Here is my really bad stupid essay I wrote for Anthropology. I suck at and hate writing essays.
The Reason for Reason
For this paper we were instructed to pick one of three topics. While discussing the possibilities with a friend an idea came that wasn’t to be ignored. For years people have been taught that things happen for a reason, that cultures are the way they are because of this or that. By defining whose ‘fault’ it is that one society or another is going down the toilet all this can possibly lead to is hate, racism, hate crimes and can escalate into war.
What seems to be an unmistakable favorite is that society teaches good guys vs. bad guys, when they should be teaching it as people are people, just some make mistakes. Kids growing up turn on the television on Saturday morning and see cartoons ofsuperheroes like Superman or the Power Rangers. These cartoons teach kids a black and white view of the world. They show kids that people who don't go along with our societal “norms” and who might fight back against them are evil. The only reason why the good might fight against the bad because they are evil and they are trying to save the innocent. In most of these shows the bad guy is usual evil because of something he did. They are evil by their own fault. Bad guys are always portrayed as something less than human and almost as an ordinary human. When things go poorly in our society we are so quick to turn and point fingers at the bad guys, no questions asked, no research, just blame. Being a superhero is the dream of every little boy and girl. The idea of fighting evil and being the symbol of what is right and good is very appealing. Another reason why being a superhero is appealing is that the superhero is never blamed for anything, he always gets to point the finger at the bad guy. He always comes out on top. In the process of fighting the bad guy, Superman might do a lot of damage to the city by throwing the bad guy into a building or using a car as a weapon. Superman never gets blamed for any of those damages, it is always the bad guy's fault. By pointing fingers and blaming someone for their problems allows who ever is pointing the finger to escape all forms of responsibility.
Another prime example of choosing good guys, bad guys and pointing fingers is AIDS. AIDS is contracted though the actions of the person who was infected. Either they shared a needle or slept with someone who has AIDS. When talking about this, people use the word 'fault' which has an extremely negative connotation. Putting the blame on the victims of AIDS has lead to much prejudice against people with AIDS. They are always the bad guys of the situation. So by pointing fingers at the person who had AIDS to begin with and not blaming the fact that they had unprotected sex doesn’t promote safe sex, it promotes the idea that anything can be solved or made better through blame. Is it our country’s fault that women in different parts of the world are suffering from a higher rate of anorexia ever since they got a glimpse of our lives through television? Some may argue ‘yes’. I happen to think differently. Women who have loving, attention giving, supportive parents usually do no suffer from anorexia. Just because skinny people are on television doesn’t mean that one will develop anorexia. I think that it is the lack of attention that these girls are getting, not because of television portraying American girls.
Anthropology itself seeks to explain all parts of society through out human existence. It seeks to tell us a reason why things are the way they are now and why one society is different than another. With every difference anthropology uncovers inevitable create fault or blame for that difference. Anthropological techniques were used to figure out who was to blame for the kids in central America who lack basic mental and motor skills. Anthropology was used to study the 'work problem', who caused it and why. Anthropological ideas gave rise to the idea of race which is probably the most destructive human concept every conceived. So why do we still study anthropology? We still study it because of our insatiable desire to understand our world. We want to know the reason for everything. Why are we one way and not another? We hope that by understanding everything about ourselves that we will be able to mold our future to our liking. If we figure out why we think one society is better than another, shouldn't it give us a leg up on everyone else? This is the same reason why we use blame and fault. If we know whose fault it is we can make ourselves better.
The question 'Why?' is a very powerful question. It is the question that separates humans from all other life forms. It is the question that has lead to all our scientific knowledge. But 'Why?' also leads to fault, blame, discrimination, racism, and bigotry. It is ironic that the reason for much of the hate and discrimination in the world is 'reasons'. In the end the question that really needs to be asked is why does there need to be a reason for anything?
The Reason for Reason
For this paper we were instructed to pick one of three topics. While discussing the possibilities with a friend an idea came that wasn’t to be ignored. For years people have been taught that things happen for a reason, that cultures are the way they are because of this or that. By defining whose ‘fault’ it is that one society or another is going down the toilet all this can possibly lead to is hate, racism, hate crimes and can escalate into war.
What seems to be an unmistakable favorite is that society teaches good guys vs. bad guys, when they should be teaching it as people are people, just some make mistakes. Kids growing up turn on the television on Saturday morning and see cartoons ofsuperheroes like Superman or the Power Rangers. These cartoons teach kids a black and white view of the world. They show kids that people who don't go along with our societal “norms” and who might fight back against them are evil. The only reason why the good might fight against the bad because they are evil and they are trying to save the innocent. In most of these shows the bad guy is usual evil because of something he did. They are evil by their own fault. Bad guys are always portrayed as something less than human and almost as an ordinary human. When things go poorly in our society we are so quick to turn and point fingers at the bad guys, no questions asked, no research, just blame. Being a superhero is the dream of every little boy and girl. The idea of fighting evil and being the symbol of what is right and good is very appealing. Another reason why being a superhero is appealing is that the superhero is never blamed for anything, he always gets to point the finger at the bad guy. He always comes out on top. In the process of fighting the bad guy, Superman might do a lot of damage to the city by throwing the bad guy into a building or using a car as a weapon. Superman never gets blamed for any of those damages, it is always the bad guy's fault. By pointing fingers and blaming someone for their problems allows who ever is pointing the finger to escape all forms of responsibility.
Another prime example of choosing good guys, bad guys and pointing fingers is AIDS. AIDS is contracted though the actions of the person who was infected. Either they shared a needle or slept with someone who has AIDS. When talking about this, people use the word 'fault' which has an extremely negative connotation. Putting the blame on the victims of AIDS has lead to much prejudice against people with AIDS. They are always the bad guys of the situation. So by pointing fingers at the person who had AIDS to begin with and not blaming the fact that they had unprotected sex doesn’t promote safe sex, it promotes the idea that anything can be solved or made better through blame. Is it our country’s fault that women in different parts of the world are suffering from a higher rate of anorexia ever since they got a glimpse of our lives through television? Some may argue ‘yes’. I happen to think differently. Women who have loving, attention giving, supportive parents usually do no suffer from anorexia. Just because skinny people are on television doesn’t mean that one will develop anorexia. I think that it is the lack of attention that these girls are getting, not because of television portraying American girls.
Anthropology itself seeks to explain all parts of society through out human existence. It seeks to tell us a reason why things are the way they are now and why one society is different than another. With every difference anthropology uncovers inevitable create fault or blame for that difference. Anthropological techniques were used to figure out who was to blame for the kids in central America who lack basic mental and motor skills. Anthropology was used to study the 'work problem', who caused it and why. Anthropological ideas gave rise to the idea of race which is probably the most destructive human concept every conceived. So why do we still study anthropology? We still study it because of our insatiable desire to understand our world. We want to know the reason for everything. Why are we one way and not another? We hope that by understanding everything about ourselves that we will be able to mold our future to our liking. If we figure out why we think one society is better than another, shouldn't it give us a leg up on everyone else? This is the same reason why we use blame and fault. If we know whose fault it is we can make ourselves better.
The question 'Why?' is a very powerful question. It is the question that separates humans from all other life forms. It is the question that has lead to all our scientific knowledge. But 'Why?' also leads to fault, blame, discrimination, racism, and bigotry. It is ironic that the reason for much of the hate and discrimination in the world is 'reasons'. In the end the question that really needs to be asked is why does there need to be a reason for anything?
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