rights

Whenever asked to explore a time in my life in which dignity was upheld or restored I immediately thought of the March for Life in Washington, DC.  I thought of the March for Life because I have been asked multiple times to participate in the walk but I have been unable to go due to prior commitments.  The March for Life is a march that begins at Mall in Washington, DC and ends at Capitol Hill.  The March was created back in late 1973 by a group of people who were prolife that wanted to remember the Supreme Court’s abortion decisions in Roe vs. Wade that took place in January of 1973 without petitioning Congress.

The first March for Life occurred on January 22, 1974 and it is believed that approximately 20,000 Americans rallied and advocated to support life.  In that same year, the March for Life became a non-profit, non-partisan, and non-sectarian organization.  Since 1974 that March has continued to grow every year.  This year, 2011, marked for the 38th March for Life.  It is estimated that over 400,000 people participated in the walk and many participants were amazed that some marchers reached the end before some even left the beginning. 

What exactly are Marchers marching for?  According to the March for Life’s website, the Life Principles were created as a way to indicate the purpose of March for Life as well as explaining the beliefs of many prolife individuals.  The Life Principles state that “we hold these truths to be self-evident: That all human beings are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which is the right to life, and therefore the right to life of each human being shall be preserved and protected by every human being in the society and by the society as a whole…from that human being's biological beginning when the Father's sperm fertilizes the Mother's ovum, and…throughout the natural continuum of that human being's life by all available ordinary means and reasonable efforts…at each stage of the life continuum to the same extent as at each and every other stage regardless of state of health or condition of dependency… regardless of state of health or condition of dependency, and when there is any doubt that there exists a human being's life to preserve and protect, such doubt shall be resolved In favor of the existence of a human being, and when two or more human beings are in a situation in which their lives are mutually endangered, all available ordinary means and reasonable efforts shall be used to preserve and protect the life of each and every human being.”  The Life Principles also suggest that human life amendment should be added to the Constitution.

This is an example of dignity being upheld because hundreds of thousands of people are marching and advocating for human life.  Supporters value life, especially the lives of those who are unborn.  Hundreds of thousands of people are fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves.  The March for Life is an example of dignity being upheld because people who march and support the March for Life are restoring the dignity of others.  Supporters believe all people are created equal, "from that human being's biological beginning when the Father's sperm fertilizes the Mother's ovum"- meaning fetuses are people too. 

Now there are many arguments for and against those who are prolife.  In my colloquium class we have explored many opinions and views of human life.  Peter Singer, one of the most influential philosophers of our time, believes that a person is not a person unless he or she can be aware of one's existence in time.  He believes that the law should support the killing of those who are not a "person."  Meaning, if a mother wanted to kill her unborn child, that unborn child is not a person anyway.  Is awareness really a valid distinction of life?  On the other hand, there is the Catholic Social Teaching which, I believe, is pretty hand and hand with the March for Life's Life Principles.  The Catholic Social Teaching states: "human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met.  Every person has a fundamental right to life."  If every person has a fundamental right to life, how can one kill a fetus in abortion- especially because, as defined in the Principles of Life, a fetus is a person?  Then there is George Kateb.  Kateb values the individuality of a person.  In Human Dignity he says, "every human is unique without trying to be, "and "I have a life to live, it is my life and no one else’s; it is my only life, let me live.  I exist and no one can take my place."  I think Kateb's opinions are really important to consider when discussing something as important as life and death- especially when it comes to abortion.  When aborting a fetus, that fetus's life is stripped away.  Someone else decided that the fetus's life was not important enough to be lived- in a sense their dignity was not even considered.  This is why the March for Life is an example of restoring dignity.  The March for Life, as I said previously, is upholding the lives of all humans, even those who are not born yet. 

The debate over human life speaks a lot about what society is like today.  There are people who fight for life and people who fight against life.  I believe the largest part of the controversy, especially when discussing abortion, is defining when life begins.  I think it is safe to safe that everyone would agree that killing another human is wrong and strips away that individual's dignity, so why would killing a fetus be any different?  Well, not everyone agrees that a fetus is a person.  The Life Principles say that life begins when an egg is fertilized; Singer believes that life does not begin at that time because the zygote is not "aware".  The problem in that is that everyone has different beliefs.  I think it would be very hard for a consensus to be reached about when life actually begins.  If it were easy, it would have already been done.  While I am not sure of how this debate will play out, I do believe that the March for Life's Life Principles offers a unique solution- to add a human life amendment to the constitution.

Reproductive Rights

To research an example of human dignity violated in my lifetime I found an article titled "Dignity Denied: Violations of the Rights of HIV-Positive Women in Chilean Health Facilities" published in 2010.  The article focused on reproductive rights- more specifically, Chilean woman who were denied health care because they are HIV positive.  "Dignity Denied: Violations of the Rights of HIV Positive Women in Chilean Health Facilities" was published by the Center for Reproductive Rights who's mission is to "use the law to advance reproductive freedom a a fundamental human right that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect, and fulfill."  The article itself focused on 27 woman and the stories of how their dignity was violated. 

For example, an HIV positive pregnant woman and her partner chose to have a child even though she was HIV positive because her viral load was undetectable and the risk of mother-to-child transmission was low.  Despite the low risks the pregnancy was soon complicated.  After experiencing an orange discharge she was denied care.  Shortly after she was finally admitted to the hospital with severe abdominal pains and hemorrhaging.  While she should have received prompt medical attention, the hospital staff focused on HIV negative patients, even patients who arrived after she did, leaving her ignored.  She then suffered a miscarriage.

Another HIV positive woman was forced, by a doctor, to become sterilized during a cesarean delivery.  The woman arrived at the hospital the night before her scheduled C-section and went into labor.  She was taken to the operating room and the doctor performed a procedure to sterilize her without her consent.  She was quoted saying, "The treated me like I was less than a person.  It was not my decision to end my fertility; they took it from me." 

These are just two of the personal stories in the article, but the article also explores  information about HIV, statistics, prevention methods, and more.  My reaction to this article was pretty shocking.  It amazes me that people are able to discriminate against other just because they have HIV (or any disease, illness, or disorder for that matter).  Just because someone has a particular disease, illness, or disorder does mean they are any less human.  What bothered me even more though was the fact that they were discriminated by health care professionals.  Not only because they people taking care of them were, in fact, professionals, but because being a doctor is a service profession.  Doctors are there to help people, they are not there to judge and they cannot chose who receives medical attention.  In the first example, doctors decided that HIV negative women deserved more medical attention than HIV positive women.  The HIV positive women were discriminated against-their dignity was taken away.  In the second example, the women was sterilized without her consent.  A doctor decided that because she was HIV positive she no long deserved to reproduce- that doctor took her dignity.

This article spoke a lot about society and how society views individuals with HIV (or any other disease, illness, or disorder).  I think it goes to show that while we say everyone is created equal and deserves equal rights, we still have a long way to go to make that statement true.  Some people may be thinking, "Oh, that would never happen in the United States."  I realize that the report focused on Chilean woman, but we are all one human race.  I say that in a lot of my blog; but it is because I never thought about it like that until we started talking about universal human dignity in class and until I started reading about it in Kateb's article, Catholic Social Teachings, and other Rawl's article. Regardless, who is to say someone would not be denied health care because then are HIV positive in the United States and, more importantly, it should not be happening anywhere.

Where is the love?

We are all a part of one human race and we are all responsible for each other.

Dignity Final Project

I have been thinking a lot about the final project and what I would personally like to see come out of it.  I really want to focus on some sort of Dignity Awareness.  I think Dignity Awareness is important because this class has really opened my eyes to how many aspects of dignity there are and how many different ways peoples' dignity can be violated.  I was thinking it would be cool to remind people that they are important but also to remind people that they may be violating other people's dignity and not even realize it.  There are little things we could do every day to better the human race.  Therefore, I thought it would be cool to make a yearly calendar.  Each month could have a different image that illustrates an aspect of dignity and there could also be quotes relating to dignity.  On some months there could be inspirational quotes like "tell someone who is important to you how much they mean to you" or there could be stories about someone who's dignity was violated and then a follow up tip to help prevent that in the future.  For example there could be a story about a homosexual who feels it is offensive when people use the word "gay" and then a reminder at the bottom like "respect others, try to stop using offensive language."  I think a calendar would be unique because there are SOOO many different things that are important in Dignity Awareness that this would allow us to scrapbook it together- some people could contribute paintings, drawings, photographs, and other forms of art and other people could contribute stories, quotes, or reminders of how to promote dignity.  I know a lot of people were talking about creating art and doing an art show and including images of that art in the calendar could expose more people to the art and ideas of dignity.  I chose a calendar because a calendar is something that would hang on a wall and be a daily reminder to people whereas a book or newsletter is something people would look at once and put it on a shelf or magazine rack.  Depending on the actual costs we could sell the calendars and donate the proceeds to a local charity or organization.

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what the are capable of being." -Goethe

While I have traveled outside of the United States, it was always for leisure or vacation- I have never fully experienced a different culture firsthand.  When challenged to learn about an unfamiliar country, culture, or religion I chose to focus on Africa.  When I think of Africa, I immediately think of how cool it would be to ride an elephant.  I briefly lose sight of the idea that Africa is a totally different continent that has an entirely different culture and way of living. 
Upon my research of dignity and the African culture, I stumbling upon an article written by Father David Garcia in August of 2010 (so fairly recent) titled, “Human Dignity and Toenail Polish in West Africa.”  The article was about a man who belonged to Catholic Relief Services (CRS).  CRS, as described in the article, is ”a delegation of Hispanic Church leaders from all over the US who were visiting the West African countries  of Ghana and Burkina Faso to promote global solidarity among Hispanic Catholics.”  CRS promotes human dignity and works to help others develop independence through different programs such micro finance, health care, education, agriculture, water, and food. 
The article itself focused on Father Garcia’s experience in Burkina Faso.  In Burkina Faso, Father Garcia met a woman named Nathalie Oudjebou.  Nathalie, a mother of three, belonged to a group called “Dikidini”.  The members of Dikidini were experimenting with a savings and investment project that would help the members access small amounts of credit.  With access to small amounts of credit, the people belonging to Dikidini were able to "engage in revenue generating enterprises to supplement their meager subsistence farming."  Since many of the people of West Africa are supported by farming, whenever there is no rain to produce their crop, the Dikidini have access to credit to help them get by.  There are certain requirements and rules that the group follows in order to generate their credit and reap the benefits.  For example, each member has to save a certain amount of money and contribute some to the overall group.  The group then lends money to the members with a small interest rate.  Once every eight months the members receive their original investment, as well as their share of the profits. 
Father Garcia was lucky enough to experience that one day the Dikidini payout every eight months.  He got see the smiles and sense of accomplishment that the group felt.  After witnessing their accomplishments, Father Garcia went back to Nathalie’s home- a small mud hut about fifteen feet in diameter.  Father Garcia began to talk with Nathalie about the Dikidini and what the credit has done for her.  Nathalie said that the credit allowed her to make peanut butter and millet beer that she is able to sell at the market.  Before, she was always worried about if she would be able to provide for her family, and now, not only was she able to feed her children, but she was also able to pay school fees and send her children to school.  Nathalie also was able to purchase toenail polish.  For the first time in her life, she was able to do something nice for herself.  “Dignity can come through many ways, even toenail polish.”
This article was pretty interesting to me because it reminded me of a lot of things we have been talk about in my colloquium class.  One of the aspects of dignity we chose to discuss was how dignity is a universal concept.  I think this article exemplified that.  This aticle made me think about all of how fortunate I am to have access to all of the things I do- for example, a credit card and nail polish.  The article said that many of the people who live in Burkina Faso live off of $1a day- something I cannot even comprehend.  I think ok, how much can I get for a dollar?  Oh, well McDonalds has a $1 menu, but then I remember that $1 is not for a meal, it is for the entire day.
 Like I said previously, I have never experienced a different culture first hand, and I realize that the people of West Africa live very different than me.  Despite the fact that we live differently and in different cultures, Nathalie worked hard to provide for her family and do something nice for herself.  She did what she could to  better her life and the lives of her children.  I think this is very similar to the way people in America live.  While it might come easier for some than others, most of the time parents work hard to provide for their children and do nice things for themselves.  For Nathalie, working hard to be able to purchase nail polish for herself installed a sense of dignity in her; similar to the way that working hard to get a job that could provide for one's family in America would install a sense of dignity in that individual.  We are often focused on what is different, so its fascinating to see something that is similar among different cultures. Not only do I think that this article shows that dignity can be universal, but it also reminded me a lot of the major themes of Catholic Social Teaching.  While that may have been due to the fact that the article was published in Today's Catholic, the way the Dikidini worked to better themselves as a group incorporated a lot of the Catholic Social Teaching themes.  For example, one major themes of Catholic Social Teaching is "Common Good and Community."  The Dikidini worked together as a community to create the credit system that benefited every member of the group.  Another theme in the article is "Participation."  According to the Catholic Social Teaching, people should have the right to participate in the economic, political, and cultural life of a society.  In Burkina Faso, the members of the Dikidini created an economic system of credit to benefit themselves.  While these are not the only themes present in the article, these are a few that I was reminded of.  I think when it comes down to it, no matter who you are or how you want to live your life, everyone can appreciate what they have, but also strive to benefit themselves and/or others even more.  I think that is universal.

Human Dignity by George Kateb

As part of my junior/senior colloquium class I was assigned to read the first chapter of George Kateb's book, Human Dignity.  My favorite section of the chapter was "Human Dignity Is an Existential, Not a Moral, Value."  Kateb said a lot of things that really struck me.  The part that struck me most was "the truth of personal identity is at stake when any individual is treated as if he or she is not a human being like any other, and therefore treated as more or less than human.  The truth of identity is also at stake when a person is treated as if he or she is just one more human being in a species, and not, instead, a unique individual who is irreplaceable and not exchangeable for another."  I feel like, more often than not, individuals are grouped and generalized.  As people, a lot of times, we work hard to become apart of something and we loose sight of what it is to be an individual.  We sometimes loose our identity.  I attend Carlow University; and therefore, I am a part of the Carlow community.  Yes, I am a Carlow student just like the rest of my class, but does labeling me a Carlow student do me justice?  At Carlow, I am a junior.  I am a Biology Major, Chemistry Minor.  I am a tutor.  I am a Tour Guide.  I am the Student Event Coordinator of SPiRiT.  I am an Orientation Leader.  I am more than just a student, so is it enough to just label me as one?  Ya, it all depends on the context in which one is using the term "Carlow student" and what point he or she is trying to make, but is labeling me a "Carlow student" taking away from my identity- who I am.  Is labeling anyone anything taking away from that individual's uniqueness and individuality.  Is it taking away from one's dignity?  Kateb says, "the truth of identity is also at stake when a person...is not [treated like an- unique individual who is irreplaceable and not exchangeable for another"  Why, then, do we recognize each other for what makes us the same, not what makes us different and unique?

"Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them." -Aristotle

This quote really struck me because often times I think I am being selfish if I think I deserve something. I would have to say my sense of self dignity definitely needs worked on a bit; but regardless, I think what Aristotle is saying is important.  Everybody deserves human dignity.  No one should have to earn it or be worthy.  Instead, as humans, we should treat one another with dignity and respect.   In treating others with dignity and respect, we should also realize that we deserve to be treated with dignity and respect in return.

The Effects of Bullying

I was watching the news last night with my mom when a story came on about a local girl, Tiffani Maxwell, who committed suicide after being bullied at school. The story reminded me of a quote I read on the internet by Michael J Fox: "one's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered." I think I thought of the quote because I cannot even begin to imagine the kind of pain and suffering someone goes through that could lead him or her to taking his or her own life. I remember just a year ago when a similar thing happened to a girl who lived in my friend's neighborhood. The young girl hanged herself in her closet because she was being bullied at school. Bullying is, unfortunately, very common in schools today. WPXI's website covering the news story said, "a recent study showed that 77 percent of students in the United States said they had been bullied." The website also said "bullying generally starts in elementary school, peaks in sixth through eighth grade and continues through high school." That means kids are bullied throughout most or all of their education. Not only is the bullying effecting kids psychologically, but WPXI said, "eight percent of students miss one day of class per month for fear of bullies." Now children and adolescents are missing school because they're being bullied- it is effecting their studies. Bullying is impacting kids more today, and in more ways, than it ever has before.  I read these statistics and stories and I think about how lucky I was to make it through high school. I'm not saying I was never bullied or laughed at, but I was fortunate enough not to have to miss class because I was being tortured and ridiculed.
Words cannot describe the sympathy I have for victims of bullying and the victims' families. I have attached two links to the this blog. One is a direct link to WPXI's story and the other is a link to a Facebook page created by the Maxwell family. The Maxwell family created the Facebook page to "bring to light the effects of bullying, and to stop it" as stated directly on the website.  It is pretty amazing to see how many people were touched by the Maxwell's story- hopefully the word will continue to spread.

WPXI's story:http://www.wpxi.com/news/26520571/detail.html

Maxwell Family's site:http://www.causes.com/causes/565674-peer-pressure-against-bullying-maxwell-project

When I found out I had to create a blog for my honors junior/senior colloquium class focusing on human dignity I was a bit apprehensive.  I was not thrilled that my ideas would be posted on the internet, but then the more we talked about human dignity, the more I realized how much the topic covered.  I work as a nurse's aide so I immediately thought of human dignity as it relates to healthcare-especially with the elderly.  My classmates began sharing their ideas: dignity as it relates to discrimination, warfare, reality shows, bullying, other cultures, personal values, respecting others, language, death, gender, race- just to name a few- and I began to realize how little my ideas of human dignity really encompassed.  I walked into the classroom at the start of class having no idea how many topics really related to dignity.  Needless to say, my opinions about the blog began to change.  Since dignity is such large concept dealing with so many different aspects of humanity this blog as a place where I can post things that I think define, explain, or touch upon the subject of human dignity.